Cubendi Review

Cubendi is launching with three visual styles: Ring, Scribble, and Twist, which all take notes from Urban Art, and are exceptionally colorful and visually busy. Now, our reviewer isn’t enough of a math person to articulate exactly how the Cubendi differs from the Shashibo, but his impression after tinkering with it for a while is that the Cubendi is a lot more free in its movements. If the Shashibo is more structured, then the Cubendi is more flexible and open. You won’t find yourself coming up against an impossible move nearly as often, and it’s much easier to unfurl from the default cube form as well. The Shashibo still takes the cake in terms of complexity, and number of very precise shapes, but the Cubendi is more fun to fiddle with in a casual capacity, and as such, you can end up with some very irregular and interesting shapes. You may even find yourself accidentally shifting the Cubendi back to cube form without even realizing it. 

As Fun in Motion’s own website puts it, Cubendi is more toy than puzzle, when measured on that binary continuum. In short, Shashibos may appeal to the types of toy enjoyers who like problem solving and meticulous movement, whereas Cubendi, while still retaining some Shashibo charm, offers a more fidget-friendly and carefree experience.