It's not bad...BUT... the Qiyi version is so much better. And the Qiyi is also $1 cheaper which makes absolutely no sense!

This puzzle is more difficult to solve than I thought it would be, as you need to know a few (long but simple) algorithms. It is really entertaining to solve, though. The only problem is that the color scheme is different than a lot of other 3x3x2's, so you have to solve the orange or red side first and know the color scheme for each one. This shouldn't be a challenge if you are color neutral on the 3x3x3. Also, I have had several pops, but they are easy to fix because the mechanism is very similar to that of a 3x3x3. I am overall very happy about this puzzle, especially at such a low price point.

This has become one of my favorite cubes instantly. It turns amazingly well and is very fun and easy to solve. The only problem is the core isnt bandaged to the white or yellow side, and it sometimes gets misaligned and you cant turn it. That is easy to fix though, and the piece you need comes with the puzzle when you buy it. So overall, after you fix the core, its a really good cube that is super fun to solve and I recommend it as a first cuboid.

I wish they would have it come with one edge glued to the core but that is very easy to do. I would give it 5 stars if the made a v2 that has that feature

The turning on this cube is amazing and its great fun to solve but there is eternal bandaging, this is why I give it 3 stars instead of 5

When it arrived I was surprised to see that the two bigger faces of mine are blue and green, I guess it's random what color scheme you get. My internal hidden edges are orange, and my core is blue.

As it arrived in the box, the factory lubricant is totally alright and wasn't leaking or anything. The surfaces of the pieces (including internal faces) have a frosted texture, which leads to a more paper-on-paper feeling instead of smooth glossy turning. It's also a bit noisy for the same reason, and there's also some spring noise. The seams where the different colors of each piece fit together is perfectly smooth and not warped or anything, which is great! It also has good corner cutting, but no reverse corner cutting. The screws were way too loose, which meant the puzzle could be flexed open enough to remove pieces, and I had a few pops too. Easily fixable. And finally as others noted, when you're doing the fun crazy move ( https://youtu.be/7q4-WITO8MI?si=eUF3Cgz2vmRdLtA-&t=32 ) the middle layer can get misaligned 90 degrees which causes lockups and pops if you're not aware of what has happened. You must put the middle layer back before it can turn normally.

I fixed this alignment issue by first removing the center caps with a knife (they're pretty stubborn..) and then taking it all apart. Then you snip off the default alignment mechanism, which is 4 little pegs on the (in my case blue) center piece that prevent it from rotating relative to the core. So now it can spin freely like all the other centers. Finally, you glue one of the hidden internal edges to a corner piece (I cleaned all my pieces with soapy water and isopropyl alcohol to get the factory lubricant off first, so the super glue works better) and reassemble. I lubricated the screw heads to reduce the spring noise, and tightened it more. I'm a little scared the glued pieces might pop apart one day, but so far it's working wonderfully! I think super glue sticks well to the frosted texture.

This 3x3x2 turns well. It's smooth, has good corner cutting in both directions, and has decent shades. It also is fun puzzle to solve, as many algorithms you may know will not work. Additionally, the hidden center pieces are colored, so you can try to solve them as well. As everyone else has pointed out, it does have an issue. If you turn a middle layer 90 degrees, which is usually necessary for solving, and try to do a U2 move, the only available move, some of the hidden centers will try to move with the top layer, and if you then try to do another M/M' move to get back to cubic form, it will lock up. However, this is simple to fix. As others have said, you can just glue an edge to the core, and it should no longer happen. If you don't want to do this, then you can simply hold the middle layer in place while doing a U move, and it will not get out of alignment. Overall, this is a great puzzle and cube, and its one problem doesn't really make too much of a difference.

I got this thinking it would be a nice easy bridge between the 1x3x3 that my son can solve no problem and the 3x3x3 that he is still too intimidated by to seriously try at the second layer.

I was thinking it would be boring.

Turns out it is quite a fun puzzle in it's own right. I was unable to solve it using the normal 3x3 techniques I know. I found a method on youtube where you solve corners first then centers. i like it quite a bit.

Overall it has a nice solid feel when turning. It has a cool feature that I didn't expect: the center colour (on the white and yellow faces) can be changed to orange/red or blue/green. It's a pretty cool unexpected feature that makes the cube a lot more challenging and mysterious when it's mixed up for the first time as one might assume the centres to not be changable.

Overall the puzzle design itself, this being my first 2x3x3, was way more interesting than what I expected.

The problem with this cube however, is also to do with the cool hidden centre colour feature. It doesn't always work, the interior pieces (not really cubies) will fairly often bind up meaning the whole puzzle seizes. This gets in the way of solving and there isn't an obvious workaround, the problem occurs somewhat randomly.

Despite that problem, you can just jiggle it or try and turn other faces and it eventually unseizes, so it is playable.

I gave it 3 only because I do like it but it has a major flaw. If I were buying again I'd try to get the same thing but without the bind ups.

Granted, I got the constrained version first, so I'm more used to how smooth that puzzle turned, but it still feels a bit rough. And yes, as others have mentioned, there is a bit of an alignment issue, but honestly, I don't really mind it.

Short story long: They made a good design choice by making the mechanism based off of a 3x3, much like a 2x2 is. But, they forgot to bandage the hidden middle layer to one of the layers.

Do yourself a favor and grab some super glue and take an edge out, wipe off the lube (so the glue sticks) and put a bit on the piece before the stalk that sits on the hidden layers' center piece, pop the piece back in (make sure it's aligned properly) and hold it there for 10 seconds.

You now have the best 3x3x2 on the market.

Comes pre-lubed, good tensions, cuts 1 full cubie (about a full cubie more than the Lan Lan) and reverse is nearly non existent on the side you glue, it's just a little better on the other side. Still bearable reverse cutting.

** If you want better cutting when yellow is on top, glue one of the yellow edges to the hidden middle layers' center piece. **