Rubik’s Cube inventor, Professor Erno Rubik, has come up with a curious new spherical version of his classic puzzle called the Rubik’s 360. Not to be confused with an Xbox title, the game aims to challenge and frustrate the best of us anew, as we attempt to guide tiny plastic balls through its set of transparent spheres.

Unlike the Rubik’s Mirror Blocks we saw back in September, the 360 is a complete departure from the blocky style we’re all familiar with. The sphere itself contains an inner-sphere that houses six tiny colored balls. The aim of the game is to move these balls from the inner-sphere to slots in the outer-sphere, by any means possible. It apparently entails a bit of shaking, though I’d bet a bit of throwing and yelling would also be involved. Unhelpful, yes…but practically inevitable.

The 360 is more of a physics-based puzzle as opposed to the mathematical challenge of the original, which may be of more interest to those who never really took to the cube. Apparently the secret to the game lies in weight and balance – as you must not only get the balls in the corresponding slots, but also keep them there.

The Rubik’s 360 is set to be unveiled at a toy industry fair in Germany on February 5th, but unfortunately, won’t be available for sale until August. I can’t wait to give one a whirl.

Sources:
Telegraph (Story) and Telegraph (Review)