Cuboctahedron Square-1 Ghost

The Cuboctahedron Square-1 Ghost started with my desire to transform the familiar Square-1 into a completely different geometric form. I chose the cuboctahedron as the target shape and used 3D-printed extension pieces to transform the classic Square-1 into this unusual structure.

Once I had the basic shape working, I wanted to increase the solving challenge. I decided to add a ghosted layer, which makes piece recognition and orientation much more difficult than on a standard Square-1.

However, I didn’t want the puzzle to become confusing simply for the sake of being confusing. I wanted solvers to have at least one visual reference to understand the movement. So I used different stickers on each face. These stickers provide useful clues about which face is which and make it easier to understand the puzzle’s movements while still retaining the challenge of the ghosted geometry.

The result is the Cuboctahedron Square-1 Ghost Cube—a combination of a classic Square-1 mechanism, 3D-printed extensions, cuboctahedral geometry, and ghosted design.

For me, the interesting part of this puzzle is finding that balance between confusion and usability: challenging the solver without completely taking away their ability to understand the puzzle.