Up Your Puzzle Game With These Rubik’s Cubes and Toys

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Some toys never go out of fashion. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Rubik’s continues to be the most popular puzzle cube brand in the world, with around 500 million sold, according to Yahoo Finance. While the classic Rubik’s cube may still be its biggest hit, the company has expanded significantly over the last 50 years, offering other puzzles and board games as well.

With an ever expanding number of cube sizes, the infusion of new games and puzzles in the spirit of the original toy, and improvements made to old classics, there are more Rubik’s products than you can keep track of. Don’t get lost in the colors—for birthdays, game nights, and rainy Saturdays alike, check out our list of the best Rubik’s Cubes and games that the company has to offer.

The Best Rubik’s Cubes

• The Standard Cube: The Original 3x3 Rubik’s Cube

• Best Table Game: Rubik’s Gridlock Game

• Best Non-Cube Puzzle: Rubik’s Pyramid

• Best Multiplayer Game: Rubik’s Cage Strategy Game

• Best Challenge: Rubik’s Professor 5x5 Cube

What to Consider

What Does Rubik’s Make Besides Cubes?

Rubik’s has combination puzzles in different sizes and shapes, including pyramids, 5x5 cubes, and even twisting puzzles that you rearrange into geometric shapes. Beyond the classic cubes, Rubik’s now has several games that play on the color combining that put the brand on the map. These include head-to-head color match races, grid-style puzzles, and even a three-dimensional version of tic-tac-toe.

Rubik’s now offers a full range of puzzles, cubes, and brain teasers, which may scratch the same sort of itch as the original. That said, if you’re a speed cuber or looking to get into competitive cubing, we don’t recommend a classic Rubik’s Cube.

While the company may have invented the puzzle, even the smoothest Rubik’s cubes don’t have the motion and movement capabilities to handle top-level performance in competitive speed cubing, where players compete to solve puzzles like the Rubik’s Cube. Despite being the original cube, Rubik’s isn’t competitive cubers’ preferred brand—other options, like the Gan 11 M Pro from CuberSpeed, have smoother motions and perks like internal magnets to speed up solve times.

Number of Players

The traditional Rubik’s Cube is made for solo use. Many of the newer Rubik’s games accommodate two to four players at a time. These games are typically head-to-head and are either speed- or strategy-based. If you’re looking for something solo, opt for classic cubes or brain teaser puzzles with one-player challenges.

Level of Difficulty

All Rubik’s games and puzzles have a suggested age printed on the box. While they are certainly not gospel, buying a game above the age range of the user might run the risk of them struggling to understand or enjoy it. That said, with many of the Rubik’s items meant to be tinkered with, pored over, and figured out over a long period of time, don’t shy away from buying them as a gift for someone who loves to problem solve, regardless of age.

The Amazing Math Inside the Rubik’s Cube

How We Selected

My goal was to include Rubik’s products that hold true to the original spirit of that first cube while incorporating new social and competitive elements (for replay value and a bit of extra fun). I started with several categories to fill: the best games to play with friends or family, the best that flip the original cube form factor on its head, and the toughest puzzles, to name a few. With those in mind, I began my search for the best Rubik’s puzzles by scouring the full list of games the brand makes prioritizing a good mix of play styles and creative takes on the classic. There are, of course, some classic choices that most people know and love already, too.

While the phrase “Rubik’s Cube” has become colloquially synonymous with any 3x3 or 5x5 combination puzzle, I stuck to official Rubik’s games. We went through all of the company’s offerings and selected items that offered the most variety of play and the most creative takes on the classic game. Here you’ll find Rubik’s products that show off the original spirit of the first cube while incorporating new social and competitive elements that add replay value and a bit of extra fun.

The Original 3x3 Cube

For anyone with an itch for a puzzle, you can’t go wrong with the classic Rubik’s Cube. While it looks nearly identical to the one from the ’70s and ’80s, the cube comes with some noticeable improvements.

