Rotate Rings Level 12 Walkthrough

Level 12 · Beginner · 7 actions. This is a text-only solve. Rings are turned until their gaps meet a clamp; short bars with silver sleeves are pulled straight out.

This board mixes two kinds of piece. Most of the outer edge is rings, but three short bars sit on top of the links and have to be pulled before those links can open. The lower-left group is the first place where a ring and a short bar come away together.

How the pieces work

• A ring has a gap. A clamp presses on its rim, and the ring comes free when the gap reaches that clamp.
• A short bar with a silver sleeve is a pull-out piece. Pull it along the sleeve; do not rotate it around the board.
• A ring can be sitting on top of a short bar. In that case the ring turn releases the bar as well, so the two leave together.
• Work from the outside in. Clear the pieces that hold nobody before you turn a ring that carries another ring.
• The seven steps are clicks. Some clicks take two or more pieces off the board.

The board at a glance

Solution order

Step 1 — Turn the lower-left light blue ring

• Action: turn the light blue ring at the lower left until its gap reaches its clamp.
• Why: it is an outer ring and the purple short bar beneath it is trapped until it moves.
• After this: the light blue ring comes free and the purple short bar slides out with it.

Step 2 — Turn the lower-middle light blue ring

• Action: turn the light blue ring at the lower middle until its gap meets its clamp.
• Why: the lower-left group is gone and this ring is now exposed.
• After this: the light blue ring and the orange ring at the lower right drop together.

Step 3 — Turn the upper-middle blue ring

• Action: turn the blue ring at the upper middle until its gap reaches its clamp.
• Why: it is the outer ring on the upper chain and carries the dark green ring beside it.
• After this: the blue ring and the right-hand dark green ring drop together.

Step 4 — Pull the top red short bar

• Action: pull the red short bar at the top out along its silver sleeve.
• Why: the bar crosses the top link and cannot be turned free.
• After this: the red bar leaves and the top edge opens.

Step 5 — Pull the upper-left orange short bar

• Action: pull the orange short bar at the upper left along its sleeve.
• Why: it still crosses the left side of the ring group.
• After this: the orange bar leaves. Only the light blue and light green rings remain on the left.

Step 6 — Pull the middle blue short bar

• Action: pull the blue short bar in the middle along its sleeve.
• Why: it is the last bar crossing the centre of the board.
• After this: the blue bar leaves and the remaining left-hand link is exposed.

Step 7 — Turn the remaining upper-left light blue ring

• Action: turn the light blue ring at the upper left until its gap reaches the final clamp.
• Why: every bar and outer ring that was holding this side is now gone.
• After this: the light blue ring and the left-hand light green ring drop together, clearing the level.

Pro tips

• The first turn is also a bar move. The purple short bar under the lower-left light blue ring leaves on step 1; there is no separate click for it.
• Do not pull a bar before its ring is loose. A bar that is still pinned under a ring will not slide, and forcing it can make the ring harder to turn.
• Watch the paired drops. Steps 2 and 3 each remove a ring and its neighbour, and step 7 removes the last pair on the left.
• Three bars, four turns. If you are looking for a fifth ring turn or a fourth bar, you have already counted a piece that leaves with another move.

Level 12 in short

Turn the two lower light blue rings and the upper-middle blue ring, pull the red, orange and blue short bars, then finish with the upper-left light blue ring. The board clears from the outside in.