I came so close to unlocking it!! I almost got it but, it was mismade; It wouldn't turn at the second-to-last step, no matter how I tried!I even checked with the solution but, I did everything right .It's a beautiful piece of work though, it's got a really smooth feel and feels good to work with. I only gave it 3 stars because it was mismade. If it weren't I would give it 5.

This puzzle is very beautiful and elegant. I spent about 5 hours on it. The one thing that may make people hesitate is that it may require a bit force at one point. I have tried only one copy of Baroq and I can say that mine required a ____BIT____ force, but minimum. This is because mine had had a seam on one of the pieces, very small and tiny, but it prevented it from being solved smoothly. After solving it 3-4 times the seam disappeared and now it can be solved without any significant force. And definitely you shouldn't apply so much force that your fingers would hurt.

Very beautiful puzzle, but feels a bit light. Solving it takes you on a moderately difficult, pleasant journey through several memorable formations, and as stated by others, it could be more fluid. Still a great puzzle, thanks to Akimo Yamamoto. It has a loop for threading a string through, so it can double as a pendant.

Not terribly difficult to solve, but it does have a few false states (that is, dead-end sequences). Moderate level of difficulty, I would say. But it surely looks really cool, and can double as a Christmas tree decoration :)

Some say you don't need to force it, but most say you do. There are variations in manufacturing, and the "move that must be forced" is an extremely precise one. It seems this is simply a puzzle that requires a more precise manufacturing technique than Hanayama have. I actually have TWO identical puzzles from Hanayama (the "cast dolce") and one requires a slight forcing, but the other simply falls through the same spot, so there is precedent for this. I'm giving this puzzle only 3 stars because I've moved this puzzle back and forth through the "force required" move about 150 times and even though I can find a technique that requires not as much force as at first, it's still not fluid or effortless. My fingers hurt.

This is a really nice puzzle. There are two ways to solve this puzzle that require barely any force. I found the "official" solution takes longer and is more difficult.

I really like the way this puzzle moves. The way that the pieces come apart at the end is really nice. Mine needed a bit of force for one move, but that didn't really detract from the puzzle much.

Still one of my favorite Hanayamas...Feels great to unlock. Never force it, keep your hands fluid and you won't have a problem.

Very nice puzzle with 1 flaw. Like others have mentioned, there is one point about 70% through the puzzle where it requires a bit of force. I downloaded the answer to check if I did something wrong, but no mater how I twist step 8, it requires some force taking apart and puting together.

I also thought that some forcing was required until I found out a way to do it effortlessly. Forcing is not required, it just seemed that way the first go.

Beautiful puzzle which I found to be quite difficult. The only problem is a small bit of force is required at one point (unlike Radix).

I really liked the way the pieces move. It´s not too hard, but it is clever and beautiful.

I really enjoy this puzzle! Though, at times you do have to force the two pieces which I don't like doing. Working these two pieces together is hypnotic...