From cube-lovers-errors@oolong.camellia.org Tue May 13 12:38:16 1997 Return-Path: cube-lovers-errors@oolong.camellia.org Received: from oolong.camellia.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by oolong.camellia.org (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id MAA03375; Tue, 13 May 1997 12:38:16 -0400 Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@oolong.camellia.org Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 11:50:30 +0100 Message-Id: <9705131050.AA12905@mentda.me.ic.ac.uk> X-Sender: ars2@mentda.me.ic.ac.uk X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu From: "Andrew R. Southern" Subject: Re: Extra-long Rubik's magic rings At 07:53 12/05/97 -0400, you wrote: >As I recollect the 12 panel Magic Rings was called the Master's Edition. >Since they have been out of manufacture for quite awhile suggest you buy it >when you see it. > >The 8 panel edition has been released by ODDZON and is in some toy stores >along with some other Rubik's items. > >As some of you might remember there also was a 4 panel magic sold. If you >have ever taken one apart you know that any multiple of 4 is possible. >Awhile back I posted intstructions on CUBE LOVERS for restringing and or >making your own variant. The panels are just 2 pieces of plastic with the >design sandwiched in bewteen. They are not glued but held together by the >strings. > > >Does anybody know where to get I BET YOU CAN"T ?? a variant made with >hexagon panels. > I must point out at this point that the magic's stringing pattern actually revovles around just two patterns, which are equivalent to each other in some positions. These patterns actually only require three tiles. Three tiles will not make a circuit, but they will make a nice line or L-shape. For a bit of real(?) excitment(??) you could try to make one out of just two panels. This is highly possible, as I did it back when I was 12 or 13 in Senior school. The secret is that you loop one of the "Ligaments" as I used to call them back around one panel twice. I cannot remember whether or not this could go around for ever or whether it had a definiate start and end point, but it certainly confused my classmates. I also know that it is possible to add just two panels onto an ordinary Rubik's Magic, creating a 2x5 array, which I don't have to say, is not exactly divisible by four. This was fully functional, but when it was folded in half, it did not go into "Loop" or "Tie Fighter", it went into "Fish" from either side, unless the last two squares were folded in before folding along the centre line. I called this the "Diabolical Edition" because it was harder than the Master Edition, and I made about four of them for members of my old school (Blue Coat, Liverpool). loop: !--! !__! tie fighter: \/\/ /\/\ Fish: \/-\ /\_/ I also created a "master Edition" from Two ordinary magics when someone drew freehand the "Sandwich Filler" pieces of paper. But my Piece de Resistance is the 64-panelled monstrousity that used to take me an hour to solve, and was a complete work-out as there was so much to-and-fro ing of the entire magic. I had to use the pictures from 12 magics, and is just an extension of the master editions solution. When it is in a 32x2 state, it was higher than my (then) best friend, and you require quite substantial floor space to solve it. -Andy Southern (The artist formerly known as the Unofficail Thermo-Fluids Fan Club of the UK).