Meffert's
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Meffert's is a puzzle company originally founded by Uwe Mèffert in 1981 to manufacture the first Pyraminx, which sold over ten million before Christmas. He went on to market and produce many twisty puzzles with the aid of various puzzle designers.
Contents
History
Meffert's most famous puzzle, invented by Uwe Mèffert, is the Pyraminx, which he developed in the early 1970s and released in 1981 once the Rubik's Cube craze hit. Meffert's company produced several other puzzles (mostly from other inventors) in the early 1980s, which include:
- 4x4x4 and 5x5x4 Cubes. From Hong Kong, Meffert produced 4x4x4 ("Rubik's Revenge") & 5x5x5 ("Rubik's Wahn") cubes for Ideal Toys and their subsidiaries.
- Megaminx. Independently of the Ideal Toys Megaminx (invented by Christoph Bandelow), Meffert also released a Megaminx using patented mechanisms by Kersten Meier and Udo Krell.
- Skewb. Invented by Tony Durham. Originally sold as the "Pyraminx Cube" (to associate it with Meffert's best-selling product). It was renamed the "Skewb" after Douglas Hofstadter coined the word in his Scientific American column
- Pyraminx Star. A stellated and sparkly version of the Pyraminx.
In the late 1990s Uwe Mèffert launched an online store which by the year 2000 stocked the Pyraminx, Megaminx, Skewb, Master Cube (4x4x4 cube), Professor Cube (5x5x5 cube), Tetraminx, Pyramorphix, Square 1, Ultimate Skewb, Bandaged Cube, Siamese Cube, Skewb Diamond, and some other products (mostly puzzle balls).[2] Within ten years the product range had expanded to include gear cubes, crazy cubes, helicopter cubes, dino cubes, rex cubes, and similar variants for the pyraminx, megaminx and skewb. Other products included:
- Morphegg. A 3x3x3 shape mod in an egg shape.
- Fisher's Cube. Invented by Tony Fisher.
- Ghost Cube. Invented by Adam G Cowan.
Products
Meffert's makes a wide range of regular and unusual puzzles. The company focuses on non-WCA puzzles, rather than speedcubes, although there are some WCA puzzles (no longer considered good speedcubes). Meffert's range includes:
Pyraminx
The Pyraminx is Meffert's original puzzle. 1980s versions came in white plastic with stickers. In the 2000s Meffert's brand was a preferred choice among cubers. They later produced a Pyraminx II as an improved version of the original.
Skewb
Another puzzle which was once exclusive to Meffert's. Invented by Tony Durham.
Megaminx
Meffert's Megaminxes were highly regarded, and in the 2000s were considered to be the best available, but were fairly expensive and often out of stock, making them less accessible than the Chinese brands.
4x4x4 Cube
Meffert's manufactured (didn't themselves sell) the Rubik's Revenge for Ideal Toys in the 1980s. They started selling their own "Master Cube" in late 1999. Out of the box they were stiff but with a little lubrication and some breaking-in they became quite good. It was based off the old Rubik's mechanism. In the 2000s it was often a preferred cube: it could cut corners better than the Eastsheen 4x4, and was less prone to lockups than the Rubik's re-tooled version.
5x5x5 Cube
Meffert's also first manufactured 5x5 cubes in the early 1980s. In the 1990s they were selling them as the "Professor Cube". The center caps could be removed to loosen the cube. It was considered heavy, but it came pre-lubed, and moved well after breaking-in.
Morphegg
The Morphegg is a shape-mod based on the 3x3x3 mechanism. When scrambled the puzzle changes shape, loosely resembling a pine-cone. The goal is to return the puzzle to an egg-shape. It is a similar idea to the Mirror Blocks, however some parts are identical, and others may appear solved when oriented a number of ways. This gives way to various parities which make the puzzle more interesting, and arguably more challenging to solve than a regular 3x3x3.
See also
External links
- Visit the Meffert's website at: mefferts.com
- YouTube: Mefferts MorphEgg
