Cubes…
The cube collection grew by two this year. In fact, one of them isn’t even a proper cube.
Here they all are, left to right, in the order I obtained them and from who I obtained them…
My standard 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube I bought several years ago after wearing out my previous one that is somewhere in the attic, I think.
When I learned to solve the original, I purchased my first speed cube, the 3x3x3 NexCube. It’s not a top of the line speed cube, but I’m not a top of line speed cuber by any stretch of the imagination. So it’s pretty perfect for me.
I found a 2x2x2 NexCube on clearance at Walmart and picked it up for fun. Of course I learned to solve that one as well.
The fourth in my Murderer’s Row is a 3x3x3 Rubik’s Phantom that Katie and Nate bought me last year for Christmas. This one has heat sensitive panels in place of the cubelet color stickers. The more you play with it, the more visible the color becomes making it solvable. When you don’t use it, it goes black. It’s pretty cool. Like a puzzle version of playing with Transformer or Battle Beast affiliation stickers back in the 80s.
The fifth is my first deviation from a normal cube puzzle, despite still being cube shaped. It is the GAN Skewb and it is unique because the faces and corners turn at angles instead of normal bi-directional spins. Despite how weird it may look, it’s probably the easiest one to learn and quickest to solve once you do know it. Plus, it’s the only one so far where I can do legit speed cuber turns to solve. If you’ve ever watched speed cubing videos, you know what I mean. I bought this Skewb during a Black Friday sale on Amazon this year.
Finally, I present you the 3x3x3 Pyraminx. It is a pyramid variation of cube puzzles and was, as I learned yesterday, designed by German puzzle designer and inventor Uwe Mèffert before Erno Rubik designed his cube. This was a Christmas gift this year from Nate and it’s a fun one to solve repeatedly. Unfortunately, I threw away the packaging before noting the manufacturer and I’ll be darned if I can find it online or do a reverse image search of the logo. I’ll find it someday. Grrrr…
Hmmmm… what shall be next?
Awesome collection. I still have my original when it came out in 1980 and the original clear case it came in.
Posted by: Marty Mankins | Monday, 06 January 2025 at 02:47 PM
I’m fairly certain my original from 1980 got peeled apart so badly that my parents likely threw it out. Ah, the days before I knew how to solve them.
Posted by: kapgar | Monday, 06 January 2025 at 08:06 PM
As I texted you the pic, I still have my original Rubik's Cube from 1980. Labels intact, I might add.
Posted by: Marty Mankins | Tuesday, 07 January 2025 at 01:32 PM
Intact is key.
Posted by: kapgar | Tuesday, 07 January 2025 at 02:31 PM