Rubik’s Cube: Not Just for Kids
Despite technology and merchandising driving 80s toy sales, there was room for non-electronic games. Rubik’s Cube, another 70s invention, hit the wide market in early 1980. The puzzle is a three-dimensional cube comprised of nine cubies on each side. Cubies mixed up as sections of the cube is rotated; the puzzle is to rotate sections of the cube until all the same-colored cubies are on the same side. It sold 100 million of the square puzzles in its first three years and became the best-selling toy of the 1980s. The Rubik’s Cube was more than a child’s toy; people of all ages tried to solve the puzzle. There were tournaments to see who could solve their Rubik’s Cube the fastest. And for those whose desire to solve the puzzle far outpaced their patience. It was a simple case of removing the colored stickers and putting them on their respective sides.