Rubik's Mirror Blocks

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Rubik’s Mirror Blocks was invented by Hidetoshi Takeji in 2008, also known as Bump Cube. Later that year, the puzzle was licensed to Rubik’s and since then is being mass-produced.

Based on the classic Rubik’s Cube 3x3x3 mechanism, the puzzle is a fascinating variation, which inspired a whole new breed of “Mirror” puzzles, where you solve by shape instead of color.

The Mirror Blocks come in two colors, with silver or golden stickers, giving them a nice mirror effect. The interesting thing about the puzzle is that each of the 27 pieces is different from each other. When scrambling it, this creates countless shapes, because the center pieces are not actually centered.

The puzzle is about the same size as a standard Rubik’s Cube, although the movement is a little clunkier and doesn’t have the same build quality as the original. It also feels lighter.

At first, the puzzle is very intimidating to solve, because it has only one color. This is good for a color-blind person, since you’re solving it by shape. Once you see it scrambled it’s quite hard to visualize the cubic shape.

If you’ve never solved a Rubik’s Cube, I suggest you start by solving one, because the Bump Cube is a step up in difficulty. The solving process is about the same, but since you’re not seeing colors you have to visualize where each piece corresponds. It gets easier as you practice, and in no time you’re going to have similar solving times to the original Rubik’s Cube.

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Closing Comments:

The Rubik’s Mirror Blocks are among my favorite puzzles. The design is brilliant and, in my opinion, it’s one of the greatest inventions in Twisty Puzzles since the original Rubik’s Cube. If you don’t have one or two in your collection, what are you waiting for?

Availability: You can buy the Rubik's Mirror Blocks at PuzzlesdeIngenio.com.

Links:

Video Demonstration