Instructions for the Rubik's Cube Puzzle
Play this Flash Rubik's Cube Game free. With the mouse, use the astronauts at the bottom of the game to mix up,
solve, rotate, etc. the cube. See someone solve
Rubik's Cube with one hand
here. History of Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube (usually misspelled rubix, rubick's or rubics
cube) is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian
sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally
called the "Magic Cube" by its inventor, this puzzle was renamed
"Rubik's Cube" by Ideal Toys in 1980 and also won the 1980
German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle. It is
said to be the world's best-selling toy, with some 300,000,000
Rubik's Cubes and imitations sold worldwide. In a
typical Cube, each face is covered by nine stickers of one of
six solid colors. When the puzzle is solved, each face of the
Cube is a solid colour. The Cube celebrated its twenty-fifth
anniversary in 2005, when a special edition Cube in a
presentation box was released, featuring a sticker in the centre
of the reflective face (which replaced the white face) with a
"Rubik's Cube 1980-2005" logo. Rubik invented his
"Magic Cube" in 1974. The first test batches of the
product were produced in late 1977 and released to Budapest toy
shops. Magic Cube was held together with interlocking plastic
pieces that were less expensive to produce than the magnets in
Nichols's design. In September 1979, a deal was signed with
Ideal Toys to bring the Magic Cube to the Western world, and the
puzzle made its debut at toy fairs in January and February 1980.
Solutions for Rubik's Cube
Many general solutions for the Rubik's Cube have been
discovered independently. The most popular method was developed
by David Singmaster and published in the book Notes on Rubik's
Magic Cube in 1981. This solution involves solving the Cube
layer by layer, in which one layer, designated the top, is
solved first, followed by the middle layer, and then the final
and bottom layer. After practice, solving the Cube layer by
layer can be done in under one minute. Other general solutions
include "corners first" methods or combinations of several other
methods. Most sites teach the layer by layer method, as it gives
an easy-to- understand step-by-step guide on how to solve it.
Speedcubing solutions have been developed for solving the
Rubik's Cube as quickly as possible. The most common speedcubing
solution was developed by Jessica Fridrich. It is a very
efficient layer-by-layer method that requires a large number of
algorithms, especially for orienting and permuting the last
layer. The first-layer corners and second layer are done
simultaneously, with each corner paired up with a second-layer
edge piece. Another well-known method was developed by Lars
Petrus. In this method, a 2×2×2 section is solved first,
followed by a 2×2×3, and then the incorrect edges are solved
using a three-move algorithm, which eliminates the need for a
possible 32-move algorithm later. One of the advantages of this
method is that it tends to give solutions in fewer moves. For
this reason, the method is also popular for fewest move
competitions.
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Rubik's Cube Scrambled |
Rubik's Cube Titled |
Rubik's Cube Solved |
Solutions follow a series of steps and include a set of
algorithms for solving each step. An algorithm, also known as a
process or an operator, is a series of twists that accomplishes
a particular goal. For instance, one algorithm might switch the
locations of three corner pieces, while leaving the rest of the
pieces in place. Basic solutions require learning as few as four
or five algorithms but are generally inefficient, needing around
100 twists on average to solve an entire Cube. In comparison,
Fridrich's advanced solution requires learning 53+ algorithms
but allows the Cube to be solved in only 55 moves on average. A
different kind of solution developed by Ryan Heise uses no
algorithms but rather teaches a set of underlying principles
that can be used to solve in fewer than 40 moves. A number of
complete solutions can also be found in any of the books listed
in the bibliography, and most can be used to solve any Cube in
under five minutes Check out these other
Puzzle Games and a
Java Rubik's Cube
version here.
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