publication date: Oct 2, 2009
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author/source: Tim Walder
Rubik's 360 is the latest from the Rubik stable. It could not be
more different from the cube of my own
childhood. It consists of an
outer sphere with nodules for
six balls. Inside are
two more spheres, one inside the other, with the
six balls in the middle. The two
inner spheres are free to
rotate around each other within.
The
object of the game is to
tilt and fiddle with the
Rubik's 360 so that the six balls
fall through a total of three holes within the
two inner spheres and come to rest within the
correctly coloured nodule in the outer sphere.
My
first reaction was that it was
impossible: the inner spheres are
weighted to make it
harder to get the balls near the
holes (which are oppositely place from the
weights). After a bit I
realised that if you got the right
twisting action going it was
possible to play the weights off
against each other in a curving 3D motion so that a
ball fell through the hole.
I
managed to get one
ball out and then gave the
Rubik's 360 to my scientifically- and
mathematically-minded 12 year-old son. He
loved it and played late into the
night with it.
He said, "It's
addictive. It looks
impossible and then you realise that you
ought to be able to do it. Then you keep on
trying, but it is
really hard and you just can't stop".
The
Rubik's 360 comes with a
rest so that you can put it down and a
locking mechanism so that you can "
save" any balls you have
successfully got into the nodules. It is quite
robust, looks good and comes with
enough instructions to get you started.
Recommended.
Rubik's 360
from Drumond Park is available from
Amazon.
