Yes, you may need an aspirin after messing with this for a few hours... Each piece of the 9 pieces is an assembly of small cubes or parts of a cube. The object is to get them back into a 3x3x3 checkered cube. The workmanship is especially good, with each of the pieces having a beveled edge on all sides. The base is rather unusual as it has 4 legs. The sides of the base have plexiglass so as to best view the cube, and it makes for a very attractive package. The cube itself is about 2.5". In the base the puzzle measures about 4.25 x 4 x 3". Designed by Bill Cutler in 1991 and built within our shop with his permission.