Although simple and straightforward in its design, the Rubik’s Cube has been providing a formidable challenge to puzzle fans for 40 years now. But if arranging all of those coloured squares has become child’s play for you, don’t worry, some twisted individual has created a Rubik’s Cube with an X-shape that looks like a complete nightmare when it’s all mixed up.
The aptly-named X-Cube is made up of just 52 moving parts and 102 coloured stickers, but the extra segments that give it its ‘X’ shape add a considerable amount of challenge. There are 125 decillion possible ways to arrange the X-Cube (that’s 125,486,757,308,950,508,983,252,156,416,000,000, and two quadrillion times more than the original Rubik’s Cube) and when it’s out of order you’re not just dealing with a mish-mash of colours, but pieces sticking out in all directions. So what does madness run these days? About $US42 and a couple of hours of trying to solve this thing. [Firebox via Coolest Gadgets]
