Algorithm notation. The Starminx is a dodecahedron, so it reads the same face names as the Megaminx. The twelve faces are U R F L BL BR DR DL DBL DBR B and D, written in capitals. A plain face name turns it 72 degrees clockwise, a prime turns it counter-clockwise, and 2 or 2' is a 144-degree turn either way. Its cuts are so deep that they cross every neighbouring face along its diagonals, which draws the pentagram on each face: a centre pentagon, five star points and five edge triangles. That makes 102 pieces - 12 centres, 60 star points and 30 edges - and a single face turn carries 41 of them, almost half the puzzle. The WCA scramble moves also work: R++ and R-- turn everything except the L face 144 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise seen from the right, D++ and D-- turn everything except U, and U and U' turn the top. y rotates the whole puzzle around U, and brackets repeat or invert a group: (R U R' U')x3 or (R U R' U')3 plays it three times and (R U)' plays its inverse. The second input loads an algorithm into the player under the puzzle, played on the puzzle as it stands (set up a scramble with the first input): step through it with the buttons, press play, or click a move to jump there. The menu above the puzzle switches to the corner-turning Starminx I, also called the Dino Dodecahedron or Dinominx (#Dinominx in the link). It looks identical when solved, because its corner cuts run through the three neighbouring corners and draw the same pentagrams, but it turns its 20 corners 120 degrees instead of its faces. A corner turn carries 3 edges and spins its own 3 star points in place, so the star points and centres never leave home and only the 30 edges get mixed. Name a corner by its three faces glued together in any order (UFR, URBR, DDRDBR); a plain name turns it clockwise looking at the corner, a prime counter-clockwise, and a 2 is the same as a prime. y still rotates the whole puzzle and brackets work the same way. The corner turner has no keyboard turns. How to solve the Starminx.

Starminx simulator: solved on the left, scrambled on the right

Online Starminx Simulator

Free 3D Starminx simulator with the face-turning Starminx II and the corner-turning Starminx I (Dinominx). Scramble, time solves and step through algorithms.

Starminx simulator: Starminx I and II

The Starminx is a dodecahedron, like the Megaminx, but cut so deeply that every face shows a pentagram. There are two puzzles under the name, and this page has both. The face-turning Starminx II has 102 pieces - 12 centres, 60 star points and 30 edges - and one face turn carries 41 of them, almost half the puzzle. The corner-turning Starminx I, also called the Dinominx or Dino Dodecahedron, looks the same when solved but turns its 20 corners instead of its faces. Both are mass-produced by mf8. Confusingly, the Starminx II was designed first, and mf8 released an improved version of it in 2021.

Solved Starminx with a pentagram drawn on every face
Solved, both versions look like this: a centre pentagon, five star points and five edge triangles per face.

Switching between the two

The menu above the puzzle swaps between Starminx II (face-turning) and Starminx I / Dinominx (corner-turning) in place, and the page link remembers the corner turner with #Dinominx. The two need different notation:

  • Starminx II: Megaminx face names U R F L BL BR DR DL DBL DBR B D, a fifth of a turn clockwise for a plain letter, a prime for counter-clockwise. The keys U, F, R, L and D turn faces too, with Shift for the other direction, and the WCA moves R++ and D-- work.
  • Starminx I: a corner is named by its three faces glued together, such as UFR or URBR, and turns a third of a turn. A plain name is clockwise looking at the corner, a prime is counter-clockwise. There are no keyboard turns for this version.

Practising on the simulator

Drag a sticker to turn, drag the background to orbit, and use Scramble, Undo and Reset under the puzzle. The timer is separate: scramble, take a look, then press Start or Space to time your solve. The demo list changes with the version. On the Starminx II it includes the sexy move, Sune and a striking one: R U R' U' repeated 36 times before the puzzle is solved again. On the Starminx I the demos are the edge 3-cycles from the Ruwix Starminx solution, applied to concrete corners, plus "every corner once, top to bottom". Load any of them into the algorithm player and step through it to see exactly which pieces move.

How to solve the Starminx I

On a corner turn the star points only spin in place and the centres never move, so only the 30 edges get mixed. That makes it the friendlier of the two, close in spirit to the Dino Cube:

  1. Solve the edges around one face intuitively.
  2. Work around the neighbouring faces, using an algorithm only when a piece cannot be placed without breaking the finished part.
  3. Finish the opposite face with two edge 3-cycles: one around a face (B' A B A' on two corners A and B) and one around a corner.
Starminx I with two corners of one face marked A and B for an edge 3-cycle
The 3-cycle around a face uses two corners of that face, marked A and B here.

How to solve the Starminx II

Here every turn moves almost half the puzzle, so solving face by face like a Megaminx breaks too much. Experience with the Megaminx helps you find your way around the dodecahedron, and the Skewb teaches you how to handle turns that cut the puzzle in half. The main tool is short commutators of the form A B A' B', which move only a few pieces and leave the rest alone. The algorithm player is handy for testing a commutator before you trust it.

Scrambled Starminx with mixed star points and edge triangles

Is the Starminx a WCA event?

No. The Megaminx is the only dodecahedral WCA event; both Starminx versions are hobby puzzles, like the Pyraminx Crystal.

Which version should I start with?

The corner-turning Starminx I. Only its edges move, so a few 3-cycles are enough to solve it.