I bought a bunch of new twisty puzzles!

[cubinator]

Yesterday I bought a bunch of new twisty puzzles on Amazon. Some of them might arrive on Monday or Tuesday, but the rest will probably take a whole month to get here. I can already solve any n*n*n cube given enough time, and anything larger than 7x7x7 costs more than $40, so I decided to get a bunch of really strange ones. Here they are:

Spoiler

1x1x3 Floppy Cube: This one will probably take me about five minutes, including taking it out of the box. It'll probably take a really long time to arrive though.

Spoiler

3x3x2 cuboid: This one probably functions pretty similarly to the 2x2x3 I already own (my only cuboid for now), but I know it will have it's own quirks.

Spoiler

Octahedral twisty puzzle: I think this one may function like a sort of Megaminx-Pyraminx, if that makes any sense.  I'll likely need some new algorithms though.

Spoiler

3x3x4 cuboid: This one will probably take a while to learn. I can't make 90 degree turns on the 3x4 layers, which makes it like a step up from my tiny 2x2x3.

Spoiler

3x4x5 cuboid: This is the worst/best one (pick your favorite option). It is a shape-shifter, meaning that it does not retain a prism shape when scrambled. It will definitely be interesting to learn about!

The reason I am fascinated with non-cubic puzzles is that if you can solve a 5x5x5, then you could solve a 10x10x10 or a 17x17x17 if someone gave you one on a long weekend, because the basic mechanics of the puzzles are the same. With cuboids and non-cubic polyhedrons, there are certain turns that would be perfectly normal on a cube which aren't possible because of the very shape of the puzzle, and vice versa, as well as some turns having very different actions on non-cubic puzzles than they would on cubes. Then, of course, I get to confuse the heck out of my friends as they realize what I'm holding isn't actually a cube like they're used to.  Anyone else here into exotic twisty puzzles?

[Andem]

Cool!

[0111narwhalz]

I like to play with MC4D, but it's more for the novelty of fourspace than the actual puzzle.
_{I still haven't solved my 3x3x3.}

[RainDreamer]

I remember I once had one of these when I was young:

 

 I actually used it to throw at stuff for grievous harm instead. (I was a dangerous child)

[cubinator]

17 minutes ago, RainDreamer said:

I remember I once had one of these when I was young:

I've got one too, but that thing is a huge pain to twist even once so I never played with it much.

 

22 minutes ago, 0111narwhalz said:

_{I still haven't solved my 3x3x3.}

Here, I figured this out when I was seven years old:

http://www.youcandothecube.com/secret-unlocked/solution-stage-one.aspx

Edited September 18, 2016 by cubinator

[Kieve]

Back when "Natural Wonders" was still a retail outlet in our local malls, my favorite thing was to head towards the back and solve all the puzzles they had set out. Mostly that was sliding-tile puzzles though.

As far as exotic twisty puzzles, that "Magic Snake" thing was always a blast. I got really good at rolling it back up into a ball, but if you asked me to now, it'd probably take ages to remember how.

There's another one I got for my birthday or Christmas one year, a sort of pyramid twist-puzzle with flattened ends. I've been googling for the last fifteen minutes, Amazon, Ebay, cannot for the life of me find a picture of the blasted thing. It's basically like a simpler Rubik's pyramid though. I'm fairly good with "weird" puzzles, but for whatever reason I could never seem to master the basic Cube. Curse you, Rubik!

EDIT: FOUND IT.

Turns out I was spelling "Crazee" wrong. Stupid marketers and their stupid funky stylized "misspellings."

Edited September 19, 2016 by Kieve

[cubinator]

I've just got my hands on the octahedron, the 3x3x2, and *drumroll* a 3x3x9???  

I think my dad snuck that one into the order (which was under his account). The 3x3x9 feels like it does not like to be speedsolved (it's pretty springy and has a lot of parts that I don't want to have to put back together), the 3x3x2 feels really solid and smooth (no corner cuts, but it doesn't really need them) and the octahedron is springy and somewhat prone to lockups. I think I'll scramble the 3x3x2 first...  

[cubinator]

I just solved the 3x3x2, sort of by surprise. I was building it sort of layer-by-layer and was able to get the white (3x3) layer done (the yellow layer is automatically oriented at this point because no 90 degree turns are possible on the 3x2 faces) and was trying to figure out how to permute the yellow layer when suddenly I had a solved cuboid. I don't know how I did it though, but I think with some practice I could intuitively come up with some algorithms for permuting the last layer.

[cubinator]

Well, today I memorized all the algorithms I need for the 3x3x2, and this afternoon after school I scrambled the 3x3x9 just to see what I could do with it. I ended up figuring it out partly because there are many similar mechanics between it and a 3^3, and some 5^3 edge mechanics work as well. The most interesting thing about my solve, though, is that a lot of the intuitive thinking about "setup moves" I learned when I solved the 3^4 were extremely helpful in building the last few 3x3 edges and corners. There are a lot of moves you have to set up before being able to execute on that cube, and doing so requires the same kind of thinking as when you're solving the hypercube. Fascinating!

[cubinator]

Today the 3x4x5 arrived, and it's just as weird as it looks! I think it deserves the title of "Oddest" out of my collection. Earlier today I confused the heck out of my friends with the 3x3x9, and tomorrow their confusion will be cubed! I've never really dealt with a true shape shifter (the 3x3x9 sort of counts, but the shape doesn't actually change and the 3x4x5 turns in more ways than you'd expect) so this'll be quite interesting!

[NSEP]

Have fun with those twisty puzzles while bored!

[cubinator]

1 minute ago, NSEP said:

Have fun with those twisty puzzles while bored!

I won't be bored for years...  

[NSEP]

6 minutes ago, cubinator said:

I won't be bored for years...  

I hope so too lol.

[cubinator]

Today an X-Cube arrived, and I'm able to reliably get it into the right shape and 3/4 solved. Not sure how I'm going to go about the PLL yet though, but I may be able to figure it out.

[cubinator]

I managed to solve the X-Cube a couple of times between yesterday and today, and today the 1x3x3 Floppy Cube arrived! It's adorably easy.  I figured it out in about 20 seconds after scrambling it the first time.

[legoclone09]

*jaw drops*

Meanwhile I'm just sitting here with one side of a normal Rubik's cube solved.

[cubinator]

10 hours ago, legoclone09 said:

*jaw drops*

Meanwhile I'm just sitting here with one side of a normal Rubik's cube solved.

I wanted to get that feeling of accomplishment of solving something for the first time again, and now only very weird puzzles can give me that. Besides, I've had one new puzzle every day for a week to confuse my friends with! Also, see above for a link to get the rest of the sides!