The orb is in the middle of the screen, with a mirror behind and below (to allow you to see all of the beads without having to turn the orb).
On either side of the orb are band-number indicators which rotate with the orb/blue hemisphere in order to keep track of which band is where.
Next to these are text indicators of the current rotation of the orb (on the left side) and the blue hemi (relative to the orb) on the right side.
To solve the puzzle, move the beads to match the "Goal" shown in the window on the left side of the screen.
The page is designed to allow nearly everything to be done by either the mouse or the keyboard.
Mostly you will be moving beads around the orb, and rotating the blue (rightmost) hemisphere.
So, there are several ways to accomplish those tasks. The Controls window in the upper right of the screen
shows you how:
Drag with the mouse. (By clicking on a bead, the blue hemi, or the gray hemi (to rotate the entire orb).)
By using the arrow-keys on your keyboard or in the Controls window:
Left/Right default to bead movement (on the band indicated in the Controls window (or type 1-4 to change)).
Click "Orb" or type "O" to rotate the orb instead.
Up/Down arrows default to the blue hemi (unless the "Orb" is checked in the Controls window).
Hold down the Ctrl key (or use the red arrows in the Controls window) to move 4 beads at a time or rotate the blue hemi or orb 180 degrees.
Click or type variations of "h" to set the orb and/or blue hemi to their "home" position:
"h": to home the blue hemi (a command you should find frequent use for).
"H": to home the orb.
Ctrl+h: to home both the blue hemi and the orb.
Click or type Ctrl+z to undo the previous move. Ctrl+y to redo it.
The orb starts off in a scrambled state. To pick a different starting position, click Start Position from the Menu.
This allows you to load a saved puzzle, create a custom setup (e.g., to match a physical orb), or set the puzzle to the solved position.
The goal of the puzzle defaults to 4 bands, each of a different color. Click on Goal Selection from the Menu to select a different goal.
(In this version of the page only the default goal is recognized when you achieve it, so you will have to recognize the achievement of other goals yourself.)
Use the Save Puzzle Menu item to save the current state of the puzzle at any point to your local device.
The View Menu item allows you to hide/unhide windows and images on the screen. This is useful if you find them distracting. You can also change the colors of the beads.
All settings will be saved to your local device, and reloaded when you revisit this page on the same device and browser.
The Help Menu item will bring you to this page or to our Solving Help page. The Guide is also to be found here. It will guide you step-by-step to solving the puzzle to the default goal.
If you need to take a break you can click the Pause button (or press "p"). This will stop the timer, and hide the puzzle until you click Unpause ("p").
Solving Help
The video below is a tutorial on one way to solve the puzzle. It was used in creating our Guide.
About Virtual Orb
"Virtual Orb" is a virtual puzzle based on Parker Brothers' original "Orb" physical puzzle, released in 1982,
and later reissued as "Atomix" by Hasbro. It was patented by C. Wiggs and C. Taylor.
The virtual version has added numbering of the beads; mirrors; band numbering; rotation indicators; timing; move history; undo; redo; and a step-by-step solving guide.
