The YuFeng Pyraminx is the magnetic Pyraminx in ShengShou’s YuFeng line, a brand that also goes by SengSo. It was launched as the first Pyraminx with a factory-fitted magnetic ball core (ball-core).

• BrandSengSo (ShengShou)
• TypePyraminx
• MagnetsYes, with magnetic ball core
• FinishStickerless
• WeightAbout 69 g

How it works

The Pyraminx, devised and patented by Uwe Mèffert in the early 1980s, is a tetrahedron with three layers per axis, four tips, four axial pieces beneath them and six edges; it has no centres. The tips turn on their own and the large layers move around four axes. In this model, the centre of the mechanism is a sphere with magnets that pull the pieces towards the core, in addition to the magnets that help align the layers (magnetic: the layers settle into place on their own at the end of a turn). This approach usually gives stable, controlled turning. Those who use it highlight that it allows quite a lot of corner cutting (carrying on turning even when the layers aren’t fully aligned).

Design

It’s stickerless: there are no stickers, the colour is in the plastic itself, so there’s nothing to peel off or wear away with use. It weighs about 69 g, a modest figure for a magnetic Pyraminx, and arrives ready to use with no need for prior adjustments.

Which level

It’s aimed at those who already practise the Pyraminx, one of the official WCA events (the association that organises speedcubing competitions), and want a magnetic model to bring their times down. It’s also fine for learning, although it’s designed as a speed puzzle.