Upcoming puzzles

This one? I wonder if it's the same one as this one from "CB" on Cubezz. I ordered the CB one immediately when I saw it, but I have a strong suspicion that it's literally LanLan with different (better) stickers and for a lower price.

I have all the mass produced Master Pyraminxes and LanLan is very clearly "budget" compared to Shengshou and Qiyi, but costs the same as them. If this one is indeed just a cheaper LanLan, then it can actually compete with the "top tier" ones by being worse but cheaper.

What mechanism is used in the lefun masterpyraminx? plastic bump or ball bearings? or no clicking mechanism? (I hate the click.) how do the fanxin master pyraminx compare to the other master pyraminx?
 
Last edited:
What mechanism is used in the lefun masterpyraminx? plastic bump or ball bearings? or no clicking mechanism? (I hate the click.) how do the fanxin master pyraminx compare to the other master pyraminx?
Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten about the Master Pyraminxes :) I wanted to make an in-depth comparison video back then, and was polishing the script when the CB/Lefun one came out. I ordered that one, it arrived... and then the FanXin one came out. So I'm sitting on a few Master Pyraminxes already and hoping that this one will be the last one in a while, so that I can finally make a comparison between all the currently released ones. The FanXin is still in the mail (cubezz shipping is slow...) but I expect it to show up soon.

That said, CB/Lefun does have a clicking mechanism. It's not ball bearings, just plastic bumps. Unlike Qiyi, these bumps are further away from the center and come out of the puzzle during turns. Going back to my old statement about bumps on the Qiyi, I expressed that very "deeply" seated bumps are bad because of how you use the outer part of the puzzle as a lever, and that moving them further from the center might be better. Well, as it turns out, when the rigid plastic bumps come out of the puzzle during turns, they subtly get in the way when it's time for them to hide back inside. Overall, I remain convinced that rigid plastic bumps are a bad idea in general, and either ball bearings on springs or magnets are the way to go.

However, it's irrelevant because the CB one is pretty bad in general. It pops. A lot. You can even easily make it pop on purpose. It's the cheapest one among them, and it looks great (nice stickers and all), but performance-wise, it's just irrelevant. LanLan, while still inferior to Shengshou and Qiyi, is way more reliable and impossible to pop on reasonable tensions. Also, CB isn't just a LanLan with bumps and new stickers - it's a different mold. However, it's the same size as LanLan (1-2 mm smaller than a standard 3-layer pyraminx).

---

Actually, does someone here have a Lefun one from a store like TheCubicle? Store photos show that when it's branded as "Lefun", it has a different packaging, but otherwise the puzzle seems to be the exact same thing. If someone has a specifically Lefun-branded one, can you post a couple closeup photos to settle this reliably?
 
Last edited:
I am very eager to see your comparison of all the various master pyraminxes (even if I have owned them all myself other than the Lefun).

My experience with the CB is not the same as yours. Mine doesn't pop. I find it to be pretty darn stable. It's not great - I don't think any of the master pyraminxes released thus far have been great - but it's not terrible either.
 
That's really curious. On mine, a sure way to cause an intentional pop is to do turn the shallow layer when another deep one is turned, like in the photo below. If you turn the piece under the tip on the left, pieces will come flying out. Of course, this is an intentional situation, but it also happens with less "extreme" angles of misalignment, like during normal corner cutting. Neither of the other three brands of master pyraminxes I have are suspectible to this. And while it definitely depends on tensions, this easily happens on very reasonable tensions - not only on super loose ones.

z6TWOJV.jpg


Out of curiosity, just to make sure we are talking about the exact same model (what with all the CB vs Lefun names), does yours also have bumps / notches in the same places, and does it have the same leather-like stickers (and the overall appearance)?

e8MyOwn.jpg
 
Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten about the Master Pyraminxes :) I wanted to make an in-depth comparison video back then, and was polishing the script when the CB/Lefun one came out. I ordered that one, it arrived... and then the FanXin one came out. So I'm sitting on a few Master Pyraminxes already and hoping that this one will be the last one in a while, so that I can finally make a comparison between all the currently released ones. The FanXin is still in the mail (cubezz shipping is slow...) but I expect it to show up soon.

