Now that I have the full set of DaYan's Bermuda cube, I picked up Mars after solving Venus. Mars has three Bermuda-faces (I am not sure if that is the correct terminology but that is what I am going to call them). Two are on opposite faces, the white and blue, with the third on the blue. In its solved position there are two degrees of freedom: the orange and white faces can be turned freely. The bandaging makes it impossible to rotate the green face. This makes things interesting during a solve. The orange, green and red squares all behave as centres.
I have not had any problems with popping but the bandaging is so heavy compared with the Mercury, Venus and Earth that turning a face is not possible unless the faces are positioned correctly. It is something that I feel is better not pushed with this puzzle.
When scrambled it becomes a confusing mess. There are three Bermuda faces, therefore, seeing ahead to the correct orientation of the triangular centres is confusing. I recommend studying the puzzle carefully before scrambling and trying to solve it. If the puzzle is held with the red face to the left and the orange one to the right, all of the triangular centres point to the top right-hand corner.
Solution
The bandaging creates significant restrictions therefore careful planning is needed when executing a series of turns, especially in the early phases of the solve. I studied the cube carefully before making an attempt to solve it and planned my strategy in advance.Step 1 - Solve the Red/Green Edge
This is trickier than it looks unless luck has placed it in a convenient spot during the scramble. The bandaging restricts what moves are available. This piece may take the scenic route before finding its way home.Step 2 - Solve the Yellow Triangles and Pentagon
Again, this is trickier than it looks and I had carefully planned the moves. I found the triangle adjacent to the green face trickier to get into place. I found I needed to solve this one first before its red counterpart.After completing this stage, the puzzle now has a solved cube-shaped block.
Step 3 - Solve the Blue Triangles and Pentagon
After completing the first two steps, I found things started to get a little easier. The blue face is freed by placing the white face in one of three orientations. I found solving the Fisher section of the blue face straightforward, especially in comparison with the yellow.The puzzle now has a Petrus-like solved block with complete freedom of movement on the white and orange faces, without disturbing the solved portion of the puzzle.
Step 4 - Orientate the Orange Rectangles and the White Pentagon
This step is straightforward, especially for anyone familiar with the Petrus method. Once these pieces are orientated, care needs to be taken if the blue face is used after this point, lest the pieces become de-orientated.Step 5 - Solve the Remaining White Pieces not Adjacent to the Orange Face
I found it easier to solve the Fisher portion of the side first and then the other two pieces. This just leaves the corners on the top, orange face to solve. This extends the solved block to the white face.Step 6 - Permutate the Orange Rectangles
The orange rectangles behave like edges. It is not difficult to get them into the correct positions.Step 7 - Solve Orange Corners
This final step is trickier than it looks. I found the easiest way to do it is to work out how to permutate the corners first and then orientate them. The bandaging of the puzzle restricts what moves are possible and what algorithms are available.
There you have it, one solved Mars cube.
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