MoYu Rainbow Ball 7 cm

MoYu Rainbow Ball 7 cm

MoYu Rainbow Ball is a sphere with 12 holes and 11 coloured balls inside. Each hole has a coloured rim around it, and the goal is to get every ball into the hole of its own colour. One hole always stays empty, and that is what lets you move the other balls around. This version is about 7 cm in diameter and has a white body. There are no layers to turn. The puzzle works much like a klotski-style sliding puzzle, only in three dimensions.

How this ball puzzle works

You can push a ball into the empty hole only when it sits right next to it. After each move, the empty hole shifts to the spot the ball came from. To scramble the puzzle, you make a dozen or so random moves. To solve it, you plan your moves so the balls reach their places without pushing out the ones that are already in the right spot. The last two or three balls are usually the hardest. At that point you have to move some of the solved colours for a moment and think a few moves ahead.

Difficulty level

Rainbow Ball doesn't require any algorithms or notation, so you don't need to learn anything before you start. The 12-hole version sits in the middle of the range. It is noticeably harder than the small 8-hole version, but has fewer moves to plan than the 20-hole variant. It's a sensible choice for your first try.

Who is it for?

It works well as a brain teaser for a child who is just getting started with puzzles, and as a small gift. For a cuber, it's more of a break from cubes: something to pick up between sessions that trains spatial thinking without learning new algorithms. It contains small parts, so it is not suitable for very young children.

Specifications

• Type: spherical puzzle (sliding ball puzzle)
• Manufacturer: MoYu
• Diameter: approx. 70 mm
• Weight: approx. 98 g
• Number of holes: 12
• Number of balls: 11, each in a different colour
• Body colour: white
• Magnets: none
• In the box: puzzle