Astrolabacus

Umbes

This ingenious puzzle consists of a loop of six segments. Each segment has two coloured tunnels containing three coloured balls. Some tunnels connect up to form a loop containing 18 balls. The balls in this loop can be shifted around. The segments are connected to each other with a hinge so that the shape of the puzzle can be changed, and by doing so the loop can be formed using the other tunnels of the segments. The aim is to put each coloured ball in the tunnel of the same colour. This is a fascinating puzzle, and very confusing. The puzzle feels strangely organic when you change its shape, and it takes a long time to get used to where the loop forms from the tunnels. Astrolabacus was invented and designed by John D. Harris (Möbius Phobias). It was patented on 8 July 1997, US 5,645,278. By the way, the inventor is not the same John Harris who invented the Rolling Cubes Puzzle. If your browser supports JavaScript, then you can play the Astrolabacus by clicking the link below: