[HN Gopher] Rubik's Cube Solutions, Puzzles, and 8-Balls (2023)
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       Rubik's Cube Solutions, Puzzles, and 8-Balls (2023)
        
       Author : wonger_
       Score  : 23 points
       Date   : 2025-03-27 13:40 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (williambader.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (williambader.com)
        
       | opan wrote:
       | For anyone trying to get into speedcubing, I'd recommend YouTube
       | tutorials from channels like J Perm, especially his Beginner
       | Method tutorial, which I found taught me much better than any
       | written resources I was finding. He keeps the alg count lower at
       | a slight cost to efficiency, but this makes memorizing it a lot
       | easier, and you can still get solve time down to a minute or two
       | after enough practice.
       | 
       | For learning Roux method (my favorite), I found CriticalCubing's
       | videos most helpful, though Kian Mansour is also quite popular,
       | and SpeedCubeReview has some Roux videos as well.
       | 
       | For the actual cube, check out which cubes under $15 are popular
       | on speedcubeshop or an equivalent online store in your country. I
       | haven't bought one in a few years, but the MoYu RS3M 2020 and
       | 2021 were both quite good. I would recommend picking up the extra
       | magnets to add in, and a bottle of cube lube (as silly as it
       | sounds, it keeps things working well for longer, and you only
       | need a few drops). Generally the Rubik's brand cubes are seen as
       | worse than any modern Chinese cubes (patents expired a while
       | back).
        
       | Projectiboga wrote:
       | I started at the beginning 81 or 82. Sent away for the official
       | Ideal Toys bought a few books too. I had both the ideal and the
       | more popular top, middle bottom solution. I figured out how to
       | reverse the corner flip move and w that one hack I can still do
       | under a minute. The ideal is simple. Top minus one edge, bottom
       | corners place, orient bottom corners. Fill the bottom and top
       | edges, then the middle. Very few paterns. Yes not to most step
       | efficient but way less to memorize. I figured out early to leave
       | to speed cubing to the nerds. Being able to solve under a minute
       | is enough to put you near the top of any social group.
       | https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ideal_Soluti...
        
         | dunham wrote:
         | I learned the top / middle / bottom from a book in elementary
         | school in the early 80's. I did it for a talent show and kids
         | accused me of watching the guy mix it up and memorizing the
         | moves (that would have been more impressive than simply solving
         | it).
         | 
         | Later in college, having forgotten everything. I worked out the
         | solution myself after a hint from a prof (that it's essentially
         | conjugations of group elements).
         | 
         | Years later, I again developed a solution, but this time I do
         | edges first, with permutations that mess up the corners and
         | then the corners. I mainly mixed it up to do something unique.
        
       | tempodox wrote:
       | Great collection. That crazy mouse on Jessica Fridrich's site is
       | especially refreshing.
        
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