Cast Chain

5 

This puzzle is indeed difficult and has a very rewarding solution, but in my opinion it's nowhere close to the Enigma (another level 10 puzzle (or 6 on Hanayama's scale)) in difficulty. The puzzle is very well made; it's sturdy and requires very precise movements. Once you discover how to shift the parts around and understand how they rearrange when doing so, the solution isn't far away. If you do the right moves, absolutely no force is required. I give it 5/5 even though I think it's not a level 10 in difficulty.

5 

Another wonderful Cast puzzle. It is obvious from the get go how you need to solve this, but also obviously impossible. This is a great one as perseverance will get you to the solution. This is one to never ever download the solution as you will get there it is just a matter of time.

5 

I don't understand why this is 10. Other Hanayama level 9-10 puzzles took me days to figure out. This one took 20 minutes to disassemble and as much time to master. I would cut the difficulty in half. What I truly love about this piece is the top metal and coating quality. Feels like a real thing.

4 

Didn't rate this five stars only because the difficulty is overrated by one or two levels. In my opinion, one or two of the links should have some extra notches to act as red herrings, then the difficulty would be there. But the solving method is neat, it looks good, and is sturdy.

5 

This puzzle is very good. It's very hard, but once you find out how to do it, it's very fun. I recommend this. It's one of those puzzles that are worth buying

5 

Can't give it less than 5/5. Amazing. Sturdy, smart, challenging enough. Once you figure out the solution, you can take it apart and back together within seconds. Amazing design, must have Hanayama! Difficulty - more like 5-5.5/6.

5 

This is by far one of my favourite puzzles along with cast stag. The solution is eloquent and smooth. Without any fumbling jiggling or fussing. It is fun to play with the order, as well as just shifting the rings. To the person who had their friend take it apart in under a min. Either you did not have it assembled fully (not 1-2-3) or the person had seen it b4. IMHO this is a "personal" puzzle, not Ideal suited to hand around at a gathering, or to the children. However for someone who loves puzzles, this may not be a lvl 10 puzzle, however it is perfect for me. If you want a lvl 10 puzzle Cast quartet has got to be one of the most miserable/difficult I have evr 1/2 done (I lost it before I got it back together)

5 

Your first goal with this puzzle should be to put the links in any order. This is actually how it was designed, and once you figure out how to do it, it makes sense and shows you a lot about the puzzle. Taking it apart is another matter, this can only be accomplished by taking careful note of the differences between the three pieces.

5 

I bought this one yesterday and today I solved it! Not so tough, at least it did not occur such to me. But I really like the idea behind this puzzle. Reminds me of cast "Quartet", because of the special little openings where the pieces can get in and out of each other. And I also think there is only one solution - somewhere in assembling it, you can put any of the three parts in the middle, depending on what you do. So the way back is different up to this point, then it goes the same way.

4 

This one is quite fun and a little challenging as well. Make sure when you put it back together to put it in the correct order. 1...2...3

5 

very neat puzzle... and i will agree with the few people here that there REALLY is only one solution. whoever says it needs force to even move the pieces around does it wrong.... this puzzle doesn't need force at all.. its might seem so at first but its only cause the pieces are so tight... there is exactly enough room to do all the moves without force if you move them correct all together.

5 

The Cast Chain is outstanding. There are two solutions that require no force at all. If you are using even the slighest bit of force you are doing it wrong. Interesting to note, that there is a much quicker and instinctive solution than the one provided by hanayama.

4 

This was really weird! It took me a while to solve it, and I don't think I did it correctly, because I had to use what I consider unnecessary force. However, I was jingling it around in my hand while doing my homework, and it somehow just fell apart, and I have no clue how.

5 

This is the First puzzle i bought and i thought it was pretty good. Very Challenging! I did have to cheat to get it back together, but now i can't get it back into the original form. T_T. But overall i thought it was good.

4 

Nice puzzle and quite sturdy. Unfortunately I've seen (and played) much more Oskar-like puzzles, and this one lacks on the looks too. Also, more than often does it require a slight nudge to go in the right direction. No, I'm not forcing it towards a cheating solution but to make even a legal move it needs a quite strong force compared to other puzzles. The solution is a bit repetitive but the ending is greatly rewarding.

