© 2006 Toyk Design Ltd

Toyk Design launches Slube, a new puzzle cube

 

To be launched at the British Toy Fair, ExCeL Exhibition Centre, London on 24-27 January 2007

 

Slube, a puzzle cube invented by an automobile and aeronautical designer, is being launched at the British Toy Fair held at ExCeL Exhibition Centre, London between Wednesday 24th January and Saturday 27th January 2007. Gary Bostock, the inventor of Slube, will be at the launch event to help promote the product to buyers from across Europe.

 

The puzzle is called Slube and is similar in appearance to the Rubik’s cube puzzle but totally different in how it is solved. Imagine the old ‘15’ puzzle where fifteen tiles are slid around using one available gap to solve the puzzle and you are some way to understanding how Slube works. To make the puzzle much harder, instead of having fifteen tiles and one gap, Slube has fifty three tiles and one gap. Add to this the fact that Slube is not a flat puzzle but a cube which allows tiles to be moved from one face of the cube to another. Sliding the tiles over the corners of the cube adds a further complication to the puzzle because each tile rotates and can be orientated in four different ways.

 

With easy and hard versions, Slube is adaptable for different age groups and abilities. Simply having coloured faces is an easy version as all red tiles can be placed in any position on a face and in any orientation. Slube becomes much harder when there are pictures on the tile faces meaning that each tile can only go in one position and one orientation. The hardest version of Slube has only one image wrapped around all six faces of the cube.

 

“The concept for Slube was very easy,” said Gary Bostock, the inventor of Slube, “but making the design work was incredibly difficult.” Using his skills as a trained automotive and aeronautical design engineer, Gary completed the puzzle and is now very proud of his versatile invention. “It is something you can take on the train with you or just sit on the couch. It is also a very good corporate promotional tool because of the endless amount of images which can be used.”

 

Along with being a great puzzle, Slube can be used as a corporate promotional gift with images of companies products featured on the six faces. Examples of such uses would be football teams, new product launches and even film premieres.

 

Notes to Editor:

Toyk Design is a newly formed company set-up to take the designs and inventions of Gary Bostock to market. Slube is the first product to be launched by Toyk Design but Gary is hoping to launch other products soon. Gary is hoping to also help other designers and inventors take their ideas to market.