Rubik’s Twist
The Rubik’s Twist consists of 24 connected prisms. Each prism has five sides: a rectangular base, two triangular sides, and two square sides that connect to adjacent prisms with a mechanical hinge. Feel the pieces of your Rubik’s Twist now, and identify the five sides of each piece by touch.
Each hinge connects two pieces, one on the left of the hinge and one on the right. The hinge can be twisted to one of four positions:
- Straight—The hinge aligns the left and right prisms so that they form a straight line.
- Opposite—The rectangular bases of the left and right prisms form a 90-degree angle. This is a 180-degree twist from Straight.
- Up—The base of the prism to the left of the hinge slopes upward.
- Down—The base of the prism to the left of the hinge slopes downward.
Up and Down twwists can be ambiguous because they depend on the orientation of the puzzle. To avoid this ambiguity, let’s define a default state and orientation for the puzzle.
Default State and Orientation
When every hinge is set to Straight, the puzzle forms a line from left to right. This is the default state. With the puzzle in the default state, examine the rightmost prism and identify the rectangular base by touch. Rotate the puzzle so that the base of the rightmost prism is oriented toward your body or chest. In this orientation, the triangular sides are on the top and bottom of the puzzle, facing up and down.. This is the default orientation.
With your puzzle in the default orientation, the Up and Down hinge positions should be unambiguous. Perform a couple of twists to increase your familiarity:
- Pick a hinge in the middle of the puzzle. While holding the right half of the puzzle, twist the hinge so that the base of the left prism slopes up. That is an Up twist. Return the hinge to the Straight position.
- Next, while holding the right half of the puzzle, twist the hinge so that the base of the left prism slopes down. That is a Down twist. Again, return the hinge to Straight.
Notation
In the default state, the pieces are numbered 1 through 24 from left to right. The hinges are numbered 1 through 23 from left to right. Hinge 1 is the leftmost hinge. It’s between pieces 1 and 2. The rightmost and final hinge, hinge 23, is between pieces 23 and 24.
To create a shape, each step consists of a hinge number (1 through 23) and a position (Straight, Opposite, Up, or Down).
The instruction “1 Up” means to twist the first hinge so that the base of piece 1 slopes upward. The instruction “3 Opposite” means twist the third hinge so that pieces 3 and 4 are bent opposite from Straight.
Before executing a twist, always check to make sure your puzzle is in the default orientation, with the base of piece 24 oriented toward you. The instructions that follow will produce incorrect results if Up and Down twists are not performed accurately.
A Simple Example: The Triangle
Let’s start with a simple example and turn our Rubik’s Twist into a triangle. Begin with your puzzle in the default state and orientation, then perform the following six twists:
The first angle:
4 Up
5 Up
The second angle:
12 Up
13 Up
The third angle:
20 Up
21 Up
If you did this correctly, the two unhinged square sides on pieces 1 and 24 should now face each other, though they do not lock together. The puzzle as a whole should form an equilateral triangle, with all three sides the same length.
Interference
As you saw with the Triangle example, instructions for creating a shape will be given in left-to-right order, meaning that the left half of the puzzle will become increasingly solved while the right half remains straight.
As you proceed with each step of the instructions, it’s possible that twisting a hinge will cause the unsolved right half of the puzzle to collide or interfere with the solved left half. Rubik’s Twist puzzles vary in flexibility, and interference will be a significant problem for tight puzzles that lack flexibility. As a result, it’s sometimes easier to skip ahead and twist two or three hinges in reverse order.
The instructions are written so that the steps can be performed in any order. Performing part or all of the steps in reverse order will not change the final shape.
The Ball
The Rubik’s Twist puzzle is shipped in a ball state. But if you don’t closely observe how the puzzle forms this shape, it might be difficult to recreate it. There are many different solutions that all arrive at a ball shape. Here’s one:
1 Down
2 Up
3 Up
4 Up
The next two twists might cause interference. To avoid this, twist hinge 6 first, then hinge 5.
5 Up
6 Down
7 Down
8 Down
The next two could cause interference again, but you know how to handle it.
9 Down
10 Up
11 Up
12 Up
Stop and check your work. You’re halfway done. The left half of the puzzle should feel like a lumpy hemisphere.
13 Up
14 Down
15 Down
16 Down
17 Down
Stop and feel your progress. The left side of the puzzle should feel like a ball, but it has a vacancy. That vacancy must be filled with the remaining unsolved pieces. Each twist will be tight.
18 Up
19 Up
20 Up
21 Up
22 Down
23 Down
You should now have a ball shape. If so, congrats!
Rather than memorize the ball steps, examine the ball with your hands and understand how it goes together. Once you do this, you’ll always be able to make a ball intuitively.