Rubik's Cube
by Winning Moves
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Toys and Games Reviews of Rubik's Cube
Customer Review: The cubes from Asia are WAY Better (lighter, faster, smoother)
Summary: 1 Stars
If you're new to cubing and want to buy a really good Rubiks cube, read this! I've read through all of these reviews, and anyone who rated this Rubiks Cube at 4-5 stars seems to be a novice and does not know a thing about Rubiks cubes (FYI, a heavier cube is not a good thing, you want them to be light and spin fast). I'm getting ahead of myself - Allow me to enlighten you;
I bought a few of these cubes 4 years ago when I was a beginner. I thought they were really cheap, like $8 at the time. It wasn't a great cube but I had no complaints then (what did I know anyway?), although turning a face felt like trying to open a tightly sealed jar. I also never knew what 'finger tricks' were, as they were virtually impossible without finger/forearms of steel. This cube was just heavy, hard to turn, and locked up a lot. I simply didn't know any better.
Then last year I took a trip to Asia and discovered their "Magic cubes" ("Magic" is the literal translation in Chinese). Are they the original Rubiks cube? No, but who cares? They are practical neither is this brand. They typically come in colors of white (instead of black) and are extremely smooth, fast, and have corner cutting abilities of 20-45 degrees. They are the "professional" cubes that speed cubers use. Thus, I have been collecting these various Magic cubes for about a year now, purchasing them online (eBay, and a few great vendors and great chinese-based websites!). They range from $4-12 with free shipping from China. And it is not a scam, believe me. If you want to buy a Rubiks cube Google the "F II cube" or "Alpha V cube" (those are just a few names of cubes) and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I wish I had known all of this even when I was a beginner.
So if you're going to buy a Rubiks cube, please do yourself a favor and avoid these American cubes. I typically don't gun for Chinese products, but this is the one time you'll be happy you bought from China instead of the US. For starters, google "shengen F II cube" or "Haiyan Alpha V cube" or "Dayan Guhong cube." Just trying to help everyone out. Thanks for reading!
Customer Review: The worst part is the toy itself.
Summary: 4 Stars
I myself have had 5 Rubik's cubes in my life, all bought from the Rubik's company. The main problem with Rubik's Cubes is how long they last. The stickers can come off fairly easily, and sometimes they are very stiff when first bought, but aside from that they are very, very extremely fun puzzles. It's not easy to complete and really takes some thinking, but the feeling of solving a rubik's cube is all worth the effort. There are many online tutorials on how to solve one of these, and anyone can do it if they put their mind to it. If you want a GOOD cube though, one that will last you pretty much forever, I'd recommend on buying an Eastsheen brand cube, and buying tiles from Cubesmith. Cubesmith sells replacement stickers and plastic tiles with an adhesive on the back to put on the cube. Of the 5 cubes I've bought, 3 of them were unsatisfying to me. My first one was relatively smooth, turned nicely and posed no real problems (beside the solving, of course). The problem came about 2 days into playing with it though, the stickers started to peel. When the stickers peel, there is a layer of white plastic underneath all of the various colors. This is a problem because there is also a white face on the cube, so if a sticker comes completely off you will not know which color that piece is supposed to be. It took me two months to solve mine, and then two weeks to memorize various algorithms (sets of moves to solve certain parts of the cube) and another 6 months of random playing with it to finally get my average time down to around 30 seconds. If you have never experienced the challenge of a Rubik's Cube I definitely recommend picking one up and giving it a shot.Customer Review: Key to the Universe?
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was younger my father would often look at my math homework and say "I didn't know you knew Chinese, are you going to unlock the secrets of the universe with that knowledge?" He was kidding of course but for those who are visual learners and are at any stage of math, playing with a rubik's cube is both fun and very intriguing. Don't get fed up trying to solve it by yourself, look up a tutorial on "Youtube." Then, once you get the beginner's method, try another method, eventually you'll be noticing patterns and maybe someday you'll become one of the over 100 people in America that can solve it in under 1 minute (my best time is 40.11 seconds).
[On a side note, Rubik's cubes are not the best for speed. Rubik's is just a name brand of these types of toys, if you want cubes that are speedy, get a DIY (do it yourself) cube. With those you can adjust the tension and it will be quite easier to move. I was lucky when I bought mine on here, the person didn't mention that it was actually a "Diansheng" cube (also a DIY cube) and not a rubik's cube, and at the time I didn't know any better. Lucky me.]
Customer Review: Ultimate Brain Teaser
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this because as a kid my grandparents had one that I would play with constantly everytime I visited, and at the age of 7 was certain I could solve it. I never did, and eventually it broke, and it wasn't until I was sitting at my work waiting for my computer to do something, that I thought I needed something to do while I waited for my computer to unfreeze, or for the network to come back online. So I bought a rubiks cube, figured that it was a good portable puzzle thats easy to store, and is only one piece. It came with a display stand, so I keep it displayed next to my monitor, and have co-workers come by and scramble it hoping that I won't be able to put it back, but I always have. Like I said its a puzzle, but not with alot of pieces, and its portable, so if your taking the bus home, you can kill time with it, then put it back in your briefcase, or backpack. I love it and haven't gotten sick of it yet.Customer Review: Not built to last.
Summary: 3 Stars
My mother bought a rubik's cube back when it first came out. She still has it, and, despite being older than I am, it is still intact. It's a little bit stiff, but that is to be expected for a toy over 25 years old. THAT is how well these things used to be made.
This one, however. is a piece of junk. If you're a beginner to rubik's cubes, you'll probably have no problems with it (and, in all likelihood, you'll give up long before the thing starts to show signs of wear) because you'll be doing slow moves. However, if you're more experienced (and thus making much faster and vigorous moves/turns), then the stickers will come off very quickly. I have also experienced the internal mechanism becoming too loose and having the external cubes pop off.
I've owned about five of these because they're the only brand I can find locally, and they've all worn out pretty quickly.