Rubik's Rings

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The original Hungarian Rings is one of the most recognizable puzzles of all time. Its simple design and colorful appearance have fascinated enthusiasts all over the world since 1982. There have been many different variations, mostly flat (or 2D) puzzles, but one stands out among all of the previous ones. It's the Rubik's Rings, invented in 1999, which is pretty much the same as the original Hungarian Rings except the rings intercept at an angle, making the design much more elegant.

With the rings intersecting at a 3D plane, the puzzle looks more complex, but in reality it's slightly easier to solve than the original version, even though the mechanism is the same. The main difference is that the Rubik's Rings have only three different colors (blue, red and yellow), whereas the Hungarian Rings have four colors. Another difference, which is more subtle, is how the balls move. In the Rubik's Rings, they are harder to move, but there's a reason for that - It's so that the balls don't move unintentionally. The Hungarian Rings had a very loosely mechanism, which sometimes had the undesired effect of moving the balls by accident.

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The number of balls is also different between the two puzzles. The newer version only has 34 balls, while the original has 38 balls. Even though there's a difference in four balls, the total number of positions is enormous between the two versions: the Rubik's Rings has "193,413,243,572,640", but the Hungarian Rings has a staggering "75,406,424,215,922,599,800" - That's a pretty scary number...

The goal of the puzzle is very straightforward. Simply mix the balls as much as possible and then try to regroup them in the same colors. Red or blue go in either of the sides and yellow goes in the middle. That's because there are 12 yellow balls, and 11 blue and 11 red. Mixing the balls is easy and fun, but as expected, solving it is much more challenging than just rotating the rings. If you have experience with the Hungarian Rings, you'll find this one very easy. If you never solved the original version, however, it might get quite frustrating returning the balls to their original positions. I can get you a hint, which is to solve first the yellow balls, and then separate the red and blue ones. It will get easier with practice, so just keep trying until you succeed.

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Closing Comments:

The Rubik's Rings are, to me, the best Hungarian Rings variation. It's actually less challenging, which can be good for many of you, but it's also a more interesting and beautiful design. Definitely recommended for any enthusiast.

Availability: You can get a copy of the Rubik's Rings at PuzzlesdeIngenio.com for just €9.95.