MZStech Curved Trihedron 3x3x3 Magic Cube Review

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The Curved Trihedron 3x3x3 Magic Cube by MZStech is basically a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube with a somewhat modified form as it has the same number of individual and moveable pieces as the 3x3x3 Rubik's cube but has 3 solid coloured sides when unscrambled instead of 6 which gives it the appearance of a cube that has had the sides of it merged together. The round edges of this puzzle are what give it this appearance of a cube that has had the sides of it merged together and this also gives it a very unique and distinctive look which is basically the look of a 3 sided cube. This puzzle, when solved, has 3 different solid coloured sides which are red, white and blue with each side when unscrambled having fifteen individual pieces. Even though this toy only has 3 faces/sides to it when it is not scrambled it is still twisted and operated in the exact same way as a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, which has 6 faces/sides to it, which is because they both have the same number of pieces (26) and these pieces for both puzzles move in the exact same way. When a column or row of pieces for this puzzle is turned or twisted this is known as scrambling which if done will transfer the pieces/colours of that column or row that has been twisted or turned to either another side/face or another part of the side/face they are on.

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This toy can seemingly be jumbled up or scrambled in an infinite number of ways and by scrambling it you can change not only the colour patterns that are present on each side/face of it but also to a certain degree its shape as well. The objective of this puzzle has two parts to it with the first part being to scramble it, preferably thoroughly, so that its shape becomes distorted and so that each side/face of it no longer consists of just one solid colour but rather each side/face has multiple colours. The second part of the objective is to then unscramble it which means getting each side/face of it to again have one solid colour and also means getting it back to its original starting shape. The second part of this toy's objective can be done by either figuring it out for yourself through trial and error which could take a considerable time to do successfully or by finding and learning the sequences/moves to perform that solve the puzzle. When you turn a column or row of pieces for this toy you will change the colour pattern on three faces/sides every time you do this which is something you must keep a track of when solving it and is one of the reasons why this puzzle can be challenging to solve.

Skills that are beneficial for this challenge are a decent memory for learning the manoeuvres that will solve it, patience as it can take a lot of time to learn the sequence of moves that will solve this toy and then perform these moves quickly, concentration to avoid making mistakes, pattern recognition for immediately identifying which moves to perform next on the puzzle for the scrambled state it is in and finally hands that are fast, precise and nimble for solving this puzzle quickly without errors. These are skills that will be demanded from and useful for most puzzle cubes and through practising these skills you can improve them and even attain some of them if you didn't already have them before playing with this toy. Also, these are all abilities that can be useful for other areas of your life, such as education or work, as they are transferable skills and they are of course useful for other puzzles as well.

This toy is really light in weight which means it will be for most people easy to hold up with one hand or both and play with for potentially hours without it becoming too strenuous to hold. It fits comfortably in the palm of an adult-sized hand (male or female) but you will need both hands to scramble and solve it. It is easy to grab a hold of due to it being small in size and because it has many right-angle shaped edges that are positioned all over it for your fingers to grasp onto which means there shouldn't be that much chance of it slipping out of your hand(s) if you play with it as it is meant to be played and are not reckless with how you play with and use it. The physical properties of this toy make it very portable and easy to take with you on your travels as it is small enough in size and light enough in weight to pretty easily carry on you or transport with you via a backpack, a suitcase or maybe even a pocket. This toy's physical characteristics also allow it to be done on the move whilst walking, as long as this is done in a place where it is not dangerous to be distracted, as it is a puzzle that is a single object due to all the pieces of it being attached together which means it can be played with and solved entirely in your hands without having to at all put it down on a surface to play with and this is also a puzzle that is easy to pause and then come back to and play it from where it was paused when you do need to look where you are going.

