MagiKub Review

1 Rubik's Cube, 1 clever gimmick, 7 minutes of instruction, $75 bucks and one MagiKub Review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

MagiKub Review: Effect

The effect is simple: you solve the Rubik's Cube, visually, within the blink of an eye.

MagiKub Review: Method

The method is also simple: a gimmicked cube. It's a simple gimmick that you are supplied with the cube itself, and it's already set up and ready to right out of the box. No assembly required.

The question is, does the gimmick work. The short version is "yes." The long version is also "yes." For details, check out the Product Quality section below.

It cannot, however, be used like a normal cube. The turning is limited due to the nature of the gimmick. In the trailer, you can see the cube being turned within those restrictions.

That restriction aside, the operation of the gimmick is nearly effortless and only takes a moment or two of practice to get this exact handling and technique down.

It'll take some additional time to master the timing and performance-ready delivery of the gimmick, but not a ton.

The only two "restrictions" with the gimmick are the above mentioned turning restriction and the displaying of the cube itself. When displaying/holding the cube itself, there are some parts of the cube that should not be allowed to be seen by audience members.

This can, for the most part, be handled just by the way you physically hold the cube. However, just to be safe, were I to perform this, I'd be very careful of left and right sides. That said, if the spectator happens to be in the "wrong" angle, the won't see the gimmick, the cube just won't look as mixed up to them as it will to others.

If you're worried about how freely you can handle the cube within these restrictions, watch the ad trailer. If you don't feel the handling seems too restrictive - I don't think it's too restrictive - then you'll be happy with the angles, handling, etc.

Though the gimmick is the kind of thing that they are pretty much always looking at, they won't see it. However, the cube definitely cannot be handed out or examined at all either before after or during the performance. Two seconds in their hands, and the game is over.

Ad Copy Integrity

This (and Product Quality) is where the rubber meets the road as they say. Take a moment to watch the add trailer (link under "Product Details"). The magician twists the cube a couple of times, then makes some magic gesture (snaps, tosses the cube, etc.), and BAM. The cube is solved visually.

It really is as clean as the ad trailer shows. When I first received the product and saw how the gimmick worked, I was skeptical that the ad trailer was legit.

However, after spending at least 30 minutes watching the 59 second trailer, pausing dozens of times, slowing down the footage and analyzing the footage, I am 100% convinced that they ad trailer is 100% accurate. They, as far as I can tell, used no camera/editing trickery.

It's that clean.

Product Quality

So, the question is, does the product work, and how well are the instructions explained? The instructions are in the form of a 6 minute, 41 second downloadable/streamable video on the Murphy's Magic website.

Gimmick/Prop Quality

The cube itself is a good quality speed cube. The brand is QiYi which is definitely one of the least expensive (yet still really good quality) speed cubes. Here's a link to the actual QiYi cube used (from what I can tell).

As mentioned in the Method section, the cube has turning limitations due to the gimmick. However, the turning is smooth and effortless.

Be careful, however, if you attempt to turn the cube against the gimmick, you may break your gimmick. That aside, the gimmick is well made, deceptive looking, and should last forever if you take care of it.

Production Quality

Though the video is short, it's well lit and well produced. However, there is no speaking. It simply video footage of Federico Poeymiro's hands and cube up close with music in the background and simple text on the screen in English. Which leads us to . . .

Teaching Quality

The instructions are under 7 minutes, and there about 6 or 8 "sections" each with a quick little label on the screen telling the name of the section. However, that was totally not necessary. The point being, that with a less than 7 minute run time, there was still some "fluff" meaning that there is not much in the way of instruction.

In fact, if you include the section titles, screen title text (e.g., "Slow Motion"), and all of the instructional text, there are only 202 words used. Yes. I counted.

So is that enough to teach you how to use this product? Surprisingly, yes. There are, likely, plenty of details that could have been added. I think a bit of discussion about some real-world practical examples and uses and pro tips would have added a lot to the teaching section.

However, after watching this short video, you'll know how to operate the gimmick, and how to disguise its use in practice. Additionally, there is small section (all of the sections are small) showing an idea for use in T.V. spots and situations where you have control over the camera.

There was even a moment, where I couldn't get the gimmick to work correctly, then the next section showed a simple tip on how to hold the cube to make the gimmick work correctly, and sure enough, it solved the problem I was having. Now I can operate the gimmick easily with no problem.

Could the instructional section have been better and better detailed? Absolutely. Was it sufficient to show you how to use the gimmick such that you could do it in front of an audience (with practice)? Absolutely.

For $75 bucks, however, they could've given you more.

MagiKub Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, this is a great product. It's well made, easy to use/operate, etc. The instructions are clear (assuming you can read English) and make learning the (very) basics easy. Considering, however, that the cube used is only $4 retail, and the gimmick is easily constructed for only a few bucks, along with the fact that minimal effort was put into the quantity of the training (though the quality was good), I think $75 may be a little steep.

Considering all of the above factors . . .

MagiKub Final Verdict:

4 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.

Available at your friendly neighborhood Murphy's Magic Distributor.

Check for more reviews of this product or other products at My Lovely Assistant.