Rex Dodecahedron on store:
http://shop.mf8-china.com/goods.php?id=93




[Moderator on December 6th 2012: I have merged the thread started by the post of Gus about the "Bauhinia Dodecahedron" into this earlier thread.]

Ah, it's finally coming. I've been waiting for this puzzle for quite a while.

Let's just hope it's more stable than some of the other MF8 puzzles, like the Starminx (the deep cut, face turning one).

Unfortunately, like the Petaminx, it is "Out of stock"

Am I correct in thinking this is the same as the classic Face-Turning Icosahedron, just shaped as a dodecahedron?
This is another puzzle I will add to my list of things to get in the future (Eitan's Star is at the top of my list)

I think like the Petaminx you should read that as "Not yet in stock"

So THIS is what a Rex Dodecahedron is... People who have been following the sticky "Puzzles that have been announced but not released" will get it

There was directions in that thread how you could find it, even a picture

In other news, I hope it turns better than what mf8 has released lately. Some months ago I remember* Rox commenting the turning of a prototype to be bad, the pieces catching easily...

*do take this with a grain of salt, or a spoonful even, can't find the thread to quote

Oh the madness.
this will be a pain to solve,

Awesome, I will definitely consider picking this up.

It's probably the same 40mm edge length as all of the other MF8 dodecahedrons. Hopefully the small point stickers are big enough to support a printed pattern. I'd like four sets of stickers:

• Standard Rex Dodecahedron stickers
• The FTO equivalent sticker pattern (stickers about vertices)
• Super-stickers
• Each piece type with its own solid color (corners all one color, points another, etc) specifically for jumbling scrambles

I can't wait to check out the jumbling on this puzzle. Hopefully it isn't too easy.

Since it has so-called level 0 unbandaging, I'd expect the jumbling to be rather basic.

If the faces looked something like this*, that would be interesting. Maybe someone could design the pieces with Solidworks?

EDIT: After some PM exchange, Luke says it wouldn't work like that and the star tips would overlap and get cut into even smaller pieces. Though he also says that he didn't spend a great deal of time with it. And I think the puzzle would be interesting enough to design it from scrap and make it work



Also, it comes unstickered. And the price is higher than I hoped...

*I'm sure the cuts are wrong, but you get the idea.

We expect to release the Mf8 Rex Dodecahedron at the end of this year.

Let's hope that this puzzle does not have some internal bandaging issues which, due to cultural differences, will not be revealed until after its release

I realize this is a joke (and a funny one, I might add), but is there really a chance of this happening?

-Doug

Didn't you sort of answer your own question when you said "I realize this is a joke"?

Well, not really. I meant mechanically, could there be some problem like there was with the 2x3x4? As in Mf8 has a kind of reputation now.

-Doug

They have a reputation for bringing great puzzles to the community. I think it's pretty dumb that they're getting bashed so much for the mistake they made with the 2x3x4.

On topic: this looks fantastic and I will definitely have to buy one.

I can't imagine a scenario where this puzzle wouldn't work as expected.

Also, how did MF8 get a reputation over one puzzle? Seems kinda crazy to me.

I'll be buy one Rex Dodecahedron and if it turns well I'll buy several for sticker mods.

I think the worse-than-expected quality of the FT Starminx and 3x4x5 also contributed to mf8's reputation's decline, not the 2x3x4 only. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Definitely the 3x4x5, but my Starminx turns great after a little tensioning and lubix.
Also the new square 1's are no good.

-Doug

I'm really looking forward to this. I hope that MF8 doesn't drop the ball like they've done with many of their puzzles recently.

Now that I am thinking about it, how big will this be? I get the feeling from the pictures that it will be huge (about the same as the starminx).

-Doug

Don't forget the broken center pieces on the Petaminx.

I'll buy the MF8 Rex Dodecahedron without hesitation. I like my Rex Cube and I like my MF8 Helicopter Dodecahedron, so it seems like this will be a similar level of fun and perhaps more of a challenge. I did have some initial turning issues with my Helicopter Dodecahedron, but an application of silicone oil transformed it into a one-finger turnable joy and it is now one of my favourite dodecahedral puzzles.

MF8 is making complicated mechanical puzzles and selling them at mass-production prices. I can forgive the occasional glitch because it is not the norm. Mr. MF8 came on TP Forum and tried to explain things to the community, but something was not clear and I don't blame him for not trying again.

This will probably be a silly question but can someone explain to me why this puzzle will jumble, but the rex cube doesn't. Is it the dodecahedralness? Also, any TP links to the definitive guide to understanding jumbling would be appreciated.

It's the icosahedralness of it. The Rex Dodecahedron has basically nothing to do with the Rex Cube.

Here is why the Rex Dodeca jumbles.

As you can see this green cut is active:


But after a partial turn, it is still active:


There is no mid-turn alignment of cuts on the Rex Cube (just look at a Dioctipoid to confirm this).

I can answer my own question here now. The jumbling is really easy.