That said, CB/Lefun does have a clicking mechanism. It's not ball bearings, just plastic bumps. Unlike Qiyi, these bumps are further away from the center and come out of the puzzle during turns. Going back to my old statement about bumps on the Qiyi, I expressed that very "deeply" seated bumps are bad because of how you use the outer part of the puzzle as a lever, and that moving them further from the center might be better. Well, as it turns out, when the rigid plastic bumps come out of the puzzle during turns, they subtly get in the way when it's time for them to hide back inside. Overall, I remain convinced that rigid plastic bumps are a bad idea in general, and either ball bearings on springs or magnets are the way to go.

However, it's irrelevant because the CB one is pretty bad in general. It pops. A lot. You can even easily make it pop on purpose. It's the cheapest one among them, and it looks great (nice stickers and all), but performance-wise, it's just irrelevant. LanLan, while still inferior to Shengshou and Qiyi, is way more reliable and impossible to pop on reasonable tensions. Also, CB isn't just a LanLan with bumps and new stickers - it's a different mold. However, it's the same size as LanLan (1-2 mm smaller than a standard 3-layer pyraminx).

---

Actually, does someone here have a Lefun one from a store like TheCubicle? Store photos show that when it's branded as "Lefun", it has a different packaging, but otherwise the puzzle seems to be the exact same thing. If someone has a specifically Lefun-branded one, can you post a couple closeup photos to settle this reliably?
the lefun comes in stickerless too. are there any difference between the black one and the stickerless one?The only lefun puzzle I have is the time machine. It pops for about 20 times per solve, and that's extremely annoying.
I don't have a master pyraminx, and I want a budget one. I hate plastic bumps. which one should I get?
there are so many brands out there (5). fanxin, qiyi, sheng shou, lanlan and lefun.
Also, do you think the master pyraminx should be added to the wca events?
 
Last edited:
I don't have a master pyraminx, and I want a budget one. I hate plastic bumps. which one should I get?

Not everyone will agree with me here, but get Shengshou. Like you, I don't like the rigid plastic bumps. Qiyi has bumps. Shengshou doesn't.

Performance-wise, both Shengshou and Qiyi are on the same level, and it boils down to which "feeling" you prefer.

For price, Qiyi, Shengshou and LanLan cost the same (give or take $1-2...), and CB/Lefun and Fanxin are cheaper. CB/Lefun pops, in my experience (although for Tabe it doesn't), and feels a bit blocky/rough. Fanxin, idk yet - I'll have it in a few days.

I agree that there is no "top-tier" master pyraminx (yet?), but Shengshou and Qiyi definitely stand out.
 
I would go the other direction - recommend the Qiyi over the Shengshou, The Shengshou is floppy and flexible in the hand and will explode just sitting on your shelf (slight exaggeration). I hate solving mine because it feels like it's going to fall apart regardless of how I turn it. I get not liking the bumps but I think the other advantages of the Qiyi outweigh whatever negative you might consider the bumps to be.
 
Yu-Sheng Du used an unknown cube by Moyu in his first solve of 2019 video in his disc. Did anyone see it??

or was it just me?
I saw it few days ago. May be prototype. Sounds like a GTS3, but corners has sharper inner angles, like on GTS2. So I think this is an updated GTS2 with the new color scheme. MoYu posted the question some time ago on FB and Insta, and one of the options was GTS2 with the new color scheme (GTS3's style).

 
Last edited:
file.jpg
y2_3d1bdf21-3895-4bdd-9704-b09165d9b16b_grande.png
y6.png

yuxin has released the yuxin little magic 5x5 m.
any one who has tried it? how is the turning?
when will they released the yuxin little magic 4x4 m?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top