One thing I haven’t given up from my childhood is my love for puzzles. I’ve used Lumosity, and other third-party apps on my phone, but I wanted something more. So as a huge fan of Rubics cubes, I was happy to review Meffert’s Gear Ball puzzle.
The Gear Ball is labeled as the smoothest, easiest turning puzzles of it’s nature, and I must agree. Created by Oskar & Mefferts, the puzzle was is like rubbing smooth pebbles.
It’s estimated that as much as eighty percent of all illnesses that affect people are stress-related. Dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s–all of these are diseases to which the aged are vulnerable. But supposedly something as simple as regularly playing with a twisty puzzle can slow the advance of such illnesses or help relieve their symptoms and keep the brain active; in other words, keeping the brain active is something we all need.
The Gear Ball is a new take on the traditional puzzle game by using smooth gear rotations and sporting a twisty spherical shape. There was a square version of the Gear Ball a few years ago with the same concept of a mechanism based on gears, but the circular version just seems way cooler to me. Now, even though I have toyed with many puzzles, I can truthfully say I haven’t finished them all, but this one actually has held my attention for a solid two weeks now, sometimes giving me a challenge when I need to step away from work, or I’m frustrated with something.
The pieces never catch each other or stick which I found to be interesting, and the colors don’t peel off like my older Rubics cube once did. Now I do warn you, like most new things, when you do take it directly out of the box for the first use, it’s kind of tricky because it moves completely different from a normal puzzle, and when you move one side, the middle of the gear cube moves with it. Don’t worry, it’s a piece of the puzzle.
The puzzle isn’t hard, but it will certainly keep your attention on a road trip, or even sitting quietly at your desk. I know I keep mine with me in my bag just in the event I’m on a long train ride home. This is for sure one of those puzzles that anyone can play and figure out, as if the 7-99 age recommendation didn’t already state that 🙂
Purchase Meffert’s Gear Ball today.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit.
What I Like: A switch up from the standard Rubics cube; Does not stick or lock up, very fluid
What Needs Improvement: Nothing