The Fault in our Cubes

Wooden puzzle cube

 Morgan Ho

The wooden puzzle cube comes in 7 separate parts (as seen below) and is the Pandora's Box of domestic situations. It is well crafted and the wood is smooth and not splintery. Although some might have you think that it does not actually create a cube when complete it does- which allows for very compact and efficient storage. As a cube it is quite sleek in design and the variations in grain leave a pleasing visual effect. In practice the puzzle improves the users problem solving skills leaving feelings of elation and self-efficacy.

Now you might be wondering; “But Morgan, this cube sounds fantastic! How could such a thing be a Pandora's Box and where can I buy one??” The answer to such a question does not lie in the intrinsic faults of the puzzle but in the IQ of the participants.

As illuminated in the screenshot above, people need help- sometimes desperately so. There have been many moments when family and friends attempt to conquer this puzzle but end up humiliating themselves. To make matters worse, many serious occasions have been disrupted by the distractive nature of participants’ failures and hence the flow of the meeting has been interrupted. Furthermore, the pieces will clatter when dropped. They will be dropped. 

Pros

• Looks nice when made
• Can be picked up with one hand 

Cons

• People will struggle to make it
• Then they’ll leave you to clean it up
• Or take a piece with them

Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars, more if you enjoy watching people fail.

You can look at some real puzzles here!