QiYi Windmill S Fidget Puzzle

QiYi Windmill S Fidget Puzzle: a 3x3x1 floppy and a fidget spinner in one

The QiYi Windmill S Fidget Puzzle combines two things you would normally buy separately. The first is a 3x3x1 puzzle, also known as a super floppy (a cube that is only one layer thick). The second is a fidget spinner. The centre piece holds a ball bearing, so you can spin the whole thing like a regular spinner, then scramble it and solve it like a puzzle.

The Windmill version

The letter S and the word Windmill indicate a variant with offset cuts, inspired by the Windmill cube. After a few moves, the puzzle loses its symmetry and changes shape. When solving it, you need to keep track not only of the colours but also of whether the pieces are back in their correct places. It is still an easy puzzle, but it gives you a bit more to think about than a classic 3x3x1 floppy.

Build

Instead of stickers, it has matte coloured plastic tiles. They don't peel off or wear at the edges, as stickers often do when you twist a puzzle in your fingers a lot. The longer sides are concave and the whole shape is slightly rounded on the outside, so it is comfortable to hold and turn. The body is black.

How it works in practice

Turning is smooth, with no catches and no noticeable resistance. That matters with a floppy, because nobody is racing the clock here and you mostly turn it out of habit. The spinner works well. According to user reviews, the bearing spins fast and runs quietly, so you can use it at your desk or at school without disturbing others.

Who is it for?

For people who like having something to fiddle with in their hands, and for kids who get bored with a spinner quickly and enjoy the extra challenge of a puzzle. Cubers will find it a handy, inexpensive curiosity for their collection or something to carry in a pocket. It is not an official WCA puzzle, so it is not suitable for competition training.

In the box

1. QiYi Windmill S puzzle
2. solving instructions