8x8x8 

8x8x8 cubes: big NxN puzzles with an even number of layers

An 8x8 cube has eight layers on each axis and 36 center pieces on each face. Because the number of layers is even, there is no fixed center. You identify the color of each face by the corners, and while solving you may run into the parity cases you know from the 4x4. Like the 6x6 and 7x7, 8x8 cubes are based on a design developed and patented by Panagiotis Verdes.

History of 8x8 cubes

The first 8x8 model available on the market was the ShengShou 8x8, released in July 2013. An even-layered mechanism of this size is hard to design well, so for years there were only a few 8x8 cubes, far fewer than 4x4 or 5x5 models. Today this category includes models from ShengShou (also sold under the SengSo brand), MoYu, QiYi, DianSheng and YuXin. 8x8 is not a WCA event, so all records in this size are unofficial.

A milestone came at the end of 2018, when the first small 8x8 cube appeared: the MoFangJiaoShi MF8 (MoYu Meilong 8x8), measuring just 69 mm. Older designs were noticeably bigger. For comparison, the YuXin Little Magic 8x8x8 is about 88 mm. A smaller cube is more comfortable to hold, and your hands get less tired during a solve that lasts several minutes. For a long time, the best unofficial times were set on the MF8.

Magnets and Ball-Core

The next change was magnets. The DianSheng Galaxy 8x8 M is considered the first mass-produced magnetic 8x8 cube. Ball-Core versions (Galaxy 8x8 M-Ball Core, QiYi Magnetic 8x8x8 Ball-Core, MoYu Meilong 8x8 V3 M Core-Ball) also have magnets between the ball in the middle and the pieces. Their job is to keep the inner layers in place, because in big cubes misaligned inner layers cause the most lockups. These models are also very compact: the QiYi is 64 mm, and the Meilong 8x8 V3 M Core-Ball is 65.5 mm with 208 magnets.

How to choose an 8x8 cube?

For your first 8x8, for learning center and edge reduction, or for your collection, a simpler model without magnets is enough, for example the YuXin Little Magic, ShengShou 8x8x8 v2, SengSo MoSheng 8x8 or MoYu Meilong 8x8 V3. Cubes like these are a good way to find out whether this size suits you. If you time your solves and want control over the inner layers, a magnetic or Ball-Core version will serve you better. Ball-Core gives more stability, but not everyone needs it right from the start.