Loophole by Puzzlocks – Review & Solution

The Loophole puzzle, by Puzzlocks, is another addition to Boaz Feldman’s series of lock puzzles. Spoiler alert – quite the successful one!

If you want to see Loophole’s solution, watch the video. For the written review, scroll a bit. I kept it spoiler free in case you wanna try it.

Loophole Puzzle Overview

Boaz Feldman creates challenging puzzle locks. One of his latest lock puzzles, Loki, was, in fact, so difficult, that I had to resort to a hint from my puzzle friends…

But Loophole is different. I’ll explain why in a bit.

The goal of this puzzle is to open the lock and remove the shackle. Sounds simple enough… However, it doesn’t work the way you’d think. As a puzzle lock, expect it to work opposite of what you’ll think, and then opposite of what you didn’t think you thought of thoughts. Confused? I know, that’s how padlock puzzles feel sometimes.

The puzzle is made of brass and stainless steel and is infused with Boaz’s 150 IQ. A recipe for destruction for the average Greg.

Solving the Loophole Puzzle

So here’s why this puzzle is different. You can go ahead and watch the solution if you want to see for yourself. But if you don’t – this is how I perceived this experience:

Usually, I get blown away by the complexity of puzzle locks. When I tried to solve the Popplock T12 by Rainer Popp, I froze in fear multiple times. It didn’t feel like a padlock. It felt like a flippin’ dinosaur chasing my G A** off. Looking at that cold brass was as tough as cutting a phone book in half.

And like cutting a phone book in half… Once you know how to do it, it’s not as scary.

But with Loophole, it felt like a different experience. No fear. No self-doubt. No 150 Heartbeats per minute.

But a guided, logical progression with low-to-none dead ends and quite a linear, logical solution.

Now, I’m sure some people would get stuck and think a lot about it,

But people who examine it and think (Allard, can I use your (c) on such an occasion?), will enjoy the unraveling of the mechanism, and I’m telling you… That’s gonna be hella satisfying.

Loophole – Conclusion, Verdict and Summary Alltogether

The Loophole puzzle is not the hardest puzzle from Boaz Feldman.

But on my mental score, Loophole gets an A. The mechanism is unlike anything I’ve seen and has some delightful discoveries.

So my take is that it’s more of a Karakuri-style puzzle, where collectors (and engineers) will enjoy it’s great execution, but solvers may find it less appealing due to its lower difficulty.

Where Can I Buy The Loophole Puzzle?

You can buy Loophole directly from Puzzlocks.

Or, if you’re located in the UK or Europe, get it from Crux Puzzles (Coupon GREG10)