Aao Twist Karein

Over the years, I have expanded my Rubik’s-cube-inspired-puzzle collection by adding several cool variants of the original cube that was made by the Hungarian architect in the late 70’s. My collection of these twisty puzzles now boast a wide variety:

1. The classic Rubik’s cube,
2. 30th anniversary limited edition wood cube,
3. LanLan Diamond (Octahedron) puzzle,
4. 4×4 Mirror cube,
5. Dayan V2 color cube,
6. Meffert’s Gear cube,
7. 2×3 puzzle,
8. 2×2 cube,
9. 1×3 (Floppy) puzzle,
10. 3×4 puzzle,
11. Rubik’s Cheese,
12. Mozhi Tetris block,
13. 3×3 Mirror cube,
14. QJ Pyraminx,
15. another Rubik’s cube (with a silver side instead of white),
16. 4×4 cube,
17. another 2×3 puzzle, and
18. Void cube.

The oldest one among this lot is #15, you can see some stickers starting to wear off. I have yet to solve a couple of these, but my favorite so far is the 3×3 Mirror cube (#13 above). The irregularities in the shape of its 26 “cubies” keeps me busy for at least 10 to 15 minutes every time I play with it. In addition to the irregular shapes, each side has the same color which adds to the complexity and makes it more difficult to solve than a Rubik’s cube.