The non-sticker parts of this puzzle are made from a recyclable plastic known as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) which makes these parts durable and tough whilst also giving these parts a really smooth feel and polished look to them. Therefore this toy should withstand and endure plenty of repeated use without breaking as long as it is looked after and operated properly which means playing with it as it is intended to be played with, not twisting it in an extremely aggressive way, keeping it in dry and room temperature conditions and not putting it somewhere it could get broken such as leaving it lying on the floor where someone could step on it or leaving it somewhere it could be at risk of getting knocked off of. The unusual shape of this toy doesn't mean it has a big risk of the pieces of it popping but this risk will likely increase the more strain you put on it whilst manoeuvring it and if you don't lubricate it. The real risk to this toy being damaged would be dropping it with this risk increasing the harder the surface it is dropped on and the greater the height it is dropped from and in order to limit this risk, it would be best to play with the puzzle over a table whilst sat at that table. This toy's size and bright colours should help to make it spottable it goes missing or is misplaced but if it is taken apart, for example, when trying to clean it then the smaller individual pieces that it is made up of would need to be tracked carefully when they have been separated from the puzzle as they will be much easier to lose than the toy is as a whole.

The shape of this toy, as mentioned earlier, is really odd and distinct-looking which does make this puzzle cube really stand out from all other shaped puzzle cubes and is why this toy would look great displayed in a collection of different shaped magic cubes. However, it doesn't really have an ornamental look to it due to it being made from plastic and having the appearance of a toy and so I don't think it would look particularly great displayed as an ornament without being alongside other magic cubes. Finding somewhere to store it away or to display it when you have finished playing with it shouldn't be much cause for concern as it takes up very little space due to its small size but as it is light in weight and small in size it doesn't take much force to move it which is why it shouldn't be when stored away or displayed put somewhere there is a risk of it being knocked off or what it is placed on being bumped into as this could lead to it being damaged.

This toy operates quickly with very little resistance when being turned and twisted and its weird shape doesn't seem to cause problems or be a negative in this regard. The strange shape of this puzzle also seemingly doesn't make corner cutting a major problem or cause the toy to get stuck or jam up very easily however if it does start to jam or stiffen then a lubricant that is specifically for magic cubes might resolve this problem. The stickers on this toy are quite grippy which means this puzzle is less likely to slip out of your hands whilst holding, scrambling and solving it and these stickers also seem durable and well stuck on so shouldn't peel off or be marked easily but could eventually start to peel off after having played with this magic cube a lot or over many years. The stickers for this magic cube are obviously essential to the challenge it offers but they are also decorative and the different colours that are on these stickers are all fairly bright with these different colours really standing out from each other.

This magic cube, like a lot of the simpler or moderately difficult puzzle cubes, might be a good way to de-stress and relax as it could act as a fidget toy that is an activity to focus the mind on which is fun to manoeuvre and not too difficult to think about.

This puzzle does have a lot of replayability but it has quite low replayability for a magic cube as it only has a few sides and individual pieces when compared to a lot of other puzzle cubes which means the sequences, that solve it, are less complicated and difficult to learn and master when compared to a lot of these other puzzle cubes that have more sides and individual pieces. To be able to perform the sequences/manoeuvers that solve this puzzle cube from memory without really having to think about them will help you to solve this toy as quickly as possible and this will likely take plenty of practice to achieve for most people unless you have an incredible memory which is why the puzzle can have plenty of replayability for most people. There are countless ways to jumble up this puzzle cube and therefore it contains a countless number of different scrambles to solve which is one of the main ways this toy will maintain a person's interest. The other main way this puzzle can maintain your interest in it so that you keep coming back to play with it is to set your own challenges with it such as trying to solve it in the fastest time you possibly can or trying to solve a particular scramble of it in the fewest number of moves possible. Another challenge that you can set yourself with this toy that could keep your interest in it after you know how to solve it could be to make patterns with it which involves getting all three sides/faces of this puzzle cube to have the same pattern design, which is a pattern design that is not just one solid colour, of your choosing. After you have achieved getting the same pattern design, of your choosing, on each side/face of this magic cube you could also then see how quickly you can achieve this from the puzzle being scrambled or unscrambled or how few moves you can achieve this from a specific scramble.

