Customer Reviews

ThinkFun 36 Cube

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 11 year old son got a 36 cube for his birthday and played with it for many hours. From that standpoint, it's a reasonable toy. I found it interesting to think about just how difficult a puzzle this is. There are 6 different colors and each color has 6 pieces of 6 different heights. At first thought, there could be a huge number of possibilities but there are also posts that the pieces have to sit on and they constrain the possible locations of the colored pieces. The next paragraph of this review contains something that many would consider a spoiler but I feel it needs to be said. If you plan to buy this puzzle for someone else and have no intention of trying to solve it yourself, you should read on. If you think a good puzzle is one that is easy to understand but a challenge to solve, like a rubic's cube, you might want to read on because you might not like this puzzle.

ThinkFun describes this puzzle as having an Aha moment when solving it. There are many types of Aha moments, like the moment you realize a new way to deduce a value in Sudoku, or, when you realize you have been betrayed by someone you trusted. I enjoy the first type but not the second. Unfortunately, I consider the Aha moment in this puzzle to be in the second category. With this hint, some may want to stop reading here and take the challenge this puzzle offers.

After wondering how many combinations there really are in this puzzle, I decided to write a computer program to explore its possibilities. My program determined that there were no solutions. I checked my logic carefully and there were no mistakes. This prompted me to do a quick web search and I found that the Aha moment in the solution is when you realize that this puzzle is not what it first appears to be. One would naturally assume that all the pieces of the same length are identical but they are not! To hide this fact, unlike most puzzles, this puzzle does not come from the factory in the solved state. Had it come solved, people would realize that some of the pieces were in places where they shouldn't fit. This left me feeling that Think Fun cheated. It's the most challenging puzzle in the world because, if you don't realize there's a trick to it, it's impossible! I now view it as a practical joke and not a puzzle. Once you realize its secret, it's not an extremely difficult puzzle. After adjusting for the secret, my computer program solved it after placing under 2000 pieces. Unlike Rubic's cubes and Sudoku puzzles, I doubt if there is an elegant way to solve this one so it's not a very enjoyable puzzle.

I purchased two of these puzzles for my classroom. My high school students love it! In fact, one of my juniors asked if he could take it home to work on it! It is highly engaging and promotes verbal communication - my students eagerly share their thinking and reasoning while trying to solve it (without any prompting from me!). So far, they have gotten all but two in place (on three separate occasions), so it is still "unsolved" after several weeks of attempts by at least eight individuals, six pairs, and five small groups of students! (Several students have made multiple attempts!) I plan to buy more to give as gifts for friends and relatives who like fun and challenging puzzles! It is well worth the investment!

I too am a high school math teacher and have a copy of this puzzle in my classroom! It is fantastic, the puzzle seems like it would be pretty easy at first but is actually deceptively difficult. Groups of students have worked on it throughout the past year, but it has only been solved once (by again a student who took it home over the weekend). The puzzle definitely encourages persistence and problem solving skills, and comes with a built in Aha moment... Ideal classroom puzzle.

I bought this puzzle for my husband who loves puzzles. I couldn't understand why he gave up on solving it so quickly until several months later.

Although this is presented as a logic puzzle, it's not. Only when we came across the 36 officer problem did we realize that it's impossible to solve by logic- thus the reason my husband hated it.

There's a trick in the heights of the bases which makes it a "trick" puzzle and not a "logic" puzzle.

Blah.... not impressed.

This cube is really amusing. It is like a sudoku's cousin. I like it a lot.

There is definately a solution. 24 solutions if you count all the variations in color once you find the height solution.

Fun for all ages. Our 4 year old was intrigued for a while. And even our 2 year old liked to stack the pieces (although the pieces are small so he could choke if not supervised).

I recommend solving one color at a time.

Spoiler alert (see below):



There is a hint provided by the manufacturer (puzzle itself provides a clue). I won't reveal the solution only to completely ruin the "fun" for all!

This is not a Sudoku-like puzzle. It has a mechanical trick to it. You will waste countless hours trying to solve it if you are unaware of this.

I bought this toy as a gift for my children, who are in their early 20's. I am always looking for fun brain teaser type games. This one looked so easy, I only bought one. When it arrived I was surprised at how difficult it was, even for adults. It is definitely a good one!
It is very durable, but does have some smaller parts that could get lost easily. It would be nice to have a travel type case to store it to prevent this, that is my only complaint.

This puzzle is amazing!! Reason I bought this game was for my husband who suffers from a stroke and only has use of one hand. He enjoys the challenge and it is great to find something he can do on his own without assistance. We find this game is addicting....it's always, just one more minute to try and get another row !!!

Though not a winner of the coveted Mensa Select seal, Think Fun 36 Cube was an entry at the 2009 Mensa Mind Games. Of all the games I reviewed that weekend, this one was a real challenge. I enjoyed it enough to buy it once I got home. It's really designed as a solitaire game, though having another pair of eyes trying to solve the puzzle could be helpful. Sudoku fans will probably enjoy Think Fun 36 Cube as it's kind of like a 3D Sudoku. You have 36 blocks to play, in 6 varying heights and 6 colors. The object of the game is to end up with only 1 of each height and color in each row and column.