Perplexus, originally released as Superplexus, is a 3-D ball-in-a-maze puzzle or labyrinth game enclosed in a transparent plastic sphere. By twisting and turning it, players try to maneuver a small steel ball through a complex maze along narrow plastic tracks. The maze has many steps (varying across puzzles). The number of steps ranges from 30 in the Perplexus Twist to 225 in the Perplexus 3x3 Rubik's cube Hybrid. Some levels drop the ball into a cup or a small rim to utilize its 3-D nature. Players must complete obstacles varying in difficulty to reach the end.
 The "Superplexus" ball | |
| Type | Ball-in-a-Maze Puzzle |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Michael McGinnis, Brian Clemens, Dan Klitsner |
| Company | Perplexus LLC |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 2000–Present |
| Official website | |
Perplexus LLC is the manufacturer and a wholly owned subsidiary of Spin Master Ltd (since 2017).[1]
History
editPerplexus was co-invented by college professor Michael McGinnis and toy inventors Brian Clemens and Dan Klitsner of San Francisco-based KID Group—known for inventing Bop It, HyperDash, and other game titles. McGinnis first drew pictures for 3-D labyrinths in the late 1970s. In 1999, he showed drawings and rough prototypes to Clemens and Klitsner. After a year of collaboration and many prototypes, they perfected the toy's gameplay. It was easy enough for a young child to start, yet challenging any age for its many levels.
Versions
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There are currently 27 versions of Perplexus:
- Original (re-branded as Beast in 2019)
- Rookie (re-branded as Rebel in 2019)
- Epic
- Twist
- Warp
- Perplexus Giant
- World's Smallest: Twist
- World's Coolest: Teeter
- World's Coolest: Spiral
- World's Coolest: Cascading Cups
- World's Smallest: Original
- Twisted
- Q-Bot
- Death Star
- Mini Spiral
- Mini Cascading Cups
- Prophecy (recolor/rethemed Rookie/Rebel design)
- LightSpeed
- Drakko
- Go! Spiral
- Go! Stairs
- Go! Snitch
- Sidewinder
- Revolution Runner (has a motor with four settings and a button to start/stop the turning depending on the setting)
- Rubik's Hybrid (modeled after the 2x2 Rubik's cube)
- Rubik's Fusion (modeled after the 3x3 Rubik's cube, but only rotates on one axis)
- Portal, the newest Perplexus release
The Perplexus balls can also be colored differently. One example is the Yellow Rookie.
Superplexus
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In 2001, a version of the Perplexus Ball, called Superplexus, launched with limited availability. This version has an electronic timer. [2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Spin Master grows games segment with Perplexus buy". Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ "Spin Master - Play Online Games, Watch Videos And More!". www.perplexus.net. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
External links
edit- Michael McGinnis's page about the development of Superplexus
- An article in SFGate about SuperPlexus
- A video interview with Michael McGinnis about the development of Superplexus
- Spin Master, the makers of Perplexus
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