5 

Nice. At first I was kind of scared, not seeing any way how to make any progress, and it actually took me good 30 minutes of monkeying around to just figure out how to change states. Once I got that down, the rest was not too hard. Still, it took me good 45 min to solve it and another 10 min to put it back to its proper state, that is, 1-2-3. The only downside to this puzzle is that it just doesn't look as cool as something like Baroq :) Yet, I take my hat before those who did it in 2 min. There are some extremely smart people out there.

4 

A solid puzzle that at first glance appears impossible. Based on the nature of the puzzle, I dare say you will either be stumped for hours, or solve it quickly as I did. However I still rate this puzzle highly as I am certain it will stump more than a few of my puzzle loving friends. I am torn regarding the difficulty - I found Elk and Enigma much harder, Nut Case easier and Cast News about the same.

3 

I'm really not good at puzzles and I found this one to be extremely easy. However, it was still extremely rewarding. This is a nice puzzle, but I'm shocked to see that so many people had a hard time with it.

4 

Good puzzle. Pros: + has several configuration you can switch through + solution is intuitive and logical + solid Cons: + binding when trying to move/rotate pieces + rating: should be more like 6/10 My experience: given by friend. Told no force. Notice dots. Notice unique markings. 15 min later have in pre-solve state.. but doesnt "fall apart"... 2 hrs of youtube videos later still stumped... turns out was re-assembled with 1 piece upsidedown thus requiring force. only 1 similar way of solving, for 2 diff middle piece.. anybody find all 3 solutions?

5 

I absolutely loved this one, and I love the way you can switch the middle piece.The way to figure out how comes out is simple,but actually getting them separated is another matter.... Highly recommended.

5 

I am not a genius but it was quite easy to solve, i solve it in less than 2 minutes :).

5 

I started working on this in a dark office lit by only the light of my computer monitor! Big mistake! When I turned on the lights, the key became evident! It took me 45 minutes to solve...now that I know it, it takes less than a minute! One of the better puzzles I've ever worked with! Unique and challenging!

4 

I enjoy this puzzle a lot because it is tightly designed and hard to maneuver from one position to another. On the other hand, a quick survey of its design reveals the structural keys to the solution. Since puzzle novices seem to get this one apart within an hour, I would rate it a five. My bench mark for supreme difficulty is the Enigma, and this one doesn't come close.

4 

My first puzzle purchase. Took me a good week to figure this one out. A lot of fun. Glad I didn't cheat.........

5 

I had to cheat on this one....Wish I could go back in time. Ingenious!

5 

This is a great puzzle, I enjoy ones where you can use some logic to figure out the solution, rather than just fiddling around randomly. There is a 2nd solution that requires a minor amount of force, so if you find yourself forcing it at all, that's not correct. JohnnyZ is correct that there is really only one solution.

5 

Quite hard puzzle. Even if you have solved it, next time it is almost as difficult as the first time. And there is 3 different ways to put it back together and I haven´t figured out how to solve it easily.

5 

I had purchased this puzzle a few years ago, because I thought it would be cool to try out. Well, needless to say, it became an ornament collecting dust...Then, a funny thing happened. My friend dropped by for a visit one evening and I jokingly said to her, "If you're bored, give this a shot"...I was giggling to myself thinking, "She is going to put it down in a few minutes for sure!" What happened? I am not exaggerating in the LEAST when I say that she handed it back to me in less than a minute, maybe a minute and a half-UNLINKED!! I almost fell over! I said, "No, it had to be a fluke!" I gave it back to her and said "Do it again!" She put it back together again, then took it apart just as easy-again!!! I think she's an alien-and I told her that lol! To recap, she solved a level 10 puzzle in less than 2 minutes after trying it for the first time. She doesn't even own any puzzles, and she didn't think it was a big deal at all. She just said that she's always been able to solve puzzles and do strange things...She's really cute, but reeeeally weeeeird!:) ******I have a Rubik's Professor as well that I'm gonna toss her way...Let's see how she likes that monster...Bwahhh hahhh hahhhh!!:) ;o)

5 

This puzzle was tough to figure out. There really is only one solution to it. When you put it in the right spot it just falls apart! I really enjoyed it!