Rainbowlabacus is a variation of John D. Harris' classic
Astrolabacus puzzle. Astrolabacus is symmetrical with three balls in a row in each segment. The result of this symmetry is that any opposite pair of balls will remain opposite, which makes the puzzle easier to solve. Rainbowlabacus has five segments with an even number of balls (six) in each segment. The pink segment is the odd one out, having one extra ball. This breaks the symmetry, and should make the puzzle harder to solve. Or does it?
Watch the
YouTube video.
Read at the
Shapeways Forum.
Read more at the
Twisty Puzzles Forum.
The puzzle comes with a set of 10-mm 3D-printed balls. However, a smoother result is achieved by using these high-precision
Delrin 10-mm balls instead.
Order the Rainbowlabacus without the balls as follows.
-5x
neutral part: 1x red, 1x orange, 1x yellow, 1x green, 1x blue
-1x
pink part: 1x pink
Please order a full 3D-printed do-it-yourself puzzle kit with balls from Shapeways at this page (check with Oskar about screws and dye), or
contact Oskar directly if you are interested in obtaining a fully colored, stickered and assembled sample of this puzzle.