YOT & YOT II

For those who have not heard of or seen the YOTs, I think they are the only puzzles in the world which come with real money for you to keep. Both puzzles each contain one US silver dollar within.

Physically The YOT and YOT II look almost identical. Both are round shaped "discs", made of aircraft grade aluminium. Construction and finish of the puzzle are excellent and there is no doubt this is a high quality puzzle with good looks to match. Each have at the top a little roundish "knob". They both share the same diameter of 70mm (2 3/4 inches). The only difference between the two puzzles is that the YOT II is slightly "thicker" than the original YOT around the body of the puzzle, the former 16mm while the latter is 13mm. Overall height (including the knob) for the YOT is 25mm while the YOT II is 28mm.

The puzzle fills the palm and is pretty hefty in weight giving an overall good feel. The object of both puzzles of course is to get the silver dollar out without resorting to any tools, power or otherwise. The solution to both puzzles are similar yet different, in the sense that if you can solve the YOT, it would not be too much of a challenge to solve the YOT II. But solving the YOT does require some lateral thinking, particularly for those of us not too familiar with the laws of physics. The way to extract the silver dollar out of the YOT/YOT II is in my opnion pretty clever (at least to an amateur puzzler like me). However, once you figure it out the solution the first time, the next time it is very easy to solve the puzzle. Removing the silver dollar requires only very minimal moves.

The YOT and its thicker counsin YOT II 

For such a well constructed puzzle, it is a pity both YOTs do not give the same "replay" value, unlike say a wooden burr that requires multiple moves to dis-assemble and assemble. However, the YOTs do have an aesthetically sculptural quality about them. They are certainly great conversation starters and display very well on any coffee table or desk in the office. If nothing else, they also serve as excellent designer looking paperweights.