Shashibo: 36 Magnets and 70-Odd Shapes

Quick answer: the Shashibo is a hinged cube containing 36 rare earth magnets that folds into over 70 shapes. It was designed by Andreas Hoenigschmid and is made by Fun In Motion Toys. It has no single solved state, which is the first thing to understand about it.

Best for: people who want something to do with their hands, and anyone buying for a teenager.

It is probably the most-sold puzzle object of the last few years, and whether it is a puzzle at all is a fair question.

What Is a Shashibo?

Twelve hinged plastic pieces arranged so the whole thing folds through itself. Start as a cube, fold it inside out, and you get a different solid; keep going and you get another.

The magnets are the trick. Hinges alone would give you a floppy chain that collapses, so 36 rare earth magnets are set into the faces to snap each configuration into place and hold it. That is why it feels decisive in the hand rather than loose, and why it clicks.

Each one carries four separate artworks: the outer cube and three interior designs that only appear as you fold. Several can also be joined magnetically into larger structures.

Is It Actually a Puzzle?

Not in the sense the rest of this site uses the word, and the honest answer is more interesting than yes.

Everything in the mechanical puzzle taxonomy has a defined goal: a shape to reach, a piece to free, a box to open. Success is unambiguous and failure is obvious.

The Shashibo has none of that. There is no target, nothing to fail at, and nothing that resists you. Returning it to a cube is easy and takes seconds. It is a transforming object, closer to the Rubik's Snake than to anything with a solution.

Where it earns its place is as a demonstration. A hinged dissection that folds through itself and lands exactly on a new solid is a genuine piece of geometry, and the fact that it works at all is the impressive part. It is a beautiful mechanism rather than a problem.

Why Do the Magnets Matter So Much?

Because they do the work that geometry does in every other puzzle we write about.

In a burr or a packing puzzle, the pieces hold their position because they physically cannot do otherwise. Friction and shape are the entire retention system, and a good maker spends their effort on tolerance.

The Shashibo folds freely, so nothing about its shape would keep it anywhere. The magnets supply the stability that geometry normally provides, and that is a different engineering philosophy rather than a cheaper one: the designer chose which configurations should feel stable, instead of the geometry deciding for them.

It also sets the ceiling. A magnetically held object can never resist you, because you can always overpower a magnet. That is precisely why it cannot be difficult.

What Is the Geometry Behind It?

A hinged dissection, which is a much older idea than the toy.

The question a hinged dissection asks is whether one solid can be cut into pieces, joined in a chain by hinges, and folded into a different solid without ever detaching anything. It is a constrained version of an ordinary dissection, and the constraint is severe: the pieces must stay connected in a fixed order throughout.

The Shashibo is a commercial expression of that. Its twelve pieces never separate, the chain never breaks, and each configuration is a legitimate folding of the same linkage. Getting a chain of solids to close cleanly into a cube and then into several other shapes is not obvious, and that is the real achievement here rather than the magnets.

The same idea shows up in the Yoshimoto cube and in a long line of paper and wooden kaleidocycles. The Shashibo's contribution was to make one that survives being handled by a child.

What Should You Buy It For?

As a fidget object, it is excellent. Quiet, satisfying, robust, and the click is genuinely pleasant. For that purpose it is better than most things sold as fidget toys.

As a gift it is close to foolproof, because it requires no explanation, no skill and no patience, and it looks expensive.

As a puzzle it will disappoint anyone who wanted to be beaten by something. If that is what you are shopping for, buy almost anything else on this site instead.

Why Did This One Succeed Where Fidget Toys Usually Do Not?

Because it survives the moment the novelty wears off, which almost nothing in that category does.

The fidget market runs on short cycles. An object arrives, sells enormously for a season on the strength of being new, and is then abandoned, because once you have done the thing it does there is no reason to pick it up again. Spinners went that way and most of what followed them did too.

The Shashibo has two properties that slow that down. It has more configurations than anyone memorises, so there is always a fold you have not found, and the artwork on the interior means a familiar shape still shows you something new. Neither makes it hard, but both give it a reason to be touched next week.

The second is build quality. It is injection-moulded with magnets set into the faces rather than glued on, so it does not loosen or rattle with use. Plenty of competing shape-shifters fail exactly there, and a transforming object that has gone floppy is worse than no object at all, as the Rubik's Snake demonstrates when its joints wear.

What Do We Make That Is Like This?

Nothing with magnets and nothing that folds. Everything we make is rigid and has an answer.

If the appeal was a satisfying object for the hands, Spiral Cone is the thing we make for exactly that, explained here. If it was the transformation, the Square-1 genuinely changes shape and genuinely resists you.

And if the Shashibo has made someone in your house curious about shapes that come apart, EcstaTIC is the cheapest honest step up. The range is mechanical puzzles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Shashibo cube?

A hinged cube of twelve pieces containing 36 rare earth magnets, which folds through itself into more than 70 shapes. It was designed by Andreas Hoenigschmid and is made by Fun In Motion Toys.

Does a Shashibo have a solution?

No. There is no single solved state and nothing to fail at. Returning it to a cube takes seconds. It is a transforming object rather than a puzzle with an answer.

Why does a Shashibo need magnets?

Because it folds freely, so its shape alone would not hold any configuration. The 36 magnets supply the stability that geometry provides in a burr or packing puzzle. It is also why it can never be difficult, since a magnet can always be overpowered.

How many shapes can a Shashibo make?

More than 70 according to the maker, and several cubes can be joined magnetically into larger structures. Each cube also carries four artworks: the outer design and three interior ones revealed by folding.

Is a Shashibo good for adults?

As a fidget object and a desk piece, yes. As a challenge, no, and an adult shopping for something that will resist them should buy a different kind of puzzle entirely.