I played with this puzzle quite a few boys and toys ago (I can't remember if it was late 2010 or early 2011) At that time, there were problems with the tiny bits falling out. The puzzle wasn't made and rushed to market. Instead it was shelved to make it better. I've been told it is a lot better now. I'm hoping I'll be able to play with one in October (That's a HUGE BEG for anyone coming over for the competition)

As for the 2x3x4, however he made it was his choice. It's his puzzle. Cultural differences? I'm not saying a word. The petaminx? Not a manufacturing defect, but rather a box problem. And I think that was made good by all who sold the puzzles I think. And don't you dare believe it was the resellers who ate that cost!

I will continue to purchase puzzles from Mf8 because first he's a friend, but even more importantly (and I think this is what everyone is forgetting) he brings some amazing puzzles to the table that wouldn't have gotten here otherwise. Or shall we all go back to waiting for C4U to bring us things like the gegaminx again???

As for size, it compares to the starminx's that he's made. It fits in my hand.

Don't get me wrong, the first post was tongue in cheek: mf8 has brought great puzzles to market at affordable prices, the dodecahedron series is great. There have had some small issues, but overall the puzzles are excellent.

I know that Gus! I'm not completely daft you know. I was just attempting to make a point of saying what he does is what he does. (Language might have been better than culture by the way)

I'm just tired of the 'we want it now' and then when it comes and there is a scratch on the sticker we have to read about complaints. That and i was editing a 'complainy' post not three seconds before....

You're spot on about our tendency to be annoyed when we don't get things straight away, but the issues with some recent mf8 puzzles were far more than scratches on stickers.

To stay on the topic, I'm positive the rex dodecahedron will be a great puzzle. I actually think it's a good sign that it was announced quite a while ago but has taken this long. I think that means they want to get it right, which is what we all want. Like Pete, I'll definitely get it straight away.


Thanks Brandon. That explains it. What I'm not sure about yet is why you later said that the jumbling would be easy. Is that because it only jumbles in one way, or something else? I've had limited exposure to jumbling puzzles. So far I've played with the helicopter and the curvy copter. I have the heli dodec but I haven't scrambled it yet. Where would the rex dodec fit with jumbleasiness?


What sort of mods are you thinking about?

Sorry Rox, I did not make it clear that my post was a response to all the comments which seemed to take my first post too seriously. I was not targeting your post directly

Now I'm done. No smilies and everyone takes me seriousky for a change oh dear. Time for me to quit.

For some reason the mf8 Rex Dodecahedron is now called the Bauhinia Dodecahedron. Apparently, Bauhinia is genus of flowering plant according to Wikipedia.

P.S. It is still "Out of stock"

Hey rline, sorry I didn't see your response until now.
I've played with Luke's NovaMinx and the jumbling on this puzzle is the same as the "big overlap" jumbling on the NovaMinx. This jumbling keeps big blocks together and doesn't isolate individual pieces in jumbled configurations. It is really easy to undo. I'd say similar in difficulty to the Helicopter Cube except that this puzzle doesn't have orbits to worry about.

At a minimum I'd like the default VTD sticker scheme, a FTI sticker scheme, and a super-sticker scheme.

The Bauhinia Dodecahedron is shown as in stock with 9 8 available at $37.99, but only in "milk white". I assume these are mold tests, so buy with caution.

[Moderator on December 6th 2012: I have merged the thread started by this post of Gus about the "Bauhinia Dodecahedron" into the earlier thread started on October 17th by grigr about "Rex Dodecahedron". These are just two different names for the same puzzle.]

I stole this one after the exhibition. It sure looks pretty on my desk. I'll bring it home tomorrow and make a video for you all. But by then it will probably be too late....

I'll wait for black, but this is wonderful news!

I like black puzzle too. But for this one I think may be white will be sharper. Catch your eyes!

The milk yellow is the original color of the material.
Normally, the milk yellow edition is the trial-produce one before the mass produce.
It is almost the same quality as the mass production.

Hi all,

the puzzle can be bought here:
http://www.hknowstore.com/locale/en-US/item.aspx?corpname=nowstore&itemid=56f082ef-968c-41b9-a965-170a2139d2cd

regards

Thanks, Telow! I just pre-ordered mine. I have no idea how I'm going to solve it, though

-Doug

what means "bauhinia" ?

It's a flower

-Doug

Preordered the black body. For some reason, I find jumbling difficult, so I like the idea of "really easy jumbling". Does the Bauhinia Dodecahedron have *any* relationship to the Rex Cube other than superficial resemblance of the face pieces?

Even if it's like a Rex Cube in a dodecahedral shape, it has jumbling, right?

If it has, only shapeshifting, or there are moves like those in the helicopter cube?

It's actually a face-turning icosahedron in a dodecahedral shape. So it jumbles because of that (all FTIs can jumble).

Shape-changing does not always imply jumbling. For example, the Mirror Blocks does not jumble, but it changes shape with every turn.

As Promised, a late video.

Broken link in Rox's post, use this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs7EwemRyfI

This looks like a dodecahedral rex cube to me. I want to order it now but will hold off for a while to see if mf8 messed up again. (cough cough..2x3x4..cough)