Another puzzle of mine I'd like to share with you; The Arch Cubes.

VIDEO





I had the idea for this puzzle in early December 2011. I cannot remember my exact thoughts at the time, however I had previously toyed with the idea of joining two puzzles together in a non-functional manner and then making them functional; stacking two cubes in a 3x6 formation always came to mind.

I had originally planned for there to be four arches per cube and for the two cubes to twist around the center, however while making the prototype I revised the design. I decided to only have two arches per cube, as I felt that arches on the upper faces would look ugly and make the puzzle look incomplete. The central twisting function was implemented, however I felt that the puzzle became quite weak and flimsy as a result, so I fixed the two faces together to strengthen the puzzle.





It solves like a bandaged 3x3x3 (not sure if a bandage variation of this sort exists). To scramble the puzzle one arch has to remain in tact on each cube (I like to keep them on opposing sides).







Thanks for looking
Ryan

Thats clever! I like it

I love the idea of combining permanent bandaging from attaching them with the external bandaging that occurs from only certain pieces being "arched".

Jack

That is really clever! It would be even cooler if you could turn along the line that separates the two cubes.

-Eitan

I did try this, however the puzzle felt rather flimsy (im guessing the reason it felt this way is that it didnt have much in the way of surfaces to act as support). I'm going to be making a second improved version, so I'll attempt to implement the rotational element in a different way perhaps.

Thank you everyone for the nice comment, means a lot.

the simplicity is genious!

Not exactly a bandaged cube but this variant is quit similar:
http://www.twistypuzzles.com/cgi-bin/pu ... i?pkey=441

Ah it is! Seems the easier way of achieving the puzzle also.

Very nice, both in concept and execution.

Dave