Saturday, August 22, 2009

Step Three

Step Three: Lining up with the middle hole and falling through.

First, let me start by saying that at this point you should be color blind. Getting the blue ball into the blue dome will be discussed in step six. At this point we are just worried about getting a ball from the inner sphere to a dome.

That said. Let’s move on to Step Three. This step isn’t that hard to figure out how to do- but takes really good timing to get it right.

At this point you should have a ball through the inner hole. The 360 should be held so that the black knobs are almost (but not) horizontal.

To make sure that you don’t have to start over, let’s take a moment to move the 360 into a safer position: Namely slowly tip the 360 so that the knobs are once again vertical. Make sure to tip the 360 so that the knob that is uppermost ends up on top (otherwise you will be back to Step One…)

Now that you don’t have to worry about starting over… Look at the holes in the middle sphere. Now, look straight through them. You should see the equator of the inner sphere (it's seam). You should also notice that the ball you have through the inner hole is also resting on this equator.

Your job now is to move the 360 so that the ball travels across the equator and stops right in line with one of the middle holes. Then you simply need to tilt the 360 to make the ball fall through the middle hole (using the exact same method you used to make it fall through the inner hole.)

This should take three motions: One to get the ball moving across the equator, one to stop the ball right at the middle hole of the lower hemisphere, and one to get it to fall through the middle hole.

As a closing note: Shaky-Shaky is very unlikely to work at this stage and is a surefire way to have to start over. Don’t even try- it’s not worth it.

When you've got it down, go on to Step Four.

Hint #1: Remember that when you tip the 360 so the knobs are horizontal, BOTH the inner and middle counter weight point down. During this step, you want the inner counter weight to point down, because when this happens, the ball will travel across the equator.

Hint #2: You just don’t want the inner counterweight to point all the way down, because this will cause the ball to fall back into the inner sphere.

Hint #3: Practice just getting the ball rolling across the equator (yes, this will mean you have to repeat steps one and two, but it is time well spent practicing those steps). Once you have mastered the equator roll- start the ball rolling across the equator and reverse the motion (almost as soon as it begins) This will both stop the rolling and either trap the ball in place, or cause it to fall through the inner hole. Practice, practice, practice- timing is key to getting the ball to stop at just the right place.


Scroll down for the Spoiler Solution:

























Spoiler Solution Part Three: At this point you should be holding the 360 so that the knobs are almost, but not quite horizontal (or, alternatively, the knobs are vertical). Go ahead and turn the 360 SLOWLY so that the knobs are horizontal, and then a split second after the ball starts to roll QUICKLY reverse that motion so that the knobs are once again vertical. If this did not work- your timing was off. If you reverse too soon, the ball and inner counterweight will once more be pointing down. If you go too fast, the ball will end back up in the inner hole, or at the top of the sphere (in which case you might as well let it fall back into the inner sphere- there is nothing to be done). Keep trying until you get it right.

Once the ball is in line with the middle hole, tilt the top black knob towards the middle hole to get the ball to fall through. (This is exactly what you did to get the ball to fall through the inner hole.)

Remember: this step is probably the most frustrating, but once you get equator roll timing right, it'll actually be the quickest step to perform- and make you look like a real pro!

6 comments:

  1. I keep trying this, but the ball never starts rolling. Help!

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  2. Try giving the 360 more sharp movements

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  3. i can get the ball out of the inner hole. Is it supposed to be stuck there? It does not role freely between inner and middle, more often than not it is stuck on the middle bearing. I still can not get to to roll along the equator. This used to be fun LOL!

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  4. The ball pretty much stays stuck between the inner and middle sphere unless I shake it. Then I have no control.

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  5. I was stuck on moving the ball along the equator, but your instructions really helped! Thanks!

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  6. the hole on the inner sphere of my puzzle never lines up with the ROY hole in the middle sphere, so I have completed the BUUG side, but cannot get a single ball in the other, if anyone has any solutions to this, please respond.

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