Magnectic Octacube (Mindscope)
0. Find the Opposites.
Pick up any cubelet and write down the 6 colors. Mine happen to be White, Red, Yellow, Greem, Blue and Magenta. Select a color, and place each cubelet so that all the top sides are of that color.
Now, turn all 8 cubelets upside-down; you will see 4 more colors on the new top sides. The missing color from the list is the "opposite" of the original color. This means that after the Octacube is completely assembled, then the missing color will always be on the opposite side of the original color you selected.
Repeat this method two more times to determine the other opposite pairs. Here are the results for my particular puzzle:
| Color: | Opposite: |
| Red | Yellow |
| Green | Blue |
| White | Magenta |
NOTE: Your puzzle may be set up different. The example used on this page is based on my Octacube; so you may have to substitute colors to solve your Octacube.
I. Pick a color, any color.
Place all cubelets so that the
top sides are all the same color.
In this case, the color is red. |
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II. Turn Upside-Down.
Flip all 8 cubelets upside-down
so that the original selected color
of dots (red) are on the bottom. |
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III. Pair Off.
Pair off the cubelets that have
matching top-side colors. |
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IV. Connect the Opposite Dots.
The opposite of red is yellow,
so rotate the cubelets of each pair
until you spot the yellow dots.
Connect the yellow sides together. |
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V. View the Scrambled Sides.
You now have 4 "shoeboxes".
Every shoebox has matching colors along all sides,
except for one side each. Turn the shoeboxes around
(do not pick up; just slide them on the table)
until the side with the mismatched dots are in view. |
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VI. Match the Mismatched.
Pair up together one set of shoeboxes
that have the same scambled color pattern.
Connect the multi-colored sides together.
Only pair one set together. Disregard the
state of the remaining 4 cubelets for now. |
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VII. Congratulations!
You have just solved the bottom half.
Place the magnetic bracket atop of the
bottom half (forming a nice equator)
and continue to solve the top half... |
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VIII. Choose the Opposite.
The bottom side was red,
and the opposite of red is yellow;
therefore the top side is yellow.
Place the remaining 4 cubelets so that the
top sides are the of "opposite" color (yellow). |
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IX. Turn Upside-Down.
Flip the last 4 cubelets upside-down
so that the yellow colored dots
are now on the bottom. |
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X. Pair Off.
Pair off the cubelets that have
matching top-side colors |
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XI. Connect the Original Dots.
The opposite of yellow is red,
the original color we started off with,
so rotate the cubelets of each pair
until you spot the red dots.
Connect the red sides together. |
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XII. View the Scrambled Sides.
You now have 2 "shoeboxes".
Both shoeboxes have matching colors along all sides,
except for one side each. Turn the shoeboxes around
(do not pick up; just slide them on the table)
until the side with the mis-matched dots are in view. |
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XIII. Match the Mismatched.
Connect the two shoeboxes together at
the sides with the multi-colored dots.
|
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VII. Congratulations!
You have just solved the top half.
While holding the four cubelets together,
flip them upside-down and place them properly
on the bottom half. The puzzle is finished. |
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