Can a chess grandmaster beat 12 puzzles built to look easy?
Hafu challenges grandmaster Nemo to a puzzle gauntlet that looks simple but fights back. The average person solves six of the 12. Nemo gets three hints and plenty of chances to overthink.
Some wins come from pure creativity. On the Newton’s Gravity puzzle, she simply blows the red part out. On the Crossroads puzzle, she skips the intended spin trick and finds her own way, though she smacks it so hard she bleeds.
Others come down to the wire. She fits the Small Triangle with seconds left, then finds the hidden lotus coin just before time runs out. Hafu notes she performs better under pressure.
Not every puzzle falls. The Soma, T, and U&U puzzles beat her, and the Dovetail needed a hint and a good smack. Still, she finishes with nine of 12, well above average.
Then comes the final boss: Excalibur, a wooden box with 117 steps. Even with her unlimited time hint, she nearly quits, then forces her way to the sword.
Her takeaway? Brute force sometimes works.
Think you can beat the average? Watch the full video to see every solution and every near miss:
