[译者注: 自制魔方是魔方的一大迷人之处.twistypuzzle.com的论坛可以说代表了自制魔方的最高水平.Jin H Kim也是一位资深的自制魔方玩家,他在twisty puzzle 论坛九周年之际的这篇文章, 可以让我们一窥国外自制魔方的一些发展历程.故翻译一下,发在这里,供大家参考.本人水平有限,翻译中错误肯定很多,请大家指正. twisty puzzle在文中全部被翻译为"魔方",后面翻译的比较简略了...]
The 24th of November 2008 marks the 9th anniversary of the Twisty Puzzles forum. In celebration of the occasion I decided to write about what I felt was a list of the Top 10 custom twisty puzzles ever made. The puzzles were chosen using several key criteria, including puzzle desirability, innovation, and overall significance in the custom puzzle community. Most of the puzzles here are milestones and have made a great impact one way or another.
The types of puzzles on this list range from simple shape modifications to the complete 3D printed and cast puzzles although the line was drawn at sticker variants as there are far too many to be properly represented. In some cases there is a degree of overlap between builders, but ultimately the credit mainly goes to the "first" substantiated physical release of a particular puzzle. While the main focus is on the puzzle itself, the influence of the builder can't be completely ignored and in some cases strongly influences the decision to include the puzzle.
Credit was given, linked, and date of invention listed whenever possible. Ultimately the choices are my opinion only and naturally you may choose to disagree although in general it would be difficult to argue that all of these puzzles don't hold some significance. Creating a numbered list can be an interesting challenge as one weighs the position of the various puzzles. And the idea of only including “Top 10” puzzles on this list in an ordered fashion? It's downright unfair. But then again, life is unfair and as much as I wanted this list to be longer (and maybe some day it will!) I had to draw the line somewhere.
We begin our Top Ten list with an interesting offset shape modification of a 3x3x3 puzzle. The puzzle is a simple yet elegant design where every piece has a unique yet non-arbitrary shape which allows the puzzle to be solved without stickers and without the need to solve for center parity. This is essentially the same as solving a regular rubik's cube, but significantly more difficult.
Hidetoshi-san's puzzle holds several notable distinctions;
1. His custom puzzle gallery debuted on the forum before he did.
2. His debut on the Twisty Puzzles forum was more of an invitation.
3. His Bump Cube (rebranded as the Rubik's Mirror Blocks) was mass produced.
For the unique appearance of the puzzle, plus the success of achieving mass production after receiving no less than official Rubik’s branding, the Bump Cube makes Number Ten on the list.
由于独特的外形, 加上成功地以Rubik's的官方商标量产, 所以Bump Cube被排在第十位.
Number Nine:
Siamese Cube – Tony Fisher, circa 1981
第九位:
Siamese Cube (连体魔方) – Tony Fisher, 约1981
At the dawn of the Rubik’s Cube craze, Tony Fisher was on hand not just to solve the puzzle, but to hack it into bits. Or, in this case, to make one puzzle from two.
在80年的魔方热之初, Tony Fisher 不仅还原魔方, 还把魔方劈成小块. 或者, 在这里, 他把两个魔方合并成一个.
While the Siamese Cube concept today is commonplace, the significance of the idea still dates back to those early years where with blades and glue in hand, the first custom twisty puzzle mod was born and a revolution started. This early revolution places the Siamese Cube (and all other fused puzzle concepts) at Number Nine.
Mr. Tutt's debut on the forum was also the debut of the Tuttminx, a face turning truncated icosahedron puzzle similar in style to a Megaminx, only to a much larger scale. And with its debut, the concept of higher order non-cubical puzzles was demonstrated in grand style.
The Tuttminx pushes the limits of the face turning concept while Lee's later work in the Pyracosaminx and the final Tutt's Icosaminx presented limits of the corner turning puzzle. But all of this marvelous work began with the Tuttminx debut, one of the earliest large scale designs employing 3D design for the master pieces (masters hand made by a jeweler!) by someone never seen or heard of in the forum, placing this puzzle at Number Eight.
By all appearances this puzzle is nothing more than a simple shape mod utilizing a UFO mechanism at its core. What distinguishes this puzzle from others is that it uses plastic sheet as the primary method for construction. Indeed, Anthony Greenhill's custom puzzles are primarily built from polystyrene sheet, a technique seldom used previously even though it was shown to be the superior method for a lot of shape mods.
Only in recent years has the popularity of plastic sheet really taken off as builders rediscover the advantages of using this building material. Will curved plastic sheet be next? Only Time will tell, but until then the puzzle still earns a Number Seven slot on this list.
