In a market oversaturated with too much similar concepts and variations, it's always a welcome sight when something completely new and fresh comes along. Rainbow Nautilus, designed by Tim Selkirk and manufactured by Meffert's, is one of the most beautiful Twisty puzzles I've had the pleasure to play with in a long while.

The seashell-shaped Rainbow Nautilus is quite different from what you're used to see in Twisty puzzles. The shape, the first thing you notice is rather fascinating. It's a 3x7 (three layers and seven wedges per layer), but classifying it just like that would be an understatement. Because of its unusual shape, some of the pieces are bandaged - meaning some moves are blocked at certain positions - and need to be correctly aligned to be rotated. Being a bandaged puzzle, scrambling it is already hard enough, but solving it is a whole different matter. And because the puzzle is so unique, there's not much to compare it to.

As many of you know by now, I don't review many Twisty puzzles. Not because I don't like them - I really do - but simply because I'm not very good at solving them. Since I'm not an authority on the subject, I tend to stay away from reviewing them, especially the most complex ones. I just couldn't resist to the Nautilus. It's a puzzle that every collector should have in his collection, even if it's not meant for solving.

The Nautilus has been compared to the classic Square-1, another bandaged puzzle, and another pain to solve - Something I've never quite achieved. For that reason it shouldn't come as a shock that I haven't been able to solve this one as well. I did scramble it partially, but couldn't go forward to do it completely. I know my limits and I know the puzzle is indeed very difficult to solve, even for the more experienced. I just rather have it in its glorious form for the time being.

Closing Comments:

I recommend the Rainbow Nautilus to anyone, even if you don't usually play with Twisty puzzles. Its design is so extraordinary and original it'll be a while before something so fascinating like it will appear on the market again. Be warned though, this is not an easy puzzle to solve by any means.

Availability: You can buy the Rainbow Nautilus at PuzzleMaster for $20 CAD. For other Meffert's puzzles, check out this link.