Terrible Analogies

My sister gave me an Amazon gift card recently, and before I could thank her (thanks, sis!) I knew what I wanted to use it for.  That’s right…a new 6×6 Rubik’s Cube.

Or, more precisely, a new V-Cube.  Created by a Greek designer and produced in Greece (think they can sell enough of these to get their economy back on track?), the V-Cube represents the natural evolution of the classic Rubik’s Cube.  The mechanics aren’t as smooth as my Eastsheen cubes, but I’m quickly getting used to it, and have noticed that the movement has become a bit more fluid after a day of playing with it.

On my first night with this V-Cube I managed to solve it in two hours by using known patterns.  A day later and my time is now down to less than 30 minutes.  Many of the same algorithms that apply to the previous cubes can be ported to the 6×6, with one new algorithm required to complete the center cubie section.

The V-Cube is slightly larger than the 5×5, and is noticeably heavier.  This is one hunk of plastic that feels good in the hands.  There’s a solid click with each rotation that you’ll want to keep an ear out for to avoid lockups.

Here are scans of the package insert (click on them to embiggen).  Instructions on how to assemble one of these bad boys can be found here.