Cast Ring II

1 

Wish I could return this puzzle. (Purchased on Amazon, not worth the hassle) First, it fell apart when I removed the twist tie from packaging. Second, it took me less than 5 minutes to find what I thought was the solution. All pieces fit, looked like photo on box. But as soon as I let go of the puzzle, it fell apart. I thought the higher difficulty rating was due to figuring out how to lick it in place -- but no. Finally watched a solution on YouTube only to discover I had wasted hours of time on a lock solution that didn't exist!!! One has to save the twist tie to hold it in place. I feel cheated!!! Never had this sort of thing happen with Hanayama before. A big disappointment.

1 

It's really a poorly-made puzzle. It doesn't stay together on it's own, which must be why it's held together with silver-foil ties in the box. Take those off, and it falls apart. So there's no fun in figuring out how it comes apart, and putting it back together took only minutes. Even then, it doesn't hold together at all. Even the rings don't snap together cleanly, nothing really lines up. Give this one a pass. I found it four dollars more expensive than the other puzzles Hanayama makes, but it's really a ripoff.

1 

WORST PUZZLE I've EVER bought including of the 30 Hanayamas I have. After a few years of not playing with it still solved it in under 1 minute. This is a flimsy and ugly puzzle which is non-puzzlingly simple even without a reference of the solved state. Definitely not a level 5, but a level 1. Absolute garbage, stay away and you'll be happier. I wonder if Hanayama keep this as a moneygrab or because Nob said it's worth it or what?

1 

Not recommended. In this series, Hanayama reproduces some classic puzzles as well as new designs. That's a nice idea, but in this case the classic puzzle ring simply can't be made with the casting process. The traditional puzzle ring is finished by putting it over a ring mandrel and hammering it all over until the parts fit tightly together. When I took this one out of the box I could tell that it would fall apart right away, so I took about two minutes to observe how it fits together. I took off the twist ties and it fell apart, and seconds later I had reassembled it. Really no point to this and the difficulty should be 0.

3 

In addition, this is my personal record for solving a Cast puzzle - less than 5 minutes.

3 

I do not understand why the people before me disliked this puzzle so much. The only issue I see with it is the wrong difficulty - I would rather rate it level 2 (6 here), although I do understand why they rated it level 5 (a second of the kind, in theory it is more difficult, and it is designed to be more complex and beautiful than the first). Mine stays together unless moved, there is also some logic required to solve it (the most important thing for puzzles) and the looks are nice.

3 

Just for fun, I was wondering if Hanayama ever purposely made different puzzles fit or interact with one another. I own Cast Ring (the chrome and gold big one) and found that Cast Ring II will fit within Cast Ring when both are assembled. Don't know if that was intented, but it works, and makes storage easier. Hmmmm, what about other Hanayama puzzles? I'll have to pull out my display box and see.

1 

1) took 5 minutes tops, very easy, misrepresented 2) no solid solved state, feel flimsy 3) not that aesthetic solved It's the worst of the 20 Hanayamas I own and the only one I'm not going to keep. Please don't let yourself be disappointed, stay away.

3 

Not one of the best. It's very easy to make. I solved it in 15 minutes. The original Ring was better.

2 

Not hard at all. Very disapointing. It requires no thinking; just dexterity, But you don't need extra hands.This was the easiest Hanayama I've ever done. Not recommeded.

1 

Okay, this is the single worst puzzle Hanayama can possibly manufacture. The name itself prompts the solver to think of Cast Ring, so let's do that. First, it says "Cast Ring II". Usually putting a "II" after a successful thing indicates an improvement, or at least some similarity. In this case, Ring 2 is easier and lower quality than Ring. As stated before me, it really falls apart. No, really. I have to use wires to hold it together even while storing it. And assembling is truly a task requiring little else than dexterity (and a few extra hands). The ring itself is much smaller than the original Ring, and though it has one more rings, the two outer rings are simply hanging from the inner ones making it practically a 3-ring puzzle, and the middle ring is perfectly straight, without any twists or bends apart of the oversized logo on top. Do not get me wrong, it's not _that_ bad. It can still be fun to play with, just do not expect the amount of brain work usually required for a 5-star Hanayama. But everything considered, I do not recommend it.

3 

As other reviewers noted, a dexterity puzzle. It was good, but I wouldn't rate it a 9 in difficulty, more like a 6-7.

1 

This is a terribly miss leading puzzle, as the box leads you to believe that it SHOULD STAY TOGETHER. I also found it unbelievably easy, not a 5 star puzzle in my opinion.

2 

Warning! This puzzle FALLS APART when you open the box. The puzzle is NOT to take it apart!!!! It REALLY DOES DO THAT on its OWN! Instead, you have to figure out how to put it back together. And it WANTS to keep falling apart. This is more of a "dexterity" puzzle than a mind puzzle. You have to hold the thing together while piecing it back together.

3 

Not so hard that I thought.