Hello fellow cube lovers...

Although this is not a strict Rubik's cube type post I think it should
be of some interest to the other subscribers.

I collect cube variants, and although the variations in cube colours are
interesting my great interest is variants in mechanisms (which require
different solving techniques).

I've been corresponding with other cube buffs around the world in an
effort to record ALL the significant cube variants and I use the
following classification system:

M = Manufactured in quantity, readily available
S = Produced in small quantities only
R = Rare, a few prototypes exist, difficult to get
P = Prototype, the inventor has the only one!
C = Exists only as a computer simulation and/or cardboard mockup
I = Intellectual idea only (perhaps on pencil and paper)

In my opinion, Square 1 is the most interesting cube variant in recent
years, and it gave me the most trouble! Here are some of the tough ones
to get, and if anyone knows of any others email me and I'll maintain a
list of them...

Trajber's Octahedron (R) Evidently Greg Stevens owns one
Octahedral puzzle with rotating faces

Extended Missing Link (S)
Missing Link with 6 tiers

Master Pyraminx (P??)
Looks like a normal pyraminx BUT it's edges can turn (just the
strip) 180 degrees and 2 vertices can be swapped

Space Grenade (P??)
Other weird one from Uwe Meffert. Mike Green of Puzzletts showed
me a picture of this, still not sure how it moves

Pyraminx Disc Chess (S)
Planar puzzle with 6 rotating discs, similar to Raba's Rotoscope

Masterball (S)
This seems to be a recent one, it's like a VIP sphere but it has
8 vertical cuts instead of one (like a tangerine) and 4
hortizontal sections

Halpern's Tetrahedron (P) Also called Pyraminx Tetrahedron
Like a pyraminx BUT it has face centres which are small
triangles
and it's faces rotate. Very rare.

Pyraminx Hexagon (C) Jerry Slocum says he got a cardboard mockup
of this from Meffert. I wrote a computer simulation of it.
Imagine a Rubik's cube with an N-prism shape, thus the top and bottom
are hexagons, and there are 6 (rather than 4) adjacent sides.
The top and bottom can rotate 60 degrees and the adjacent sides
can only rotate 180 degrees.

Twist Torus (I) My own concept. Imagine a torus segmented 4 ways
length-wise so it can slide around. Additionally there are
12 rings around the circumference which can rotate at right
angles to the segments. Still thinking of a good colour
arrangement for this one.

Super Skewb (I) Another idea of mine. It's a skewb and a 2x2x2
cube! A compound of two mechanisms.

Honourable mention: Pyraminx Star, Puck, Ufo, Trick Haus
(Anyone got multiples of these)

Imagine my disappointment when I found out the Mach Ball, Skewb and
Moody Ball all have the same basic mechanism! Anyway if anyone has
a rare variant or puzzle idea please post here or email me...

Mark Longridge
259 Thornton Rd N
Oshawa Ontario Canada L1J 6T2
Email: mark.longridge@canrem.com
--
Canada Remote Systems - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI
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