Chicago Cubes

(No, that's not a misspelt baseball team...)

Earlier this year I stumbled across a copy of a great little exchange puzzle from Joe Becker dating back to IPP23 in Chicago. 

Joe designed and manufactured this wonderfully tricky little number using acrylic cubes and packaging tape – proof that good-looking, great designs don’t need expensive materials…

The premise is simple: you have a set of 8 edge-hinged clear cubes and you need to build a 2*2*2 cube. 

Should be simple… except it turns out that it ain’t – in fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ll pretty soon convince yourself it can’t be done – and therein lies the beauty of this design – there’s a wonderfully sneaky little element that makes it all possible and finding that makes for a super “A-Ha!” moment… 

I really enjoyed finding it (eventually)!

Add to that the fact that it’s a wonderfully photogenic object and I have to say that it makes a brilliant addition to the humble hoard. 

[In case you’re wondering – there’s a lovely little trick of the light that makes each cubie look like it is in turn made up of a 2*2*2 when it’s in the assembled state.]