Cast Helix

4 

This one is fairly simple, in that once the solution is understood, it is just a matter of getting the pieces into that one combination that allows disassembly. No exact series of moves like Hourglass, Enigma, Equa etc. Really a "one hit wonder" of solution. No force is required for the final disengagement of the silver ring, only finess and gently altering the geometry slightly. One piece of the star is labelled, the other is not, but other than that they are identical, and you will find a symmetry of the pieces whichever is used as the reference. Hanayama puzzles (I have most) do not require force. Some will yield to force, but it is never the correct solution. If I ever get tempted to use force on any puzzle, it is a clue I don't really understand the solution. I also think it is silly to complain that a certain puzzle "hurt my fingers". If you doubt this complaint is ever made, check out the comments on Hourglass. I have been a fan of Hanayama and similarly designed puzzles for years now, and am amazed at how complicated some are. In the jargon of military combat aircrat pilots, maintaining currency on complicated tasks is required. Picking up a puzzle that had been mastered previously but not solved for a while, the sequential and spatial reasoning required may be a bit lacking, until practice brings one up to speed. I try to "stay current" on all my puzzles, but sometimes get challenged by one I thought I would never forget how to solve. Flying aircraft and solving puzzles are not just "like riding a bike". Both are great brain and body activies that stress sequential, spatial, mechanical relationships. Surgeons that play video games are better, maybe they should include metal assembly puzzes a well. Hats off to Hanayama for providing such value for so little. One of life's little pleasures.

5 

I actually had a lot of fun with this one. I don’t know if I solved it using the “correct” solution, since it did take a bit manipulation, but I still count it as a completion since I wasn’t intentionally trying to use force. Anyway, it’s fun to hold, slick, and pretty cool looking for how small it is. I found it very challenging and it took about 1.5 hours, but it was a great challenge that I would recommend for others!

4 

Fun puzzle to handle. I think they accidentally made an easy solution exploit since you can use a little tiny bit of force to take it apart. I hear there is another solution that makes the puzzle more worth your time. I’ll only deduct one point due to the small design flaw.

2 

This could have been a 5 star. — it looks, it looks cool, handles well, impresses friends. BUT, it requires FORCE to complete. This puzzle has been available for years — in all that time the engineers Couldn’t learn how to tweak here an d there to make it a 5 star?

5 

Love this puzzle! You can solve it in sort of the correct way by using a bit of force, but do it the correct way and absolutely no force is needed, not even at the end. Doing it the correct way is of course much harder, and I would even rate it one level higher due to some little "details" that are next to impossible to notice without a lot of concentration. The solution is very smooth and unique (one of Akio's best in my opinion!) and I highly recommend it as a great addition to your hanayama collection.

4 

I love this puzzle because it is made to make you think you know how to solve it as soon as you start playing with it and the actual solution is really clever! I don't give it 5 stars just because the puzzle can get a bit stuck when the ring is coming off, but it's not too big of an issue

5 

Pretty neat! And nice looking to boot. A few reviewers mentioned need to use some force to make it work. They must be doing it wrong. The correct solution is elegant and effortless. The difficulty rating seems about right to me.

5 

loved doing this puzzle. my friend bought it, and spent 7 years trying to solve it, i got it in 7 minutes exact(we timed it too) gotta look at this one from a different perspective

5 

This is one of my favourites! I had to observe it very well before I found some interesting part of it and then I tried to use it. And it worked! The cast is beautiful, too.

5 

Took 2 hours to figure out the intended solve. You can brute force it, but the intended solve is actually very clever and oh so much more gratifying.

5 

This puzzle is unique and has a lot of personality, it is one of my favorites, but I haven't gotten it apart yet. I just like looking at it, and playing with it is fun.

3 

Little bit of forcing in the end.

3 

I must admit I'm a bit disappointed in this puzzle. After a half hour I got the ring off but my a little bit of force. I have now taken the ring on and off several times in two different ways and I think none of them are the intended solution, because they are rather easy and seem to use a little force at one point. Please add the solution to this puzzle as I am quite baffled at what the "correct" solution is.