Contrary to popular belief, solving a Rubik’s cube isn’t all that hard: all you need to do is learn the proper technique, practice it a couple of times and – if your memory is good enough – you will soon be able to do it blindfolded.
If this has become all too easy for you and you’re up for a new challenge, why not try solving mirror cube puzzles?
How a Mirror Cube Works
Like a Rubik’s cube, each of these mirror cubes consists of three layers of blocks that you can rotate to get the desired configuration.
With a mirror block, however, there are no colors to guide you and the blocks are all of different sizes. When they’re in the solved position, you have a perfect cube, but as soon as you twist it two or three times, it becomes an absolute rat’s nest.
This product stands out among its peers because you can turn it easily, yet there’s enough friction to keep the pieces in place. This makes it a very good practice cube for someone who plans to compete in national and international competitions.
Like with COGZ, this game is actually challenging and addictive enough to have numerous contests and clubs devoted to it. When you see it done by an expert’s magic fingers, you can easily imagine that solving these brainteasers is their full-time job.
One concern is that each facet is covered by a sticker rather than being painted, but these decals shouldn’t fall off with any kind of normal use. The internal construction is satisfyingly solid, which you’ll appreciate when you toss the thing out the window in frustration.
Surprisingly, this kind of puzzle is actually not that hard to solve, especially if you look for assistance online. Still, it’s highly recommended that you figure it out for yourself first: you’ll have reason to be proud of yourself.
If you’re buying this as a gift for a kid, you will probably want to give them the simpler 2 by 2 by 2 version first. Should you be on the lookout for a present for an adult, you’ll already have noticed that it looks really cool, especially unsolved: your own little piece of ever-changing cubist sculpture.
The sides aren’t true mirrors, but they are nicely shiny. If used as a desktop toy, it’s also great for impressing your colleagues with your ninja-like spatial reasoning skills.
