Matrix puzzle game

A three-dimensional puzzle game having six sides comprising a cube wherein each side includes nine squares forming three columns intersecting three rows, any of the columns and rows being rotatable about an orthogonal axis of the cube with a single individual such rotation being accomplishable at a time, each of the six sides carrying a different integrated, invertible pictorial design with interchangeable portions which appear on each of the nine squares of each side.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to toys and game apparatus and especially puzzles 
with movable parts. 
A standard Rubik cube is a "3.times.3.times.3" cube, any of whose six 
"3.times.3.times.1" sides can rotate about its center square in such a way 
that the cube as a whole does not fall apart. Each of the nine squares 
appearing on each side initially is colored, uniformly, the same color, 
with each of the six sides of the cube carrying a different color. 
Repeated rotations of various ones of the rows and columns comprised of 
individual squares thoroughly scrambles the colors. 
As the Rubik cube becomes scrambled, the solution to the cube, i.e., 
organizing the cube with each of the six sides uniformly colored, goes 
beyond the ability and patience of most people. Even for those people who 
can solve the puzzle, its scrambled states are uninteresting and its 
desired solutions too few to sustain the interest of the player for a long 
period of time. 
An object of the present invention is to create a three-dimensional puzzle 
cube whose six sides carry individualistic designs, portions of which 
appear on each of nine squares comprising each side. 
A second object of the present invention is to provide such designs which, 
when scrambled, create other harmonious designs which can appear as 
certain simple solutions to the puzzle. 
A further object of the invention is to provide such designs having 
portions with specific orientation so that an ideal solution to the puzzle 
takes into consideration the orientation of the center one of the 
individual small squares comprising a side, as well as the combination of 
specific ones of these squares. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The objects of this invention are realized in a three-dimensional puzzle 
game incorporated into a "3.times.3.times.3" cube, any of whose six 
"3.times.3.times.1" sides can rotate in columnar or row fashion about its 
center in such a way that the cube as a whole does not fall apart. Each 
side includes nine squares forming three columns intersecting three rows. 
An individual and unique integrated, invertible pictorial design appears 
on each of the six sides and is carried in part by each of the nine 
individual squares forming each such side of the cube. 
The integrated invertible pictorial designs carried by each side may be 
invertible human faces. Such integrated designs comprise an assembly (or 
collection) of composite parts, which parts interact to give a contiguous 
presentation which provides a harmonious complete design having matching 
or mating lines or designs at the mating points of the composite parts. 
The sides of the cube have interchangeable corners and interchangeable 
edges, and the orientation of the center square of the human face on each 
side of the cube is important. 
The cube in its start or pristine position (solved state) carries these 
pictorial human face designs with portions of each in each of the nine 
squares of a side whereby the center square carries a color (generally in 
the eyes of the face) which is identical to the color of a peripheral line 
forming a frame for the pictorial design, this color running as a narrow 
line along the outside edge of that side of the cube. Six different and 
distinct colors are used in each of the six center squares and the 
matching periphery color line about each such pictorial face.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
A three-dimensional puzzle game is shaped in the form of a six-sided cube 
having integrated, invertible pictorial human face designs. The cube has 
interchangeable corners and interchangeable edges so that nine individual 
squares comprise each side of the cube and the orientation of the center 
square is important. FIGS. 1 and 2 show in perspective views the six sides 
of the cube. 
FIG. 1 shows the first face 11, second face 13 and third face 15 of the 
puzzle cube. FIG. 2 shows the fourth face 17, fifth face 19 and the sixth 
face 21 of the puzzle cube. 
The cube itself is made of 26 elements; of these there are eight corner 
elements 23, twelve edge elements 25 and six center elements 27. These 
elements are assembled to form the standard type Rubik cube structure 
which is a "3.times.3.times.3" cube, any of whose six "3.times.3.times.1" 
sides can rotate about its center square in such a way that the cube as a 
whole does not fall apart. Each of the sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21, 
therefore, is made up of nine squares (four corner squares 23, four edge 
squares 25, one center square 27) formed in these intersecting rows and 
columns. 
