Helicopter, Dino and Rex 

Helicopter, Dino and Rex - edge-turning and corner-turning puzzles

With these puzzles you don't turn faces like on a classic 3x3 cube. The Helicopter Cube and its variants turn around the edges. Dino, Rex and Redi Cube turn around the corners. In this category you'll find both simple models to get started and elaborate shape mods from LanLan, MF8, Calvins Puzzle, SengSo and AJ.

Dino, Redi and Rex: corner-turning cubes

Dino Cube consists of only 12 edges. It has no centers and no corners, and every move cycles three pieces around the chosen corner at once. Most of the solve can be done intuitively, which is why the Dino works well as your first puzzle beyond classic cubes. There are six-color and four-color versions.

Redi Cube was designed by Oskar van Deventer. The mechanism is based on the Dino, but the cube also has 8 corners. With every move, a corner turns together with its three neighboring edges. You can choose between non-magnetic versions and magnetic ones from YuXin and MoYu. The MoYu Magnetic Redi Cube Ball Core has magnets between the corners and the core. Moves clearly snap into place, which gives you better control when solving faster.

Rex Cube also turns around the corners, but it has deep, curved cuts. Thanks to them, each face shows a center, "petals" and edges. Scrambled, the Rex looks intimidating, but you can solve it without complicated algorithms. Besides the classic LanLan Rex, the category also includes the Rex Ice Cube variant.

Helicopter Cube and Curvy Copter: jumbling

The Helicopter Cube turns around its 12 edges. Its distinctive feature is jumbling: after a partial turn, pieces can swap places in a way that is impossible with regular moves, and the cube loses its cubic shape. Without jumbling, the Helicopter is fairly easy to solve; with jumbling, it becomes much harder.

Curvy Copter has curved cuts. They reveal centers that are hidden in the Helicopter, and these centers have to be solved too. Many mods are based on the Copters, for example the Flower Copter, Heart Copter and MF8 Curvy Copter III. There are also versions in other shapes: Helicopter Megaminx, Helicopter Dodecahedron, Helicopter Icosahedron and Manish Hexacopter.

Which puzzle should you choose?

• To get started: Dino Cube or Redi Cube. They have few piece types and are solved mostly intuitively.
• For frequent, faster solving: a magnetic Redi Cube. The magnets reduce accidental moves and improve control.
• Next step: Rex Cube and Helicopter Cube. They are more visually challenging but still approachable.
• For experienced solvers and collectors: Curvy Copter with jumbling, Copters in other shapes and mods such as the Mosaic Cube, Lattice Cube, Pillow Dino, DaYan Dino F-Skewb or AJ 4x4 Curvy Dinominx.