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Instructions
Examine the puzzle for openings. These are the places that puzzles pieces come apart. The simplest puzzles, containing just two rings, usually twist apart at these openings. More complicated puzzles aren't as direct, requiring the puzzle solver to first negotiate a series of obstacles, such as loops, to reach the opening.
Identical metal parts are meant to work together or even work as one piece in the puzzle solution. Two identical pieces with openings usually twist along these openings to release the puzzle pieces. It helps to think of these puzzles in three dimensions. The puzzle pieces don't just slide up and down or left to right, they also twist around each other in three-dimensional space.
Examine hinges or places where the metal frame twists and bends. If a puzzle has a hinge, then it's meant to be used in the solution. Two identical puzzle pieces typically fold together, allowing a metal ring to negotiate the loops and come apart from the pieces. A puzzle with rings held together by hinges usually involves multiple steps, whereby one ring slides around a loop or bend, followed by another ring and another.
Puzzles with loops or U-bends are meant to confuse and distract the puzzle solver. Often, one piece of the puzzle must negotiate these loops in order to reach the final step of solving the puzzle. Negotiating these loops and bends is not the solution to the puzzle. This is only the process to get to a point there the puzzle pieces can easily be pulled apart.
Advanced puzzles with pieces containing multiple segments, such as the four- and five-ring ladder puzzles, are more difficult. These puzzles usually contain several identical puzzle pieces with multiple hinges. When looking to solve these puzzles, think repetition. What works to release one part of the puzzle piece will work to release another identical puzzle piece, too.