After its invention in 1974, puzzlers have taken the classic Rubik’s cube in many different directions: The Megaminx, The 7x7x7 Megacube, The Skweb, Kimominx, and more. And just when it seemed nothing more can be done with everyone’s favorite puzzle cube, a Bluetooth connection promises something the device has never had before: A tutorial.
Those who owned traditional cubes and weren’t genius-level speed-cubers may remember their first few hours with the toy as a mix of excitement and confusion. Sure, it was cool spinning the colors around, but what am I doing? How do I finish this? I think the white side is almost done, if I could only figure out how to get this one red out of the middle. Maybe if I change this one…ah, well, that didn’t work. Back to stage one, then.
The GoCube, a device birthed out of Kickstarter successes, features online functionalities to address this classic issue. When connected to the cube’s app, the app is able to recognize exactly what configuration the cube is in, and offer hints or information about what the puzzle-solver should be doing or where they should be focusing their attention.
A second option, The GoCube Edge, offers much more advanced tracking systems that allows a user to see their interactions with the cube in real-time with as little as a 0.001 second delay. That’s 25 times less delay than the standard cube. The pro will also offer the ability to save stats from a solve online and the ability to measure and track rotation speed.
There are many different forms of help the Cube’s app might offer. For example, the cube might give a step-by-step tutorial on how to solve a puzzle, or it might offer hindsight analysis after a solver has finished the cube, running through the moves made and informing the user which alternate paths they could have taken to improve their times.
Much of the functionality seems to be based around those who want to take their speed-cubing game to the next level. Rubik’s Cube solving competitions have had a decent following for some time now, but this is among the first devices designed to aid the speed-cubing audience, aside from a few other low-friction cubes and the speed-cubing device linked above.
The GoCube’s pricing also separates it as a device for the elite: On Kickstarter, you can reserve yours now for $69, or $89 for the GoCube Edge. That’s at least a $64 increase in price from your standard cube, but if you’re looking to get serious about cutting down on your time, this is the best available tool in the book.
As of today, the Kickstarter page has raised almost fifteen times as much as the project’s goal. In addition to pre-purchasing, other contributions can net rewards such as stands for the cubes, multiple cubes at discounted prices, and special charging stations to recharge your supercube in style.
Check out the Kickstarter page here, complete with a promotional video that details the benefits of the device. If everything goes as planned, the device will be released on March of 2019.
