Alexander's Star

We can't enough of mechanical puzzles so we bring you yet another one of those, this time it's Alexander's Star.

It seems like a rubik's cube, except for the cube part, but it also looks a little bit more complex due to it's shape.
Invented in 1982 by Adam Alexander, an American mathematician it was comercialized by Ideal Toy Corp.


General view:

Objective:

Simple enough, you have 30 movable pieces that rotate in a star formation, you have to move them by rotating the "stars" until you have a single color star in each side, surrounded by a single other color, which in turn will be in reverse on the opposite side.


Difficulty:

Much like the Rubik's Cube the main difficulty comes from the fact that moving a piece has effects on other sides besides the one we are working on, so you have to take into account other faces of the puzzle when moving it around. And as well as the cube, if you find the right algorithm which to follow to solve the Star your life gets easier.


Variations:
Well, look's like due to its unique shape this puzzle doesn't seem to have variations as the puzzle itself seems like a very odd variation of Rubik's Cube on its own!

Benefits of the Alexander's Star:

Logical thinking and hand eye coordination seem to be the biggest benefits you get out of this one, apart from well having fun of course.





Puzzler Approved!

Posted in: mechanical, puzzle