Magic Dice
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| (Click to Enlarge) |
Dice... An object always seen as a sign of luck. However, the one I'm about to review has little to do with luck, or does it? It may depend on how you interpret its challenge. The Magic Dice is actually a hidden maze (or semi-hidden) puzzle with a marble inside. The goal is to get the marble out of the internal maze through the dice's "face one", as the other's aren't large enough.
The puzzle is beautifully crafted in wood, measuring 7cm (2.75") and it's very well polished. The edges were rounded and each of the face's patterns has holes representing the dots in the dice. These holes have a very practical use, since you get a glimpse of the internal maze while guiding the marble, and also to see where's the marble at any given moment. That's why I wrote "semi-hidden" above, because the maze is not entirely hidden if you can see part of it through the holes. It would help even more if the dice was made in transparent plastic, but otherwise it wouldn't be as much of a challenge and more like a dexterity puzzle.
(Click to Enlarge) - Internal Maze Close-Ups
The first time you play with the puzzle, all you hear is a rattling inside. Later on, you can actually see the marble through the holes in the puzzle and this way, start guiding it until you can reach the face one. You won't be able to see all of the maze's path, but the little you'll be seeing is enough to get a good idea, like its corners and where they'll lead. If you're thinking about cheating by removing the lid of the puzzle, think again, because all of the dice's faces are perfectly glued together. It's just you, the maze and the marble.
The level of difficulty in the puzzle is not that high. In fact, Brilliant Puzzles classifies it as a level 2/5 (Intermediate/Tricky). At first, I was making random moves with the dice trying to get the marble out, but soon I noticed part of the maze was visible. So, about 10 minutes later, the marble was finally freed from the cube. It's not that easy to memorize the internal maze, but subsequent attempts took approximately the same amount of time.
(Click to Enlarge)
Closing Comments:
A simple concept and yet brilliantly executed. It's not a very challenging puzzle, but it can still be quite fun to play with. The dice theme fits perfect with the hidden maze, as the pattern made by the holes are there to help you in the solving process, otherwise it could have been just decorated with dots. The quality is superb and the design is flawless. Also makes for a perfect gift.
As for luck, I don't think you'll be needing it...
Availability: The Magic Dice came from the Brilliant Puzzles online store and it's available for about $11 USD. Considering the high-quality of the puzzle, I strongly recommend it, because you'll get your money's worth.
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