About a month ago, I bought this little curiosity while we were at Target getting some fans for the house. It’s a Rubik’s 360 puzzle, as the title of this suggests. I managed to, more or less, master it and I thought it would be a good time to give all of you my impressions of it.
Design
First, I will touch on the overall construct. The Rubik’s 360 is comprised of three spheres, one inside of the other. The inner and middle spheres spin around on two different offset axes relative to one another. The inner sphere houses six colored balls, when the puzzle is reset, and has one hole for the balls to enter the middle sphere. The middle sphere has just enough space for the balls to roll around between inner and middle, with two holes – one for each track of the outer sphere. The outer sphere has six compartments, with colored rings corresponding to the colors of each ball. There are three of these compartments to each hemisphere, which has locking tracks that are controlled by two knobs on both sides of the puzzle.
Operation
The object is to maneuver the colored balls so that they pass through the hole in the inner sphere, then either of the two hole in the middle sphere, and finally into their corresponding compartment in the outer sphere. This would be an easy thing for anyone to do, but Mr. Rubik won’t let this be a minor task. Embedded in the inner and middle spheres are weights located opposite of the holes. This turns the 360 into a gravity manipulation puzzle, and it makes it a challenge to maneuver the spheres to get the balls where they need to go, especially when one has to work with two offset axes.
Difficulty
Even fighting between manipulating gravity and offset axes, the Rubik’s 360 is not terribly hard to solve. I won’t give away the solution here, since one can use either strategy, or pure dumb luck, to solve the puzzle. I will say this, however; fiddling around with the puzzle and observing how the spheres move on each axis is the vital key in successful completion.
Final Thoughts
My verdict on the Rubik’s 360? Despite the name, this puzzle is not to be confused with a combination puzzle like Rubik’s infamous Cube. It is a gravity manipulation puzzle that has more in common with tabletop marble maze games. It is challenging to be sure; however, with enough concentration on physical movement and simple observation of the gravity mechanics and axes of movement, I could see someone solving this in less than a day. It took me a couple of hours the first time I tried it. Even so, the beautiful construction and ergonomic design make it something that is pleasing, almost relaxing to play around with, even if one can solve it in a few minutes. I find myself coming back to it just to admire it, if not resetting it for another go-round.
Highly recommended for almost any age!
