The Rubik’s Cube is perhaps one of the most universally recognizable objects in the modern world. It’s the world’s best-selling toy ever, having sold more than 500 million units. It’s appeared on The Simpsons, in two Spider-Man films, and in Disney’s animated hit WALL-E. It’s been immortalized in the Museum of Modern Art and turned into a Google Doodle. And it just got its first major redesign in more than 50 years.
The new 3×3 cube has gotten a top-to-bottom makeover, from the strength of its internal springs to the shapes of its tiles and the texture of its surface. As part of the product launch, the Rubik’s team has also invested in a redesigned webpage that includes an illustrated, eight-step guide to solving the cube, a quiz to help players find the “solve style” that works best for them, and a series of YouTube videos produced in-house that explain each style.
Rubik’s (a brand that encompasses the iconic 3×3 cube as well as several other tactile puzzles) was acquired by the toy company Spin Master in 2021. Since then, Spin Master has been on a mission to modernize Rubik’s products and introduce them to new audiences.
In a moment when retro tech is making a comeback and parents are looking for creative ways to entertain their kids without screens, Spin Master wants to position Rubik’s as the analog brand that makes problem-solving skills fun.
The world’s most famous toy
Ernö Rubik never set out to create a toy. The Hungarian architect and design professor was instead trying to invent a 3D object that had movement on all axes. It was the mid-’70s, and Rubik wanted a fun task to give to his students at the Budapest College of Applied Arts. After making his first prototype out of wood, Rubik realized that he had created something special. When he added colors to the sides of the object and gave it a spin, it became clear that he’d stumbled on a puzzle.
“It actually took him about a month to solve his first Rubik’s Cube,” says George Scholey, an associate brand manager at Spin Master and holder of multiple Rubik’s Cube-related world records (including most cubes solved while running a marathon). “That’s completely fair enough, by the way, because if you were to try and work out a Rubik’s Cube on your own for your first-ever solve, it isn’t that easy.”
In fact, Scholey says, the Rubik’s Cube can be arranged into more than 43 quintillon different formations—essentially, an infinite number of possibilities. Every time the toy is scrambled, there’s a strong possibility that the user is seeing a completely unique cube. The puzzle’s unbelievable variety, paired with its simple form, is perhaps what catapulted the Rubik’s Cube to international fame.