With a more streamlined internal design, this modern cube has a smoother feel to it, so each move flows more easily into the next—Deputy Editor Zoë Hannah has tried this newer model out and can attest that this one does a much better job of preventing sticky rotations. The days of peeling the stickers off and cheating for a victory are long gone, since Rubik’s replaced the stickers with a plastic coating. But the fun of the puzzle cube remains untouched.

The Classic Rubik's Cube You Love, But Modernized

Gridlock Game

A game of problem solving and strategy, the Gridlock Game from Rubik’s takes the pattern recognition, spatial awareness, and critical thinking skills needed for the original cube and translates them into a completely new concept.

In this game, players must fit all the tiles of different sizes and shapes onto a grid board around specific puzzle pieces. Draw a card to determine where to place the starting puzzle pieces, then work to fit all your tiles around them while perfectly filling the grid.

The game works as a solo strategy challenge or as a head-to-head competition.

Pyramid

Don’t let your puzzle solving stop at a cube. Think outside the box with the Rubik’s Pyramid. The pyramid shape takes many of the classic elements of a traditional 3x3 cube and turns them on their head.

Instead of maintaining the same shape through every turn like a regular cube, when you turn the pieces, the pyramid changes into a myriad of other shapes as you solve it, ultimately getting back to the pyramid shape when it’s fully solved. This one also turns more smoothly than the cube. With larger pieces meant to twist in more directions, the internal mechanics are designed for easier motion. This could be a good fit for less experienced puzzlers, as it’s a bit easier than the classic 3x3.

Cage

This game from Rubik’s accommodates up to four players at a time. A multi-dimensional version of tic-tac-toe, this game has players compete against each other to create the most three-in-a-row color combinations within the skeleton of a Rubik’s Cube.

Players drop blocks of different colors into the cage and start creating their rows of three and blocking their opponents. Alongside dropping in blocks, players can twist and flip the layers of the cage just as they would a regular Rubik’s Cube. Blocks rearrange and create new combinations to play off of.

Professor 5x5 Cube

Take the challenge of the original cube and kick it up a notch. This puzzle cube extends each face to 25 squares rather than the traditional 9, for a 5x5 construction that’ll probably take you quite a bit longer. The more cubes on each side, the harder it is to solve.

This cube is the perfect upgrade for anyone who has already solved the 3x3 several times and is looking to challenge themselves. We do not recommend this cube for beginners.

Outside of solving the cube, much like the original, it also serves as a great fidget device. Keep your mind and hands occupied while you watch TV, relax at home, or listen to a podcast.

Perplexus Fusion 3x3 Gravity 3D Maze Game

Combine 3D maze puzzles with the twisting and turning of a Rubik’s cube in the Perplexus Fusion. Work to move your ball through the elaborate maze inside the cube, using gravity, momentum, and coordination to guide the ball to the end.

The maze requires more than just that. You must also manipulate the maze shape by turning the exterior of the Rubik’s cube to match up the internal maze track with new sections.

If the maze is too complex to figure out on your own, Rubik’s provides a series of tips and tricks get your ball back on the right track.

Race

Forget the slow, deliberate strategy of the other options on our list. This head-to-head game from Rubik’s is all about speed. Compete directly with your friends, sliding and rearranging tiles around to match a designated pattern.

To play, simply shake the small scrambler up, look at the pattern it creates, and start your race. The quick-paced game has an even quicker clean-up time: The entire dual-faced board folds into itself like a small briefcase for easy storage, which is great for carrying it to a friend’s place for game night.

3x3 Magnetic Speed Cube

Break personal records with this version of the original Rubik’s Cube built for speed. The cube has magnetic connections for a smoother, cleaner turn. This prevents joints from getting stuck and helps pieces move with less strain on your hands and wrist.

Rubik’s says the internal construction is made from stronger materials to prevents the core from popping or cubes from breaking off when you’re moving with speed, and the internal components are lubricated to keep things smooth. Read: No more snags and a lot more momentum.

The cube is also a great alternative to the original for those with wrist pain or arthritis, as each turn takes far less effort. While it’s much faster than a regular Rubik’s Cube, we still don’t recommend it for top level competition.

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