The mechanical structure forming the cube has been known as "Rubik's Cube" 
and has been manufactured and sold by Logical Games, Inc., Haymarket, VA, 
and Ideal Toy Corporation, New York, NY. This mechanical structure has 
been described in Scientific American, March, 1981. A three-axis center 
spindle, providing rotation of any axis, establishes three orthogonal axes 
of rotation for individual center squares 27 for each side of the cube. 
Corner elements 23 and edge elements 25 are held together and to the 
center square elements 27 by interlocking mechanisms which permit movement 
along orthogonal axes without disassembly of the cube. 
Each of the sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21, contains a different and 
unique picture of a human face which is invertible. Each of these human 
faces 29 is invertible so that when viewed upside down, it presents a 
different pictorial presentation of a face than when viewed from the other 
angle. 
Each of the sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 of the cube, when assembled in 
their start position, provide the ideal solution. A peripheral color line 
(indicated by letters R, B, Y, G, Br, O) extends about the edge of each 
particular side 11, 13; 15, 17, 19, 21. This color line is different and 
unique for each such side. In the principal embodiment, this edge color 
line is red for the first side 11, blue for the second side 13, yellow for 
the third side 15, green for the fourth side 17, brown for the fifth side 
19, and orange for the sixth side 21. Any selection of colors can be used 
as alternatives. These color edge lines can even be eliminated from some 
embodiments of the puzzle cube. 
Each of the human faces 29 is centered on and about the center square 27 of 
each of the sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 of the cube. The eyes and nose 
portion of each face 29 appears in this center square 27. The color of the 
eyes of each human face is coordinated to the peripheral line color of the 
ideal solution. 
Each of the distinct human faces 29 designs are positioned and sized so 
that as the elements 23, 25, 27 of the cube are rotated, facial lines will 
match up so that different combinations of facial features may be 
logically and pictorially combined. Likewise, the facial features are 
uniformly distributed amongst the nine squares which make up any side 11, 
13, 15, 17, 19, 21. The background color of the cube surface is white, 
while the human face outlines are created by black and gray shadings. 
The faces 29 can become different faces under 180.degree. rotations and, to 
a quite limited extent, under 90.degree. and 270.degree. rotations. This 
is made possible since the eyes appear roughly in the center of the head. 
Other features of the human faces 29 are divided amongst the other squares 
so that portions of each of the human faces 29 are interchanged as the 
cube is rotated by its rows and columns. 
The scrambled states of the faces 29 on the cube would not be devoid of 
interest. Many of them would depict strange, humorous and distorted faces 
(about 2.times.10.sup.10 of them). Thus, in addition to the still 
reasonable goal of restoring the original six human faces 29, the player 
could fiddle idly with the cube to see what results would be obtained. Or 
he could try to achieve a certain desired face having particular eyes, 
mouth, ears and hair style. 
With this puzzle game, the orientation of the center squares 27, i.e. 
center elements 27, is important. The puzzle will not look the same if 
this center square is rotated 90.degree.. In this sense, solving the 
puzzle of this invention is more difficult than solving the standard 
Rubik-type cube. In the Rubik-type cube puzzle, a sequence of moves which 
rotates a center square element 27 is not important. With the puzzle of 
this invention, such a rotation of the center square 27, which leaves the 
other elements 23, 25 invariant, must be considered, as it changes a face 
29. (The eyes might even end up vertical.) 
To rotate the center square and leave every other square alone, one must 
perform a particular sequence of moves. A notation is helpful here. The 
letter "F" indicates a clockwise rotation of a front side 11 of the 
puzzle, "F*" indicates a counter-clockwise rotation of the front side 11 
of the puzzle, "R" indicates a clockwise rotation of the right side 15 of 
the puzzle, "R*" indicates a counter-clockwise rotation of the right side 
15 of the puzzle, and the letters "L" represent left, "B" represent back, 
"U" represent upper, and "D" represent down, with their inverses 
represented by "L*", "B*", "U*" and "D*", respectively. In each case, the 
direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise, is determined by viewing 
directly that particular side of the cube puzzle in question. 
