The 18 Arhats is an assembly puzzle in the Kong Ming Lock series from QiYi, the Chinese brand best known for its speedcubes. It is made up of eighteen notched sticks that cross and hold one another to form a compact block. The name refers to the eighteen disciples of the Buddha in the Chinese Buddhist tradition.

• BrandQiYi
• SeriesKong Ming Lock
• TypeBurr puzzle (Luban lock)
• MaterialPlastic
• Pieces18
• WeightAbout 105 g

What is a Luban lock?

Luban locks, also known as Kong Ming locks, are the Chinese version of burr puzzles: puzzles made of notched pieces that hold one another together without glue or screws. Tradition credits their origin to the carpenter Lu Ban or to the strategist Zhuge Liang, known as Kongming. Unlike a Rubik’s cube, nothing turns here: the pieces slide and come apart.

Skill level

With eighteen pieces, it is one of the most painstaking models in the series. Taking it apart means finding the only order the structure allows, and rebuilding it requires you to understand the internal logic of the framework: with so many pieces, remembering a few moves isn’t enough. It is best suited to anyone who has already solved a six- or nine-piece Luban lock.