There is now a Rubik Bricks, which is a variation of the 3X3 puzzle, and a
Darth Maul Rubik's Cube. I remember the Rubik ball as well. I also had
recently (within a few years ago) had a puzzle called a Square 1. It is a
3x3 puzzle as well, but as you mix it up, it loses its square shape. Just
getting it into a square is a challenge. I never solved it, but it did pass
the time during my phone support days.
For a picture, go to http://www.spilbury.com and search for 'square 1', and
you will see what I mean.
Nerd From Hell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Julia Thompson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2001 7:00 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Rubik's Cube & Friends
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Joshua Bell wrote:
>
> > I'm onto a new kick now - Rubik's Cubes.
> >
> > I still can't solve the things (not enough patience) but I've always
> > been more fascinated with the mechanics than the
> combinatorial puzzle
> > aspects. As a kid I got my first one in 1980 when the craze
> hit bit. I
> > had it apart shortly thereafter to marvel over the structure.
>
> My father taught me a few simple tricks, and I have an algorithm for
> solving the cube now that doesn't match anyone else's that I've seen.
>
> > My collection now includes:
> >
> > 2x2x2 Pocket Cube - the internal mechanism is essentially a
> 3x3x3 cube
> > burried inside!
>
> So THAT'S how they did it! My father bought 1 or 2 of those;
> I have one
> of them now; you play with that for long enough, you get to
> where you can
> apply the corner cubie knowledge to a large cube.
>
> > 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube (the classic)
>
> There's gotta be 1 or 2 of those knocking around here somewhere, but I
> don't *see* one from my desk chair. (Maybe there's one in
> the box of toys
> on the shelf of my closet. I ought to go through it and pull
> a couple of
> things out, and stick a few things into it....)
>
> > 4x4x4 Rubik's Revenge (www.rubiks.com is selling them again)
>
> Cool. I had one, one of the "middles" broke, and it's not good for
> scrambling, but it can be useful for a visual aid if you need
> a 4X4 cube
> for something. (Dan borrowed the busted one at one point, I
> think even
> took it to work, to help with some 3-D geometry stuff or something.)
>
> > 5x5x5 Professor's Cube (www.mefferts.com sells these and
> many others)
>
> I've gotta go there, then! :)
>
> > Pyraminx - a tetrahedron; had it since I was a kid
>
> Too easy. I got one for Christmas and had it figured out before
> lunchtime. I think one's in the box in my closet....
>
> That's all I ever had of stuff Joshua describes....
>
> > If anyone has such things burried in a basement, unused... well, I
> > wouldn't be averse to buying 'em (or borrowing them to make
> molds from
> > once I've made some attempts).
>
> I'm not giving any of my puzzles up, sorry! :) But if you
> are successful
> in attempts to reproduce things, I might be a potential
> customer, for the
> novelty if nothing else.
>
> When the cube craze was going full force, a number of kids
> bought books on
> solving it, memorized the stuff in the books, and became insufferable
> show-offs that way. My father would not *permit* any such
> books in the
> house; if we wanted to look at the stuff on cubes in
> Scientific American,
> we were welcome to, but that was it for literature on the subject. He
> wanted us to figure things out ourselves, and I'm glad now
> that he did.
> But, we visited cousins in August of one year, and then were
> visiting them
> at Christmas because Suzy got married a couple of days before
> Christmas;
> and Andy's wife thought it would be a good thing to give my
> sister a book
> on solving the cube, since she couldn't and I could. (I think I got a
> travel Scrabble set from them. Suzy gave us both socks. My
> father gave
> me a book of 7 H. G. Wells novels, and that was probably the keenest
> present I got that Christmas....)
>
> Julia
>
>
