Twisty puzzles.

[Yadda]

Anyone into solving and collecting these?

I had a Rubik's cube (3x3x3) in the early 80's as a kid and had the urge to get another one late last year as my mid life crisis took hold, so I picked up a modern 3x3x3 "speed cube".

Since then I've added a 2x2x2, 4x4x4, 5x5x5 and Megaminx (dodecahedron) to the collection and really enjoy messing with them and learning the differences between their methods.

So, are there any other cubers on here?

 

[Yadda]

They were a nightmare, weren't they?

I just got some MLube cube lube last week and it's made a huge difference to the Qiyi Warrior W (3x3x3) I added magnets to.

I haven't lubed the others. The 2x2x2 doesn't need any and I don't speed solve on the bigger cubes yet.

 

[Yadda]

They are, original cube isn’t great. I also have a large 3x3 cube that doubles as a light. It’s a nightmare to do though lol

Haha, I can imagine. Unless everything's lined-up with laser precision, it jams. Right? What a PITA.

 

[Yadda]

Bought my son a Rubik's cube and I've taught myself the layers method using righty lefty, pretty straightforward.

Not looked but are there other ways of solving it I assume? The speed solvers are mental! Blindfolded are witches.

Nice. I'm guessing you've learn't the beginners method - it's where most people start. From there I moved to the Friedrich/CFOP (Cross, First two layers (F2L), Orientate last layer (OLL), Permutate last layer (PLL)) method, which is similar to BM but is more efficient. For example, when solving the first two layers (F2L), in CFOP you pair the corner and edge pieces before inserting them whereas in BM you insert the corner pieces first, then take them out again to pair with their respective edge piece.

There are many other efficiencies with CFOP too, when solving the last layer. I'm a long way from learning all the last layer cases and algorithms but it's something I can build on with time. At the moment I do 2-look OLL and 2-look PLL but it's possible to complete these stages in 1-look if you learn a lot more algorithms.


Another popular method is called Ruwix but I haven't looked into that at all yet.

 

[Yadda]

Just magnetised my MF3S (the one on the left) with 4x2mm N50 magnets (48 of them!). It feels much more stable now at looser tensions and layers stop more accurately without overshooting...

...and a new cube arrived - a Mini Aolong (the one on the right). I actually ordered a Aolong V2 but they sent the Mini instead. Hey-ho, I've wanted to try a smaller cube for a while (54.5mm as opposed to 56/57mm) so it's no great shakes. It feels great but will also be getting the magnet treatment if I end up keeping it.

 

[Yadda]

My snake needs a good lubing.

What are you doing with it?

 

[Yadda]

There are different sizes of Rubik's that you can try e.g.

*snip*

Different shapes / formations as well.

*snip*

Cheers. I already have a few different ones, I mention them in the first post. They're all good fun.

Edit: Are they yours?

 

[Yadda]

Contain your excitement folks but I got a couple of new puzzles! A Moyu Aolong V2 3x3 cube very kindly sent to me for free by the "Smart Cubes" store on Ali Express following their mistake (they sent me a Mini Aolong the first time, which they very kindly said I can keep), and a disentanglement puzzle - Hanayama's Enigma. Good stuff.

PS. I timed myself speed-solving the 3x3 the other evening for the first time in a couple of months. My average over 5 solves was 48 seconds with a new PB of 40 seconds. I'm getting closer to my goal of a sub 30 PB and still have lots of OLL and PLL algs to learn.

 

[Yadda]

I bought a cheap 3x3 and when it came the stickers hadn't been peeled correctly, and were stuck on still with white bits on the edges. Some had the middles pushed through. So now i'm waiting for a refund.

I need something to keep the dexterity of my left hand after an operation. What's a decent one to get? (other than the original)

Any modern speedcube from one of the big names will be great. A very popular budget cube is the MF3RS2 (and it's predecessor, the MF3RS) by Mofang Jiaoshi (a sub-brand of MoYu). Don't be put off by the relatively low price - they are very good cubes. I'd avoid the Rubik's branded cubes because they don't turn as smoothly and are more prone to catching, unfortunately.

Good luck with the recovery.

 

[Yadda]

I recall a friend who had one with rude pictures on it. It was a Pubic cube.

 

[Yadda]

Thanks mate, after looking at all the different options I went with a stickerless MoYu one for £8.95, as I liked the unique look of it.

I doubt I will be able to complete it, I never could as a kid. But it will definitely help with my hand/wrist. I had been using a sponge ball to get the strength back, now I need to work on twisting and turning.

