VeryPuzzle Spherical Tuttminx

VeryPuzzle Spherical Tuttminx

VeryPuzzle Spherical Tuttminx is a spherical version of the Tuttminx. This puzzle is based on an idea by Lee Tutt and has the shape of a truncated icosahedron, the classic football shape. In the Spherical version, only the outer shell has changed. Instead of flat faces, you get a ball, and the division into pentagonal and hexagonal faces is shown only by the cuts and the stickers. This model comes in Black, meaning black plastic.

What is a Tuttminx?

The Tuttminx has 32 turning faces: 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal. There are 150 moving pieces to solve: 60 corners and 90 edges. For comparison, a 3x3 cube has 20. Solving it feels like an extended Megaminx: you get hexagonal faces and many more pieces, so a solve takes noticeably longer and you need to pay closer attention.

Spherical shape and 12 sticker colours

A classic Tuttminx usually has as many colours as faces. Here, VeryPuzzle used only 12 sticker colours. The stickers are directional across the whole puzzle and have cut-outs where the pentagonal faces are. According to the manufacturer, these features keep the full difficulty of the puzzle while helping you see which turns are possible at any given moment. On a spherical puzzle without flat faces, that is a big help.

A ball sits in your hands differently than a shape with flat faces, and there are no edges for your fingers to catch on. So at first it is easier to lose your orientation. This is a typical matter of getting used to it with spherical puzzles.

Who is it for?

The Spherical Tuttminx is a collector's puzzle for relaxed solving, not a cube for timed speedcubing. It is best suited to people who have already mastered the Megaminx and want something bigger from the same family. It will also delight collectors of unusual puzzles, especially those who already own a flat Tuttminx and want its spherical version. It is definitely too difficult as a first puzzle for a beginner.

VeryPuzzle also offers the Spherical Tuttminx 66, but that is a separate puzzle with additional cuts. This description does not apply to it.

Specifications

• Manufacturer: VeryPuzzle
• Type: spherical Tuttminx (truncated icosahedron)
• Turning faces: 32 (12 pentagonal, 20 hexagonal)
• Moving pieces: 150
• Size: approx. 74.5 mm
• Plastic colour: Black
• Stickers: 12 colours, directional, with cut-outs where the pentagonal faces are