Hungarian Rings Puzzle, a classic vintage brainteasers.

Hungary 1982, brand Zweiring, material plastic, cm 15x11x4

Hungarian Rings puzzle also called Devil’s Circles is a classic vintage brain-teaser that challenges logic and dexterity.

Originating from Hungary, this intricate puzzle consists of of two intersecting rings made up of a number of coloured balls. The rings of balls intersect at two places, so they share two of the balls. Each ring of balls can be turned, so the balls can be mixed.
The Hungarian rings puzzle has 38 balls of four colours, intersections which lie 5 apart (i.e. 4 balls in between them). Two colours have 9 balls (yellow and blue) and two colours have 10 balls (black, red).
When solved, the balls of each colour must form a continuous row.

It might be interesting to quote from the afterword of the Rubik's Cubic Compendium [p212] here. It has a picture of the Hungarian rings and the following text by David Ringmaster:
”Closer to Rubik's Magic Cube are 'interlocking cycle' puzzles where several rings of pieces cross each other. Endre Pap, a Hungarian engineer, invented a flat version with two rings which was marketed as the Hungarian Rings. The idea was not entirely new, as there is an 1893 patent for it.”

That patent is US 507,215 by William Churchill, filed on May 28 1891, granted on October 24, 1893.

This game is a test of patience and problem-solving skills, skills that could be useful in everyday life too!

BO-04-0013 - available