This magic cube will likely be a really tricky challenge to solve or to learn how to solve if you have never solved or even attempted to solve any sort of puzzle cube before as the strange shape/form it has especially when scrambled can make it confusing to solve and therefore this is not an ideal challenge for a newcomer to puzzle cubes. It would be beneficial and preferable to have played with and know how to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube before attempting this magic cube as they are very similar puzzle cubes but the 3x3x3 Rubik's cube will likely be a lot easier to solve or to learn how to solve due to it having a form/shape, both when it is scrambled and unscrambled, that is a lot less confusing to look at. However, the appearance of this 3x3x3 Curved Trihedron Magic Cube, especially when scrambled, can still be very disorientating to look at even if you have played with and successfully solved a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube before and it may take a while of playing with this 3x3x3 Curved Trihedron Magic Cube and becoming very familiar with it before it stops being confusing to look at. This magic cube might also feel really strange and unfamiliar to hold and manoeuvre which could lead to slow or clumsy manoeuvring of it if you have before played with or are used to playing with a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube as they have distinctly different shapes/forms in how they look and feel to hold. The shape/form of this toy can be somewhat changed by scrambling it, which is not the case with a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, and this change of shape/form will happen with any turn or twist that is applied to it almost no matter the scramble which is another aspect or attribute of this magic cube that makes it difficult to solve as this can make it very easy to lose track of what you are doing and how you are solving it.

The challenge of this puzzle cube is to successfully unscramble it after having scrambled it but the challenge can also be to try and do this as quickly as you possibly can. The challenge that is solving this magic cube quickly is not easy as the manoeuvres required to solve it can be difficult to visualize/remember and tricky for the hands to perform even when doing it slowly. To be able to solve this toy quickly will likely take most people plenty of practice as errors with the hands or of the mind become more difficult to avoid the faster you try to solve it and so to solve it successfully quickly you will have to be able to think fast, find and use a method of solving it that you are able to do quickly, be able to recall instantaneously from memory the moves that solve it, have good pattern recognition and have quick and dexterous hands. Being able to solve this magic cube at your absolute limit in terms of how fast you can physically manipulate it and also think about solving it is extremely difficult to do and can very easily go wrong no matter how much experience you have of doing it. Only jumbling up a little this puzzle cube, from it being unscrambled, by just applying a few turns/twists to it should be a simple challenge to solve and unscramble as this will only take a few moves and as it should be easy to remember and then retrace the steps you took to scramble it. Therefore if you want a scramble from this magic cube that is not really easy and straightforward to resolve then it requires being jumbled up a lot and preferably without you paying attention to how you have jumbled it up so it is not easy for you to retrace the moves you made to scramble it. Solving this puzzle cube for the very first time by yourself without following any sort of instructions that show or inform how to solve it will likely make solving it for the first time very difficult especially if you are new to puzzle cubes but might also make solving it for the first time a lot more fun with a greater sense of accomplishment. On balance, I would say the level of difficulty for this as a puzzle cube is a clear notch above beginner level and a quite tough but not extremely difficult challenge to be able to successfully unscramble because it only has a few sides and there are not that many individual pieces to it so the number of moves needed to unscramble it, no matter the scramble, is not that many and therefore the moves that unscramble it should be easier to memorize/recall. The difficulty of this magic cube's challenge I would say comes from the combination of curved edges, corner pieces and straight edges that it has which makes this toy so confusing to look at especially when scrambled as well as some of the quite complex moves that have to be performed with it to solve it that can be tricky to remember/perform because of their complexity.

In summary, this magic cube is a handheld toy that is a fun mental and physical challenge which has a unique and striking look to it that makes it stand out as a puzzle cube with its the level of difficulty meaning it is not really suitable for newcomers to puzzle cubes due its somewhat confusing shape/form making it a challenge to solve. However, even though this toy may not be the most difficult puzzle cube challenge that exists it still has plenty of replayability going for it particularly the quest to produce the fastest time you can with it which will be an ongoing one that a person can keep returning to. So this magic cube is ideal for someone who can solve the 3x3x3 Rubik's cube and is then looking for another puzzle cube that is a step up in difficulty and that offers a slightly different challenge to solve.