Rubik's 360 - Requires a lot of handwork

I just got a new companion on my table yesterday which replaced the Rubik's Cube; Rubik's 360. While I write this article, I'm also solving my new Rubik's 360 for the second time. All around the world, there are still many people who find it difficult to solve the Rubik's Cube. Most of them might also think that it has been unsolved to such an extent that it is impossible to solve it back. Let me clear this first, any of the Rubik's puzzle (Cube, magic or even 360) is possible to solve from any situation of the game and all of them have only one solution.

It took me about 11 hours to solve this mind turning puzzle. Clearly the game requires a lot of handwork and angles. It is not the kind of the old & easy to solve cube, which I can solve in precisely 1 minute 51 seconds. The game looks simple at one go. You just have to tilt the 360 so that the balls in the inner sphere reach their slots but as soon as you take it in your hands you realize that this isn't easy at all. There is one more hurdle, a weight has been placed in the innermost sphere so that balls get attracted to that, and the it's whole is just opposite that. Clearly it looks impossible from this angle.

The game is tough but not impossible. If you work out the solution it will become more and more interesting. One more thing you need is concentration. If you don't focus on the game, the ball won't move out of the middle circle. It is also how you, use your skills to decipher the ways to overcome the forces applied by the metal ball.

I myself have now solved it 6 to 7 times, like the cube this one is also engaging and challenging but it's quite delicate to carry along any where. Even the size is large which makes it's handling for kids a little difficult. It's Always good to see the Inner sphere without balls!

Other than these few limitations of playing, it makes a good replacement to the cube which till date remains at our desk for anytime entertainment. The same magic however wasn't created by Rubik's Magic which was for some reason not launched in many places including India.

Rubik's 360 in India is very rare. In Delhi the only known place to have this game right now is 'Ram Chander & Sons Toy Shop' in D Block CP. (Quite tough to go there these days). You won't even find it on ebay. The shop is small but you'll be able to find any game for any console and any toy or puzzle.

Erno Rubik said in an interview "If you find Rubik's Cube tough you'll find this impossible". Surely it is tough. So you must have a lot of practice on the Cube before you begin solving the 360 puzzle.