Starminx

scrambled starminxTwo different models of this puzzle have been made and mass-produced by mf8. The Starminx I is also called the Dino Dodecahedron, which reveals that it is a corner turning 12 faced puzzle.

The Starminx II is a face-turning deep-cut puzzle where you turn a lot of pieces at once, not just 6 pieces.

At first sight they seem to be exactly the same, but if you look closer you realize that the Starminx ll has bigger edges. Both puzzles are huge, about the size of the Megaminx, maybe this is the reason why they come in a Megaminx package from the mf8 factory.

Starminx 1

This is the corner turning version where you move just 6 pieces at once, 3 corners and 3 edges. The turning is not so smooth as expected and you can't find a good grip on the puzzle.

The Starminx solution is not so complicated, you just have to know 3 algorithms to get it solved. To execute the following algorithms rotate the corresponding corners clockwise and counterclockwise when you see the apostrophe.

Case 1
starminx eges
Rotate 3 edge pieces clockwise around a face:
 
B' A B A'
Case 2
rotate clockwise
Rotate the 3 edge pieces clockwise around a corner:
 
B A B' A B A B'
Case 3
starminx puzzle
To orient 2 edge pieces first do this algorithm to get case 1:
A' B' C' D C B A D'

Starminx 2

how to solveOriginally the Starminx 2 was designed first but mf8 named this to be the second. This may cause confusion.

This is the face turning version, where you move almost the half of the cube at once. This makes it so hard to solve.

The mechanism is similar to the classic Megaminx. The puzzle turns pretty good and it gets looser and looser if you use it much. The only annoying thing about it is that the center pieces fell off all the time. The stickers are pretty good quality and you have to apply them.

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