Rubik’s Cube, if you are a child of the 90’s/00’s you more than likely owned one or still do own one and I bet it’s sitting there still mismatched too. If you didn’t own one then you know someone who did and more than likely you have had a go with one.
Did you know they even made giant ones with more coloured squares per side than I can count and you can get all styles of them now not just the original version. The Rubik’s makers have decided that the range needs to expanded and not just involve the cube, so now they have a multitude of toys and games under their belt.
We have been lucky enough to be gifted The Rubik’s Race, and The Rubik’s Phantom. We have played with them both and the family definitely enjoyed them.
What Is Rubik’s Race?
Nick and the kids had heard of Rubik’s Race before but this is totally new to me. They were super excited to crack it open and start playing with it so I told them to show me how to do it before I got involved.
Rubik’s Race is a 2 player game for ages 5+. We are a family of 7 with ages of 1,10,10,14,18,29,37 (obviously Ezra won’t be playing just yet) but the most excited to play was Fin (14) and Nick (37) which made me laugh as not much gets their attention. Once I learnt the rules and managed to wangle a turn from the boys I do have to admit we all really enjoyed it.
The game setup is 3 black pieces of plastic that snap together to make 2 boards on which the sliding tiles are placed in a 5 by 5 square minus 1 so that you have a gap to enable to sliding action and a piece that stands upright to separate the 2 boards. Think Battleship mixed with one of those kids puzzles where you have to make the picture but can only slide the tiles not remove them. The upright piece has a hole in the middle so you can see how the other player is getting on.
The game still has the same dynamics of the original cube where you are essentially solving one side of a Rubik’s cube. Add in a scrambler and trying to do it faster than your opponent and it means it gets very competitive.
How To Play Rubik’s Race?
The tile boards are filled with small plastic tiles of 4 squares of each colour from red, blue, green, white, orange and yellow. The kit also has a small, clear topped shaker cube that has 9 tiny cubes each with a coloured face on it. This shaker cube is then given a good shake and the little cubes settle to reveal a 3 by 3 picture.
If there are more than 4 cubes displaying the same colour, you need to re-shake the cube again to show another pattern.
The cube is then put down and the aim of the game is for the players to try and slide their tiles in order to recreate the shaker cube pattern in the middle of their gaming board. The first player to be done shuts the divider onto their gaming cube to show their match in the square window. If your match is correct then you have won that round. In our house we tend to play the first person to get to 3 wins is the overall winner but you could play up to any number you would like or just stick to one round.
Our Thoughts
It’s a simple design but one that any age can play and enjoy and honestly the competitive vibes it brings out in my house is ridiculous and hilarious to watch. Fin and Nick loved it and Ethan is definitely warming to the game but he hates losing so it can cause lots of arguments. It would make a really good travel game if it was more portable and I reckon Rubik’s will soon bring out a travel version like the other companies have with Guess Who etc. The kids said a 8/10 as they would love to be able to play it with more players but us adults said a 8.5/10 as it is a little flimsy in the frame but we really enjoyed it and we can see it being a regular addition to our game nights.
What Is The Rubik’s Phantom?
Innovation adds a new layer of challenge to the original 3×3 Cube. When you touch the tiles it will temporarily reveal colour and you need to solve the cube before the colours fade.
This Rubik’s Cube is unlike any other you have ever played with before. The Rubik’s Phantom is difficult and very challenging, I will admit I struggle with a normal one so this was next level struggle for me. The Phantom has been developed and created for experienced cubers and I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the next TikTok fad of people trying to solve them. This brain teaser cube is definitely one of the most challenging to solve of the Rubik’s collection but if you know a Rubik’s Cube lover then this would be ideal asa stocking filler. It is recommended for ages 8 years +
Where Can the Rubik’s Race & Phantom Cube be purchased?
Both the Rubik’s Race and Phantom Cube can be purchased from Smyths Toys Store now and I would imagine other major toy stores too.
Rubik’s Tower Twister (PERFECT Stocking Filler)
DISCLAIMER: These items have been gifted to us but our opinions do not reflect on the products company, or the thoughts of any social media companies we have shared this review on.
We give our 100% honest opinions on the products we test and we have declared it is an AD and gifted as required by the ASA guidelines
