The new Rubik’s 360 (age eight plus, rrp £14.99) is the puzzle that everyone in the family will be clamouring for this Christmas. And because it’s from the same stable as the best-selling Rubik’s Cube, you know that it’s going to be intelligent, innovative and exciting, with hours and hours of highly compulsive enjoyment guaranteed.
This is the new Rubik’s puzzle that everyone wants to play with… and no one can put down. Says Professor Erno Rubik: “The Rubik’s 360 is one of the most innovative and exciting puzzles we’ve developed since the Cube – adopting elements of my original design, challenging the solver to use concentration, skill and dexterity. But it’s a more kinetic challenge, more physical, because gravity is involved.”
Like the Cube, Rubik’s 360 is irresistible playing – but the technique for solving it is kinetic rather than physical. How? The answer lies in harnessing centrifugal force… and the way you make the spheres interact, when you whirl and twirl the puzzle in your hands.
The Rubik’s 360 consists of a 10cm diameter clear plastic sphere with six coloured domes positioned at intervals around the circumference. At top and bottom are two black domes which operate an internal "locking" mechanism. Inside the outer sphere is a second one, also transparent, with two holes. Inside this is a third sphere, containing six coloured balls. It also has a hole through which the small balls must pass.
The object is to rock ‘n’ roll, whirl and twirl (or otherwise strategically manipulate) the Rubik’s 360 to navigate the orange, yellow, green, blue, white and red balls through both spheres to their matching coloured domes on the outer sphere – then lock each one into place by twisting the black dome. Easy!
But as this puzzle is from the Rubik’s stable, there is – of course – a twist. The two inner spheres are weighted, so they are constantly pulling towards their original position as you turn the puzzle.
Just when you think you’ve got a ball in the right position, chances are the inner spheres will succumb to gravity and confound you! The idea is to confound gravity in return… and whirl, twirl and spin through 360 degrees to get all those little balls positioned in the outer sphere. Like the Cube, there is knack to solving the Rubik’s 360 – but it could take any number of tries, a great deal of fun and quite honestly, a lot of perseverance to get you there!
For a chance of winning a Rubik's 360 click here and answer the simple question. The winners will be the senders of the first ten correct entries opened at random after 6pm on Tuesday 11 August, 2009.
Entries, one per household, must be sent via this page. Multiple entries will be automatically disqualified.
For more information and stockists, visit www.drumondpark.com
or call 01506 855577
To order a Rubik's 360 from Amazon, please click the link below:
