Shape library
The Shashibo Ball — folding a Star into a sphere
Four moves after the closed cube, the flat Star curls in on itself and becomes something you can roll across the table. This is the Ball — the shape the brand also calls the dodecahedron.
- DifficultyEasy
- Cubes needed1
- Starts fromStar
The four-step path
The official "Create your first shapes" sheet ends with the Ball, so this is the one shape where the whole path from box to finish is spelled out.
- Open one corner of the closed cube to make the Crown.
- Open the closed corner of the Crown to make the Star.
- Fold the corners of the Star toward the inside.
- Connect those corners together until the magnets click — that is the Ball.
Ball or dodecahedron?
Both. The brand uses the two names for the same rounded shape. In geometry a dodecahedron is a solid with twelve faces, and that rounded, many-sided look is exactly what you see when the Star closes up. Pick it up and turn it — it should feel solid and even all the way around.
Steps 3 and 4, slowed down
The first two moves are the same opening move twice. The new part is folding inward. Instead of spreading the ring, you are gathering it: tip the points of the Star toward the middle, a few at a time, and let them meet. The magnets want to help here, so do not squeeze. When the last corners find each other, you will feel the shape lock.
- If the Star collapses unevenly, open it flat again and restart step 3.
- Work around the Star in order rather than grabbing points at random.
- Still stuck? The free app has a video for the Ball.
The Ball with friends
Got a second Shashibo? Make a Star from it and set this Ball into the Star's hexagonal hole. You get a star with a cube-like core — one of the official two-cube builds.
