QiYi’s tiled Mirror Blocks is a version of the Mirror Cube, the best-known 3x3 shape mod (a puzzle that keeps the mechanism of a well-known one but changes the shape of its pieces). All the faces share the same colour and each piece is a different size, so the challenge lies in the shape. This version has a black body and tiles, thin plastic pieces fitted in place of stickers.

• BrandQiYi
• TypeMirror Cube 3x3
• Size56 mm
• MagnetsNo
• FinishTiles on a black body

How it works

Inside it’s a 3x3, but each layer has a different thickness. When scrambled, the cube turns into an irregular block of steps, and solving it means restoring its cube silhouette. Anyone who can solve a 3x3 can use their method, but has to identify the pieces by their height and volume instead of by colour, which is disorienting at first.

Design

QiYi builds it with a speedcube mechanism, giving looser turning than classic Mirror cubes. Tiles last longer than stickers, which eventually peel with use. It has no magnets; the brand sells a magnetic version, one with stickers and a glow-in-the-dark one separately.