Rubik's Solves Christmas - Toy Review
14:39Christmas is such a wonderful time of giving gifts and spending time together as a family (often playing with all of the fun new toys we've been given!) So when John Adams asked us if we wanted to join in with their Rubik's Solves Christmas campaign of course we jumped at the chance. I mean, a Rubik's Cube is probably the perfect stocking filler gift, right? And I'm not the only one who thinks so, a recent survey shows that a third of parents would buy a Rubik's Cube for a stocking filler this year! But there are so many other Rubik's toys beyond the basic cube now.
Rubik's Edge
The first Rubik's toy that we opened up is the Rubik's Edge. It's a similar design to the traditional cube, but it's flat!
This one is a bit simpler to manoeuvre and is aimed at children from ages 6 and up. So I gave this one to Ivy who is nearly 6 and she really enjoyed flipping it all around and moving the cubes into different patterns.
It is still far from easy to solve after you've mixed it all up, but it's fun to play with along the way (and there are guides to solve the cubes online if you do need a bit of help.)
Rubik's 2x2 Cube
Next we opened up the Rubik's 2x2 Cube as this seems slightly simpler to solve than the other cubes as well.
This one is aimed at ages 8 and up so it went to Ethan as he has just turned 8. It's nice and easy to hold as it is a bit smaller than the original. It also comes with a little stand so that you can proudly display it after you've solved it!
Ethan really enjoyed the challenge of the 2x2 cube without feeling too overwhelmed by it.
It was also great for Ethan and Ivy to swap over and try each other's Rubik's Cubes and see if they could solve them. These are both very small and could easily fit into a bag or pocket, that would make them ideal for travel or taking out to places where children need to wait (like restaurants).
Rubik's 3x3 Cube
Onto the original Rubik's 3x3 Cube!
The 3x3 cube also comes with a little stand to display it, which is nice. I'm quite ashamed to say that I didn't realise that we didn't actually own a genuine Rubik's Cube before this, even though we do have a few souvenir cubes in our toy boxes. And you really can tell the difference. The Rubik's Cube is much smoother to turn and the coloured cubes are part of it, so no peeling stickers!
Ethan is really enjoying the 3x3 cube, although he is yet to solve it, he's very happy to pick it up whenever he passes and have a go for a few minutes.
Rubik's Orbit
Now we've got something really different, it's the Rubik's Orbit which is definitely not a cube!
It works on a similar principle that you have to move the sides all around to match up the colours, but this time it's the coloured rims of the circle that need to match up.
Both of the children are really enjoying playing with the Orbit, again it is quite the challenge to match up the colours once it has been all mixed up, but there's something a bit relaxing about just moving the sides of the Orbit around. It's a bit like a fidget toy as they're both very happy to just sit and play with it without trying to solve it, it's quite nice actually.
Rubik's Cage
Another really different one is the Rubik's Cage which is actually a game for 2 to 4 players.
It is a larger cube filled with individual cubies that the players place back in to try to get three in a row of the same colour.
You begin by emptying out all of the cubies and dividing the colours between the players.
Each player then takes turns either putting one of their cubies into the large cube, or twisting the cube or flipping the cube over.
The only rule is that you can not reverse the move of the last player (so you can't twist it back after someone else has just twisted it).
It is a real game of strategy and both of the children really enjoyed it. Trying to anticipate what the other player will do and think of ways of moving the cubies to get three of your colour to form a row.
Rubik's Match Card Game
Then we also have a Rubik's Match Card Game which can be played by 1 to 4 players.
I like that you can play this on your own or with others, and it can certainly be played in a non competitive way as well (which works well for us!)
The set comes with 3 different levels of challenge cards as well as 4 different sets of cube cards. Each player gets a set of cube cards and then all players try to recreate the pattern on the challenge card placed in the middle.
It took a little while for the children to get the hang of it and to understand that sometimes the cube cards had to overlap to make the pattern, but they really enjoyed it.
Overall we have been very impressed by the variety of Rubik's Cubes and Games and really do agree that they are a must have item for Christmas stockings this year!
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* This is a review post, we were sent these items to play with and write our honest opinions. *
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