Has anyone here tried the Kinato puzzles available from Meffert or kinato.com? A lot of the puzzles look really cool, but here and there it has one really ominous word on there... "magnetic". Given how much magnetic media I have, I'd rather not have any magnets around. Are ALL of the puzzles magnetic, or only some of them? Just how powerful are the magnets they use? Is it something I should be worried about? There's quite a few puzzles I'd like to try there, but not if it's going to erase my tapes, floppies, hard drive, etc...

They come in a metal case, and the pieces are only just magnetic enough to make it stick to the back of the case. The field doesn't really reach more than a few millimeters. With the puzzle inside the box, the foam padding is thick enough that it doesn't have any noticeable effect on the outside.
I doubt it could ruin a floppy unless you take the puzzle out of the box, put it directly on the floppy and moved it around vigorously.

The first Kinato version that came out (Smart Kinato) was not magnetic, and came in a cd-type box. I don't know whether that version is sold any more.

Apparently not. on the http://www.kinato.com/Kinato-SMART-KINATO.html web site, it says it's magnetic now.

I checked mine and it is not a magnetic one. And yes, the cover is indeed similar to a CD case!

Picture here.




Pantazis