Happy cubes
The Happy Cubes are a series of puzzles that has been produced since 1986 , currently by Happy, based in Zoersel , Belgium . Each Happy Cube consists of six parts that can be put together to form a three-dimensional cube . They are delivered in a flat, two-dimensional arrangement that is fitted into a frame. Building the parts back into the frame is the second, usually easier, challenge. If you have several different Happy Cubes, you can combine the parts and build larger objects.
They are also used as educational toys to improve pattern recognition and hand-eye coordination . The Happy Cubes were invented by the Belgian Dirk Laureyssens.
description
The puzzles, including frames , are punched out of foamed plastic mats ( ethylene vinyl acetate ) that are between 7 and 9 mm thick . The cuboid frames have a base area of 9 by 12 cm² , the individual parts are 4 cm in size and thus also the assembled cubes.
Schematically, the parts consist of -size unit cubes that are arranged on a maximally large area. The large middle section is always completely filled, in the outer rows, depending on the element, sometimes more and sometimes less of these cubes are missing. Each Happy Cube thus consists of unit cubes. When assembling, attempts are usually made by trial and error to find a seamless arrangement of the parts. The parts can be plugged together horizontally or at right angles . In the normal cube solution, each of the six parts forms one side of the cube.
Four families
There are four sets (families), each with a different level of difficulty. There are six different cubes (models) in each family, each with a different level of difficulty. So there are a total of 24 cubes and thus 144 parts.
- Little Genius
The simplest variant, they are already suitable for preschool children. There are many identical parts, some are also symmetrical, the “outside” of each part is marked with a symbol that is supposed to provide further association possibilities for small children. The symbols relate in each case per model on a topic like Fruits (Fruits) Emotions (Faces) and transport (transport), giving the names of the models derived. In addition, each Little Genius Cube is two-colored, so that the “inside” and “outside area” can be recognized at first glance. This is the only family where part orientation matters.
- Happy Cube
The classic and original variant. There are only a few symmetrical parts and only two equal parts. The models are monochrome in the six primary and secondary colors and bear the names of major cities such as Amsterdam or New York .
- Profi Cube
The newest variant. The Proficubes are all two-tone, held in an irregular flecktarn pattern . They are a little more difficult than the Happy Cubes, but still have more symmetrical parts, which makes it easier to build larger objects. The models bear the names of famous personalities such as Da Vinci and Rubens . With older products, the second color was always black and today's purple-red professional Cube Newton was purely black. Due to complaints, they switched to a friendlier color scheme.
- Marble Cube
The most difficult variant. Each model has an irregular and fine marbling pattern of a light and a dark tone of the same color. There are almost no symmetries and only a few solutions. Nevertheless, all large objects such as the star or the large cube can be built from them . They are named directly after famous people like Mahatma Gandhi and Marie Curie .
Remarks
- While the puzzles can be solved individually by simple trial and error, this becomes difficult with large objects.
- The foam-like material ensures a pleasant feel , medium dimensional stability and the fine-pored surface ensures sufficient friction so that the parts stay put together. Due to the elasticity there is no risk of injury, but the parts can be bitten. Due to the risk of swallowing, the manufacturer recommends a minimum age of three years.
- The ideal thickness of the puzzles of 8 mm is not always achieved, which is why the parts of some production batches protrude somewhat.
- Although the name Happy Cube actually only refers to one family (albeit to the one that came first), the entire series is also called that in Germany and the USA . In other countries it runs under Cube It or I Qube .
- There is different software that can simulate the Happy Cubes and find solutions for many shapes.