Helicopter Cube a 6-member cycle, often referred to as its "orbit". Face center pieces in different orbits cannot be interchanged using only 180° twists. However, jumbling moves are able to permute face center pieces between different orbits, thus leaving the puzzle in a state that cannot be solved by 180° twists alone. Assume that Helicopter Cube is scrambled without jumbling moves (i.e. mixed with only 180 degree twists). Any permutation of the corners is possible, including odd permutations. Seven of the corners can be independently rotated, and the orientation of the eighth depends on the other seven, giving 8!×3 combinations. There are
Soma cube their faces, such that at least one inside corner is formed. There is one combination of three cubes that satisfies this condition, and six combinations of four cubes that satisfy this condition, of which two are mirror images of each other (see Chirality). Thus, 3 + (6 × 4) is 27, which is exactly the number of cells in a 3×3×3 cube. The Soma cube was analyzed in detail by John Horton Conway on September 1958 in Mathematical Games column in "Scientific American", and the book "Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays" also contains a detailed analysis of the Soma