granvold@tymix.UUCP (Tom Granvold) (09/18/85)
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Two days ago I recieved a letter from Hong Kong concerning the
availablity of Rubik's Cube type puzzles. A couple of years ago I
belonged to wht was know as the Puzzlers Club. All it amounted to
was a way of buying differant Rubik's Cube type puzzles. Some of these
showed up later in the US in toy stores, for example the one dodecahedron
shaped. I gave up on them when one of the ones that I ordered never
showed up and they did not respond to my letters.
The current letter explains that customs were confiscating many of
them comming into the US thinking that they were illegal copies. They
are now apperantly cleaning out their inventory. So if you want one of
these, you had better go for it now.
The only complication is that this offer is being made to Puzzlers
Club members. I have no idea if others can buy these or not.
The available puzzles are:
5x5x5 cube CE8426 $25
Skewb CE8431 $15
Pyraminx CE8423 $20
Timber finished
Pyraminx CE8424 $20
Impossi-Ball CE8429 $29
Add $1 each for registered mail.
Available from:
Pricewell (Far East) Limited
P.O. Box 31008 Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
telephone: 5-8939944
telex: 75600 REF HX
The Skewb is a cube where each face has been divided into a smaller
square and four triangle. The square is formed by connecting the midpoints
of adjacent sides.
The Pyraminx is a tetraheadron shaped Rubik's Cube.
The Impossi-Ball is a sperical shaped puzzle.
Both the Pyraminx and Impossi-Ball I have seen here in toy stores a
year or two ago. As far I know the Skewb and 5x5x5 cube have not been
available here. The qualilty is these puzzles is the same as that of the
orginal Rubik's cube.
Does anyone have or know where I can get the puzzle based on an
octaheadron?
Tom Granvold
ucbvax!allegra!oliveb!tymix!granvoldgranvold@tymix.UUCP (Tom Granvold) (10/02/85)
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This is in reply to a request from ihnp4!oddjob!matt. I tried to reply
directly back to him but I got back a meesage saying that ihnp4 was unknown.
So I am posting the reply here in hopes that he will see it. If I remember
right it is someone at the Univ. of Chicago. His request was in replay to
an article I had posted about being able to get a 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and
other unusual variations from a company in Hong Kong. He wanted to know
how trustworthy they are.
I have mixed feelings about the company. A couple of years ago
I had ordered four differant puzzles over the space of a few months.
I recieved all but one of them. I wrote a letter about the missing one
and received no responce. Now I get a letter from them, claiming that
customs had confiscated a lot of puzzles thinking they were illegal
copies from Tiawan. They say that they have now worked out the problem with
out customs.I first heard of them in an article by Hofstader in
Sceintific Amercian about three years ago.
If I had to guest, I'd give an 80% chance of receiving the
puzzle. In any case I have sent my money off for a Skewb. It will
probably take two or three months to get the puzzle. I'll see then what
will happen. Sorry that I can't be more definate about it.
Tom Granvold
ucbvax!allegra!oliveb!tymix!granvoldminow@decvax.UUCP (Martin Minow) (10/03/85)
A very large toy store in Tokyo had 5x5x5 cubes last February. Try writing to Toypark 8 8 11, Ginza Chuo Ku Tokyo 100 Japan (Note re Japanese street numbers: 8 8 11 refers to the section, block number, and house number in the Ginza section of the Chuo district of Tokyo. Houses are numbered in the order thy are built; blocks and districts are numbered -- I think -- right to left and top to bottom -- or somesuch. Makes finding something given its address an NP complete problem.) PS: The mechanics of the 5x5x5 are intresting, but I haven't dared to scramble/solve it. I think most of the 3x3x3 tricks should work. Martin Minow decvax!minow
mikel@codas.UUCP (Mikel Manitius) (10/05/85)
> A very large toy store in Tokyo had 5x5x5 cubes last February. > Try writing to > Toypark > 8 8 11, Ginza > Chuo Ku > Tokyo 100 > Japan > > (Note re Japanese street numbers: 8 8 11 refers to the section, > block number, and house number in the Ginza section of the > Chuo district of Tokyo. Houses are numbered in the order > thy are built; blocks and districts are numbered -- I think -- > right to left and top to bottom -- or somesuch. Makes finding > something given its address an NP complete problem.) > > PS: The mechanics of the 5x5x5 are intresting, but I haven't > dared to scramble/solve it. I think most of the 3x3x3 tricks > should work. > > Martin Minow > decvax!minow Re: Japanese street numbers, that's kind of like having sectors, tracks, and cylinders on a disk, does this mean that in Japan you need little I-node tables to look up when you want to get to someone's house? :-) -- ======= Mikel Manitius ==----===== AT&T (305) 869-2462 RNX: 755 ==------===== Information Systems ...{akguc|ihnp4}!codas!mikel ===----====== SDSS Regional Support ...attmail!mmanitius =========== Altamonte Springs, FL My opinions are my own. =======