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Orb (aka Orb-It) (english versions)
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A bead-moving puzzle that came in at least four different versions. The non-english versions have their own entry.

Each pole ring has 8 beads, and each equatorial ring has 20 beads. Some versions vary on which colours go where.
Most images show Waddington's Orb-It. This version has blue and yellow beads at the poles and red and green beads near the equator.
Images 4, 13 and 14 show the version from Parker Brothers. It has blue and green beads at the poles, and red and yellow beads near the equator.
The leaflet in images 8-9 forms a continous line of six panels. For purposes of demonstration it has been digitally split into two halves.

The unique feature of this puzzle is that it starts with four loops but is not restricted to that configuration. One turn of 45� (see image 2) creates a single continuous stream of beads around the puzzle. One turn of 90� creates two oval loops of beads arranged like the seams on a baseball or tennis ball.

The puzzle isn't too difficult, only requiring a few simple tricks to solve. The Orb is a fun puzzle to manipulate. It turns smoothly, has a massage-like effect, and makes a lot more noise than we twisty fans are used to!

It has US patent US4553754 (Filed 16 Feb 1982, granted 19 Nov 1985) and British patent GB8113543 (1 May 1981).
It is a little known fact that Wiggs and Taylor also designed Rubik's Clock.
The french version was called "l'Orbs"

Images 15-20 show an english package of taiwanese origin. It resembles the japanese version from Tomy, produced in Hong Kong.

Diameter: 85 mm
Weight: 109 grams

Price Tracking Data

DISCLAIMER: The following table contains user-generated content. This information is collected to serve as a rough guideline and is certainly not complete and may not even be accurate. This information is filtered and carefully moderated, but incorrect information will inevitably find its way into the system. Always use your own judgement when buying or selling an item.

Sale Date Price (USD) Sale Type Condition Package Condition Notes Contributors Edit
Jun 1 2003 $26.00 eBay Auction Mint Good Red plastic "dome". Sandy
Dec 13 2008 $25.00 Private Sale Mint Mint None ejisfun
Jun 6 2010 $29.95 eBay Auction Excellent Good Red plastic "dome". friedhofsdesateur
Jun 28 2021 $34.00 eBay Auction Average Poor Box very worn; puzzle a bit dirty PuzzleAF

Links

Contributors

Thank you to the following people for their assistance in helping collect the information on this page: Sandy, Anthony Au.

Collections

This puzzle can be found in collections of these members:

Michael: My Collection
Joshua Bell: My Collection
Jin H Kim: My Collection
Ed Cambridge: My Collection
riddler17: My Collection
John Redvers Rooney: My Collection
Jeff Goetz: My Collection
dbannon: My Collection
isacisco: My Collection
Liz Burrow: My Collection
Adam Zamora: My Collection
Juozas Granskas: My Collection
PuzzleManiac: My Collection
fiveolddogs: My Collection
fiveolddogs: My Collection
fiveolddogs: My Collection
fiveolddogs: My Collection
Andreas Nortmann: Andreas' collection
philipk: My Collection
Darren Grewe: My Collection
m0monga183: My Collection
skeneegee: My Collection
nmpuzzler: My Collection
dougr33d: My Collection
sausage: My Collection
Darren Grewe: My Collection
Trevor Sayre: My Collection
Aleksey: My Collection
nicky_uk: My Collection
Hidetoshi: My Collection
Ben Hendry: My Collection
micro500: My Collection
mamessing: My Collection
localhost: My Collection
howru2day: My Collection
Victoria: My Collection
Swedishlf: My Collection
Jenilia: My Collection
merlintocs: My Collection
kastellorizo: My Collection
mgwallisa: My Collection
S.Rubiks: My Collection
Scott Bedard: My Collection
Stanislav TVRDIK: My Collection
rubik_fr: My Collection
Frank Tiex: Frank's Collection
DLitwin: My Collection
Twisty_Jones: My Collection
pdrenski: My Collection
kastellorizo: My Collection
Esper48: My Collection
JasonSmith: My Collection
gee3092004: My Collection
a passion for puzzles: My Collection
nate2007: My Collection
geduldspiele: My Collection
cliftar: mod-nificant
TheAtarian1: My Collection
Marcus Luna: My Collection
Laurence: Parlour Puzzles
ptrsdboy: My Collection
Scarlett: My Collection
billdrumz: My Collection
MainMovieMan: MainMovieMan
Master_Twister: My Collection
solucions: MI COLECCION
demongod: Getting large
harleythedragon: HarleyTheDragon's Puzzles
TylerMcDaniels: Tyler's Collection
TylerMcDaniels: Tyler's Collection
Githzerai: My Collection
kastellorizo: My Collection
Markube: Mark's Kubes


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