A particular sequence of moves which leaves all of the squares making up a 
particular side invariant, but rotates the center square of the upper side 
13 90.degree. clockwise, and the center square of the front side 11 
90.degree. counter-clockwise, can be expressed by the following: F, B*, L, 
R*, U, D*, F*, U*, D, L*, R, F*, D, U. 
A sequence of moves which rotates the center square 27 of the upper side 13 
90.degree. clockwise, and the center square 27 of the down side 19 
90.degree. counter-clockwise, and which leaves every other square 
invariant, can be expressed as follows: R, L*, F, B*, F, B*, R, L*, U, R, 
L*, F, B*, F, B*, R, L*, D*. 
Similarly, a sequence of moves which rotates the center square 27 of the 
upper side 13 180.degree. clockwise, and which leaves every other square 
in the cube invariant, is expressed as follows: U, R, L, U, U, R*, L, U, 
R, L, U, U, R*, L. Similar such sequences exist for the other sides of the 
puzzle cube of the subject invention. 
None of this is required, of course, to randomly fiddle with the cube and 
create a plurality of integrated, invertible faces. 
The human faces 29 designs extend into each of the outside squares formed 
by the elements 23, 25 of each of the sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 of the 
cube approximately one-third of the way so that the foreheads, chins, 
sides of the head and ears may articulate as the cube is rotated on its 
columns and rows. As an example, hair-forehead can be interchangeable with 
a mouth-chin, as well as right and left foreheads with left and right 
chins. Possible interchanges also include collar to cap, necklace to 
crown, and mouth to furrows in forehead. 
When the cube is in its pristine or start position defining the ideal 
solution, the eye color of the center square of each face 29 will agree 
with the border or peripheral line. Thus, it is possible to play the 
puzzle of the subject invention with the goal of the standard Rubik-type 
cube puzzle. 
Since the faces 29 remain faces when rotated 180.degree., and since 
different mouths, ears, eyes and hair styles may be interchanged, many 
different forms of the faces 29 can be formed which provide acceptable 
solutions to the puzzle. 
The human faces 29 are arrived at as integrated composite of the respective 
nine squares forming each of the faces or sides 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 
of the cube. With the three-dimensional matrix puzzle of this invention, 
corner elements 23 can be moved only into other corner positions and edge 
elements 25 only into other edge positions. Every element is not 
interpretable in every position. (This is why a similar scheme on a 
two-dimensional matrix will not work. There, every square would have to be 
interpretable in every way, since there every square can be moved to every 
position.) 
The human faces 29 puzzle cube is, in one aspect of play, more difficult 
than the standard Rubik cube puzzle, since the player must concern himself 
with the orientation of the center square 27. This factor is not a concern 
for the standard Rubik cube puzzle, since rotation of the center square is 
not discernible. As stated above, when the cube is in the pristine 
position (original faces 29 in their original configuration), the eye 
color of the faces will agree with the border color line. Thus, in another 
aspect of play, the goal of a standard Rubik cube type puzzle, uniform 
coloring of each side without regard for the orientation of the eyes, is a 
possible and a reasonable solution for the puzzle cube of this invention 
(a special case of the more difficult ideal solution). 
Since the human faces 29 remain faces when the center square elements 27 
are rotated 180.degree., and since different mouths, ears, eyes, hair 
styles, etc., may be interchanged, in another aspect of play there are 
approximately 2.times.10.sup.10 faces which may be formed. In this aspect 
of play, the invention provides entertainment and many easily attainable 
solutions for those of lesser skill. 
Therefore, the subject invention is, in one mode of play more difficult, in 
another mode of play is equivalent to, and in a third mode of play is much 
easier to solve than the standard Rubik-type cube puzzle. 
Many changes can be made in the above-described puzzle game without 
departing from the intent and scope thereof. By way of example, 
modifications can be made in the pictorial human face designs or other 
types of designs (geometric, script, animal forms or others) which can be 
substituted. These designs can be applied to the faces 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 
21 of the cube by printing, painting, gluing or other means. Other changes 
can also be made. It is intended, therefore, that all matter contained in 
the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings be 
interpreted as illustrative and not be taken in the limiting sense.