The Teraminx is a brilliant design that truly pushes the concept of the higher order puzzle to the limit, creating a work that escalates the technique of 3D modeling and fabrication. Aside from the puzzle itself, Andrew's incredibly fast casting technique has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to fabricate a puzzle of this magnitude within hours and not weeks.
As a carefully choreographed mechanism of a frightening number of visible moving pieces, the Teraminx essentially has no equals among custom puzzles and earns itself and its builder a spot at Number Six.
At first glance the Void Cube seems less like a custom puzzle and more like a mystery. Does the Void Cube even rotate? It most certainly does.
咋一看, 空心魔方更多地是一个不可思议的奇迹, 而不是一个自制魔方. 空心魔方能转吗? 当然能!
This puzzle from a master craftsman at first glance certainly does appear impossible. His technique of building jigs and directly fabricating puzzles from raw blocks of ABS plastic is virtually peerless, only echoed by a few employing CNC machines and laser cutters.
His many years of machine work have resulted in many impressive works over the years, the pinnacle of which is arguably this work. And in yet another impressive feat, Okamoto-san joins the ranks of the few custom builders who have seen their puzzles mass produced, securing the Void Cube its place at Number Five.
Some people doubted that this puzzle could even be built. Or rather, that nobody was insane enough to build one. Taking an idea discussed by no less than Robert Webb and Bram Cohen, the self proclaimed madman eventually built the puzzle by sheer determination, ingenuity, and a trusty CNC machine, resulting in a mechanism that makes people of lesser intestinal fortitude give up all hopes of ever duplicating the effort.
For sheer audacity of design and construction, the Pentultimate earns itself (and the human being the puzzle owns) a Number Four spot in this countdown.
这个具有极大勇气的设计和制造, 排第四位.
Number Three:
Slim Tower - Tony Fisher, circa 1990
This puzzle is one of the simplest custom puzzles that goes beyond the "mere" shape mod for the enthusiast. There are many ways to make this puzzle, which makes the Slim Tower a fantastic way to learn many techniques, provided that the builder chooses to put those techniques to good use.
The simple concept of bandaging and building over an existing mechanism may seem commonplace in the modern day, but the idea was spawned when certain advanced tools were well beyond the reach of anybody except those working in the plastics or machining industry. Even today the general concept can be expanded to the creation of virtually any cuboid for as long as the appropriate NxNxN mechanism exists.
It is interesting to note that this is the only puzzle on this list that was not actually directly constructed by its inventor (only designed and described), therefore there is no picture of an original. However the sheer influence of the creation of more complex cuboids using the same basic method makes a compelling case for its inclusion, earning the 2x2x3 Slim Tower the Number Three position.
The number two puzzle on this list was brought by one of the maddest of the current crop of twisty puzzle designers. The 24 Cube is predated by two other stunning works, the Toru and Rua, where jumbling is a key feature of their design. The 24 Cube however takes the "less is more" approach and presents a mere 12 apparent moving pieces despite the hundreds required in its framework to make the puzzle work.
One glance at the simple looking “half chop” design tells the observer nothing about what sort of insane mechanism is required to make this puzzle work, which is really an elegant part of this puzzle’s greatness. The 24 Cube is truly a master of deception where simplicity and complexity intersect to make this puzzle Number Two on the list of greatest custom puzzles ever.
How does a "simple shape mod" make the top of the list? Several very important reasons: Firstly, the Fisher Cube is quite possibly the granddaddy of all custom shape modifications that did not come from a factory. Second, the Fisher Cube is one of those puzzles that almost every novice builder attempts on their way to improving their skills. Many techniques can be employed to make the puzzle and many new skills to learn.
The Fisher Cube, much like its inventor, is iconic, a representation of the qualities many custom puzzle makers strive for: Innovation. Creativity. Craftsmanship. Skill. It is this iconic stature and its longevity in the puzzling community that ranks the Fisher Cube the Number One greatest custom Twisty Puzzle of all Time.
With the passage of the years the list may certainly change or grow as inventors come and go and new techniques are learned. Or perhaps others in the future may have their own ideas about what constitutes their own “Top 10” list and write up their own. I tried to create this list with no bias, doing my best to adhere strictly to the rules dictated in the title of this write-up. Unfortunately there are many names of custom puzzle greats that have not been mentioned even though they truly merit credit and recognition. It was a regrettable decision that had to be made for the sake of brevity and for that I am truly sorry.
In any case I hope to at least inspire some of you out there to contemplate this list, think about the puzzles, learn the techniques to create them, and walk tall among the innovators and visionaries of the Twisty Puzzles community as we all head into a bright custom puzzle future.