Sudokube

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A scrambled sudokube puzzle
A scrambled sudokube puzzle
A different version of a Sudokube
A different version of a Sudokube

Sudokube is a variation on a Rubik's Cube in which each face resembles one-ninth of a Sudoku grid: the numbers from one to nine. This makes solving the cube slightly more difficult than a conventional Rubik's Cube because each number must be in the right place and the centre numbers must also be in the correct orientation (the other numbers are oriented automatically). It is available in 3×3×3 and 4×4×4 sizes. A buyer of a sudokube should note that a sudokube is not a Rubik's Cube with numbers written on it. If it is colored in a way where the cube can be done just by looking at the colors, it is not a sudokube.

One difference from Rubik's cube is that depending on the arrangement of the numbers, more than one solution may be possible. Even the number of orbits (sets of configurations not reachable from each other except by dismantling the cube) may be different; for instance, in the image on top right, there's an edge with the number "2" on both sides; since this is indistinguishable when rotated, this joins the two orbits that are normally separated by the impossibility of rotating just one edge piece.

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