Coolzon Circular 2x3x3 Speed Cube 66mm Review
***This review contains affiliate links (see affiliate disclosure)***
The Circular 2x3x3 Speed Cube by Coolzon is a variation on the Rubik's cube but in the shape of a circular barrel or cylinder that has two levels or layers to it and has numerous parts that can be turned. It has 6 different solid bright coloured sides that are white, red, orange, blue, green and red with the 2 circle sides having 9 individual pieces that consist of 5 squares and 4 corner triangular pieces and 4 square sides having 4 individual pieces each that are made up of 2 small squares and two longer rectangles. There are different cylinder speed cubes to this one that come with a different number of layers and pieces to them and even different shaped pieces and therefore the levels of difficulty but this is one of the easier ones so once you have completed this cylinder speed cube you can move on to the next one that has more layers or has different shaped pieces to challenge yourself further.
*ad
The individual pieces can be jumbled up and the idea is to get solid coloured sides again by turning the different parts of the puzzle but by doing so you will change the picture on multiple sides every time you do so and will have to keep track of these changes. When you turn the different parts of the puzzle you change the colour pattern on multiple sides and you can by doing this transfer one coloured piece from one side of the puzzle to the other and by doing this is and also understanding how this works is how you will solve the puzzle.
The puzzle fits comfortably in your hand but you will need both hands to perform the manoeuvres so one hand to hold the puzzle and the other to turn the different parts of the puzzle. As this speed cube is light it can be held up and played with for a long time without tiring your arms out and the shape and size mean you can get a good grip of it so it won't slip out of your hands even if you are performing the moves very fast.
This speed cube, as do all other speed cubes, will demand and enhance the following skills which are recall for learning moves and sequences, problem-solving, identifying patterns and perseverance for sticking with the challenge until the end which all can be used on either other more difficult speedcubes or on a lot of other puzzles and even other parts of your life not just puzzles like work or education.
This is one one the smaller speed cubes out there and its weight being light makes it an ideal travellers puzzle as it will fit in your pocket easily and has no separable pieces that could potentially get lost so can be done on the go while you walk so it ticks a lot of boxes required for a travellers puzzle.
The puzzle is made from plastic so will keep a long time whilst deteriorating very slowly and will not be easily damaged or broken without considerable force despite it being light in weight so should survive being dropped on the floor which is probably the most likely way you will damage it, of course, depending on the surface it hits and will withstand quite well being used over and over again.
The PVC stickers that represent the coloured pieces should not be peeled off easily if you can at all and don't scuff or be scratched easily whilst being very durable so it should take many years with plenty of use before they do start to come off. If the stickers do start peeling off they can be quite annoying as you can be constantly catching them which causes them to peel off even more and when getting replacement stickers they need to be specific to this speed cube as it requires specifically shaped stickers.
The puzzle can be twisted and the pieces turned nicely with little friction so you are able to achieve a lot of speed with no cornering issues and won't become jammed or stuck as the puzzle has antilock technology as most modern speed cubes have because if it suddenly does lock up it could cause injury or you could potentially break it but if it does become stuck then there is also lubrication for it that is easy to get a hold of that you can apply that will help to solve this problem and increase the speed of turning. A common problem with speedcubes can be the pieces popping out but this puzzle seems to do well in this regard and you should be able to use this with confidence that this won't happen although that is, of course, no guarantee it won't happen which can be very annoying when it does and tough to put the popped piece or pieces back into place if you can at all.
The puzzle's appearance is that of a toy with a quite simple shape compared to the other speed cubes you can get with more complex and interesting shapes and designs so it isn't really a decorative piece you would display on a mantelpiece or shelf unless part of a collection but can easily be stored away due to its size in crate or drawer so will not cause a lot of clutter.
Speed cubes are a good way of relieving stress, especially the simpler ones such as this one, as they are fun to mess about with and help focus your mind on the task at hand to distract you from the stresses of everyday life without it being overly complicated or strenuous for the mind.
This speed cube has good replayability as there are quite a number of different combinations it can be jumbled up into for you to solve and test if you have figured out and remembered the moves necessary to solve it and then you can challenge yourself to do it in the fastest time possible without any wrong moves as then you will have mastered it.
As is the case with any speed cube the more you jumble it up the more difficult it is to get back to its original form especially if you do it without taking note of any of the moves you performed to scramble it up. However, this speed cube is one of the easier speedcubes in the whole range of them that exist as it has very few individual pieces and sides to keep track of and although not easy it certainly isn't that complicated and shouldn't take that long to solve once you have worked out the sequences required to complete it. Therefore it is a good place to begin for speedcubing as any simpler and it would not be worth your time as it would be too easy to solve. If you do struggle with the puzzle there are tutorials you can find online via youtube or websites that will show you how to solve this specifically shaped speed cube.
In conclusion, this is an ideal starting challenge for anyone who wants to get into speed cubes because it is one of the simpler challenges that can be used to learn the skills needed for speedcubing in order to move on to more difficult challenges and should be a fun and not a too challenging puzzle that anyone could have a go at but for speed cube enthusiasts with high-level skills this is only suitable as a challenge to tick off and not for the degree of difficulty. When completed the next challenge would be a 3x3x3 cylinder/barrel-shaped speed cube which is the next level up from this.
