I learned how to solve the famed Rubik’s Cube last Summer, and it’s been nothing but hours of personal entertainment since. I just solved it in 133 seconds. (Start the timer when you first look at the unsolved puzzle, and stop when the last cube is in place.) I figure that’s probably about average for me, but I don’t usually time myself. My best time is several months ago, 113 seconds. How do the rest of you do, and if you’re a lot faster than me, what’s your secret?
I could consistantly solve it in under 2 minutes, but I believe my fastest time was 48 seconds. I bought a book when I was in 6th grade (probably dating myself) on how to solve it. It also recommended taking the cube apart and putting vasoline on the inside of the pieces so they rotate much faster/smoother.
To this day, I still remember one of the formula’s which was LURU, LURU (the order of rotation was Left, Up, Right, Up, Left, Up, Right, Up), but I don’t remember what the result of doing that was.
I picked up a cube last X-mas at a friends house, and now it takes me over an hour, and that’s if I even solve it.
My dad taught me to do it when I was in 2nd grade (when it was all the rage) and I could (and still can) solve it consistently in 90 seconds. I did forget at one point how to do all the steps, so now I do it every once in awhile so I don’t get rusty. I keep one on my desk as a stress reliever; ironic, eh?
We were really into those puzzles when I was a kid; I could solve all of them but the Revenge (the nasty 4 x 4 cube); my dad wouldn’t let us mess it up because it took him 11 minutes on average to fix it.
I learnt to do the Cube in the same way that rubes did. From the sound of the formulas, it even sounds like the same book! I also pulled the cube apart and sanded off all the moudling flash that remained on any of the seams of the inner surfaces. And because I was about 12 or 13 at the time, it was an excellent introduction to the lubricative properties of vasoline…
Before I forgot completely how to solve the puzzle, my best time was about 20 seconds or so, I think as a result of a lucky combination of the elements. I used to average about 45 seconds per attempt.
I don’t know what the name of that was, but I figured out on my own how to solve it, and could do it consistently in under 30 seconds.
The cube? About a minute, but it involved taking it apart and reassembling it.
When I was younger, I would mix up the cube real good every morning, and then time my dad. By the end, he would consistently do it in under 40 seconds, with his best time being 21 seconds.
PeeQueue
I was a freshman in college when the Cube debuted. I spent the better part of several weeks learning to solve it. I steadfastly refused to buy a solution book, because dammit, I was determined to solve it on my own. At first it would take me over an hour to solve it; gradually, my time decreased to less than a minute. I enjoyed befuddling the lamerz who bought a book by creating a pattern with just a few twists that they couldn’t solve without starting from scratch.
I was hooked!! From then on I collected every interesting puzzle I could get my hands on and proceeded to solve each one on my own. mrblue92 mentioned the 4 x 4 Revenge which was one of my favorites. I broke my Revenge through overuse many years ago. If anyone can help me locate a new one, I would be thrilled. I can’t find one anywhere.
I have several Cubes even now within arm’s reach, and I can’t stand to see them scrambled. I obsessively solve them if anyone mixes them up, and I can still do it in anywhere from 45-90 seconds. I even wrote a computer program that solves it using my method, plus an evolutionary method which I haven’t quite got the hang of yet.
For any other puzzle freaks, I highly recommend one called the Square-1. When solved, it resembles a Rubik’s cube, but it is cut at angles other than 90 degrees. As a result, it can take on some interesting shapes and can be extremely challenging. Currently my favorite.