Hand/wrist recovery is going well. The operation was for a fistula for kidney dialysis, and that's gonna go on for at around 24 months.

Great stuff. You can't go wrong with MoYu and it's bound to help with improving the dexterity in your hand. Enjoy!

Anyone looking to learn how to solve a 3x3 should look up the "beginner method". Don't be put off by the name - everyone has to start somewhere. Once you have that down, it's relatively easy to transition over to the CFOP method in stages, because the two methods are compatible with each other (but CFOP is more efficient, obviously).

Edit: I've been slacking recently so progress has slowed but I've beaten the goal I set myself of a sub-30 second PB with a time of 28 seconds. I'm still not using most of the CFOP algs (OLL & PLL) either and my look-ahead needs a lot of work so there's plenty of room for improvement if I put the time in.

 

[Yadda]

I have a collection. I started around 2008/9 when someone bought me one for xmas. I had one as a kid in the '80s, but it never really clicked that there's only one place for one piece. I'm not the fastest solver. Takes me anywhere from 40 seconds to a minute. Using intuitive F2L, multiple step OLL because I can't be bothered to learn more, and about 5 or 6 PLL algos for the same reason.

When I started collecting, I bought anything an everything I could get my hands on. I bought 2x sets of V-Cubes (black and white) which then were only 5x5x5 6x6x6 and 7x7x7, a bunch of 3x3x3s, 4x4x4 etc. I bought everything Meffert's brought out which were usually limited additions (Golden Cube, Golden Egg, Pyraminx Crystal etc), and most puzzles that had never been out in mass produced form before, like a gigaminx and teraminx.

These days I'll buy one or maybe two puzzles a year. They have to be something either new and exciting, or a mass produced version of something that I've always wanted.
Last year I bought a 9x9x9 and Tony Fisher's Container, both of which are great quality and the container fiendishly challenging if you don't know the trick of making sure the pieces are in the right place even when they appear correct.

My favourite puzzle is probably the Mefferts Golden Cube by Tony Fisher. I have two of them. The silver, and black with gold stickers
Most pointless has to be the Mefferts polymorhpix. I really don't know why I bought it. Even when it's solved it looks scrambled.

That's quite a collection! I'll have to look some of those up.

I thought this was going to be about those infuriating metal puzzles where you have to take each piece apart, which always seem to arrive at Christmas. I refuse to do them now... so annoying!!!

Do you mean disentanglement puzzles? They can be very tricky but I really enjoy them. I have a small collection of about six from Hanayama's Cast series.

 

[Yadda]

@Yadda yes, those. They are effectively ‘bash the pieces of metal around until they fall apart’ - not very satisfying.... or rather very frustrating

I know what you mean. The trick is to resist that urge and figure them out instead. One of the most satisfying puzzle moments I've had was when I finally separated the Cast Chain. Believe me, I'd tried everything, and now know that thing inside out.

 

[Yadda]

This is the tagline for a film I would watch.

But no, super cereal, I think I remember taking the cube pieces off whatever the internals were (I want to say spindles? Were they spindles?) and literally moving them around and putting them back together, like a brain hampered chimpanzee on a meth down.

Life was pretty tough for a Primary Seven, thinking back.

The middle bit is called the core, Mags.

 

[Yadda]

If all these movies were ever made you would be very busy.

I also remember taking one apart to complete. After that there was no incentive to learn how to do it properly.

It's arrived! Got a few things to do then I can open the package and take a look.

Marvellous. You'll notice a big difference from the original cube, I'm sure. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Yadda]

Great stuff. Don't be too intimidated by it, the beginner method isn't too bad if you break it down in stages.

Step 1: the cross (look it up).

Have fun!

Edit:
Here's a decent cross tutorial. He takes it a bit further by explaining efficiency. Don't worry too much about that yet but being aware of it won't do any harm.

 

[Yadda]

Thanks I will give that a go.

No problem. Here's a full beginner method tutorial by The Cubicle (probably the biggest US cube store). It's very clear and breaks the cross down into two stages so is easier though slower than the above method. The result is the same though so go with whichever method you find easiest.

 

[Yadda]

Without help I can get to white cross with corners. That's the white side complete with the correct middle pieces underneath. And now i'm working on second layer. I looked on ruwix.com but i'm trying to solve it without a turn by turn guide. Just the finished pictures of the steps.

Nice progress. Yes, you'll find you can solve the first two layers ("F2L") intuitively but the last layer is a bit trickier.

Have a cube on my desk that im always messing with. I was down to sub 60 seconds but that was awhile back. Id imagine im around 90-120 seconds now.

Cubers everywhere! Welcome to the fold.