I had trouble figuring out that game at all.
Part of it was that I didn't realize you actually had to click and drag the handle, so even when I'd done it right, when I clicked on the handle it didn't unlock.
The other thing that confused me was how little the wheel spun. It's so different than a real lock that I assumed I was doing something wrong.
Those two points of confusion combined to make me experimenting with the wrong things to make the puzzle work. I was sure I was screwing up the wheel somehow.