Today is Erno Rubik’s birthday, he was born on July 13, 1944 in Budapest, Hungary during World War II.

Rubik is an inventor, sculptor and professor of architecture. But of course, he is best known for the invention of mechanical puzzles including Rubik’s Cube, Rubik’s Magic and Rubik’s Snake.

While there is some doubt around his being the first idea for his peculiar mechanical puzzle, he did apply for the patent in 1975 which was awarded first, in 1977.

This simple little toy has become an icon of the 1980’s and has permeated cultures worldwide, including making a cameo in this Summer’s Wall-E movie (above).

More information on Rubik’s Cube:

• Rubik’s Official Online Site
• Rubik’s Cube - Wikipedia
• Rubik’s Cube solution: layer by layer method
• Rubik’s Cube Applet

Here’s my new favorite flash based game, it’s called Totem Destroyer. Dang, as usual the really good flash games sure are addictive, especially when it’s a cool physics based puzzle game like this one.

Your mission is to destroy the totems without letting the golden Idol fall to the ground. Use balance to keep the Idol upright as you methodically and carefully lower it to the bottom.

Found via Neatorama.

Chess topics kept falling into my lap over the weekend so I went back and compiled the links that I had stumbled upon and thought worthy of calling out here for you:

- CrowdChess - This is very similar to the famous MSN sponsored match in the late 90’s “Kasparov vs. The World“. That was great fun. Now you can partake in it again, though it’s with featured GrandMasters from around the world. Signup and see if your team of 1,000 can collectively outwit the GMs

- 3-Way Chess - The board is ‘Y’ shaped, players take turns clockwise, first player to checkmate an opponent wins

- The Week in Chess - a recap of the exciting events in Chess each week!

- ChessProblems - This has become my favorite chess problems site, by far. As you move your pieces to ‘Mate in 2′ or whatever, the server makes the most appropriate play which helps validate your thinking as your going through the possible countermoves. Lots of fun, plus other players comment on each game. You can take on chess problems associated with any chess rating to help stretch yourself or take on a couple of easy ones first thing in the morning.

- DIY Metal Chess Figures - made from hardware you probably have laying around the garage.

Play the Star Trek version of twenty questions, 20Q.

Found at the Great Geek Manual

 

IGN has extensive Diablo III coverage this weekend from Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational event in Paris, France.

Here’s the nitty gritty, or just jump to the bottom of this article and play the gorgeous video of the Barbarian!

The new game’s synopsis:

Diablo III picks up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both Heaven and Hell, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen.

You can check out IGN’s live blog of the announcement or their Diablo III FAQ.

Then head over to this article on Blizzard’s class and skill creation or the IGN interview with Blizzard’s executive vice-president of game design Rob Pardo for details on how the gameplay has evolved since Diablo II.

There’s also a summary of Blizzard’s Diablo III Art and Narrative Design panel, where members of the development team talk about the game’s visual style. A highlight:

“Stylization, sometimes people can equate that with being a little bit cartoony or a Disney art style but that’s really not what we’re going after with the Diablo art style here. We understand, looking back at Diablo and Diablo II, the universe is very dark…There’s a certain level of grit and realism we want to bring to the game but at the same time it’s important to take the player into a fantasy realm…If we simply took photographs and applied that to a bunch of polygons, that’s really not us doing our job.”

General Features

• Five powerful character classes to choose from, including the barbarian and witch doctor
• Brand-new 3D graphics engine enhanced with spectacular visual effects and Havok physics
• Numerous indoor and outdoor areas detailing new regions in the world of Sanctuary
• Interactive environments with dangerous traps and obstacles, and destructible elements
• Randomly generated worlds bolstered by scripted events for endless and dynamic gameplay
• Vast assortment of fiendish monsters, with unique attack patterns and behaviors
• New quest system and character-customization options for the ultimate action RPG experience
• Multiplayer functionality over Battle.net with support for cooperative and competitive play