From @mail.uunet.ca:mark.longridge@canrem.com Tue Sep 1 22:09:24 1992 Return-Path: <@mail.uunet.ca:mark.longridge@canrem.com> Received: from mail.uunet.ca (uunet.ca) by life.ai.mit.edu (4.1/AI-4.10) id AA14825; Tue, 1 Sep 92 22:09:24 EDT Received: from canrem.COM ([142.77.253.2]) by mail.uunet.ca with SMTP id <10871>; Tue, 1 Sep 1992 22:09:02 -0400 Received: from canrem.com by unixbox.canrem.COM id aa23354; Tue, 1 Sep 92 20:43:35 EDT Received: by canrem.com (PCB/Usenet Gateway) Path-id <1992Sep1.104.99639@dosgate>; 1 Sep 92 (19:39) Message-Id: <1992Sep1.104.99639@dosgate> From: Mark Longridge Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 20:00:00 -0400 To: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu Subject: rare variants Hello fellow cube lovers... Although this is not a strict Rubik's cube type post I think it should be of some interest to the other subscribers. I collect cube variants, and although the variations in cube colours are interesting my great interest is variants in mechanisms (which require different solving techniques). I've been corresponding with other cube buffs around the world in an effort to record ALL the significant cube variants and I use the following classification system: M = Manufactured in quantity, readily available S = Produced in small quantities only R = Rare, a few prototypes exist, difficult to get P = Prototype, the inventor has the only one! C = Exists only as a computer simulation and/or cardboard mockup I = Intellectual idea only (perhaps on pencil and paper) In my opinion, Square 1 is the most interesting cube variant in recent years, and it gave me the most trouble! Here are some of the tough ones to get, and if anyone knows of any others email me and I'll maintain a list of them... Trajber's Octahedron (R) Evidently Greg Stevens owns one Octahedral puzzle with rotating faces Extended Missing Link (S) Missing Link with 6 tiers Master Pyraminx (P??) Looks like a normal pyraminx BUT it's edges can turn (just the strip) 180 degrees and 2 vertices can be swapped Space Grenade (P??) Other weird one from Uwe Meffert. Mike Green of Puzzletts showed me a picture of this, still not sure how it moves Pyraminx Disc Chess (S) Planar puzzle with 6 rotating discs, similar to Raba's Rotoscope Masterball (S) This seems to be a recent one, it's like a VIP sphere but it has 8 vertical cuts instead of one (like a tangerine) and 4 hortizontal sections Halpern's Tetrahedron (P) Also called Pyraminx Tetrahedron Like a pyraminx BUT it has face centres which are small triangles and it's faces rotate. Very rare. Pyraminx Hexagon (C) Jerry Slocum says he got a cardboard mockup of this from Meffert. I wrote a computer simulation of it. Imagine a Rubik's cube with an N-prism shape, thus the top and bottom are hexagons, and there are 6 (rather than 4) adjacent sides. The top and bottom can rotate 60 degrees and the adjacent sides can only rotate 180 degrees. Twist Torus (I) My own concept. Imagine a torus segmented 4 ways length-wise so it can slide around. Additionally there are 12 rings around the circumference which can rotate at right angles to the segments. Still thinking of a good colour arrangement for this one. Super Skewb (I) Another idea of mine. It's a skewb and a 2x2x2 cube! A compound of two mechanisms. Honourable mention: Pyraminx Star, Puck, Ufo, Trick Haus (Anyone got multiples of these) Imagine my disappointment when I found out the Mach Ball, Skewb and Moody Ball all have the same basic mechanism! Anyway if anyone has a rare variant or puzzle idea please post here or email me... Mark Longridge 259 Thornton Rd N Oshawa Ontario Canada L1J 6T2 Email: mark.longridge@canrem.com -- Canada Remote Systems - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044