# What's the hardest Cube-y thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2016, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183 "2016-02-26T09:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/21 "2016-02-28T10:48:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Well, there’s the [20x20x20 cube.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aSlXYSqonIE/hqdefault.jpg) I’ll see your 20x20x20 cube and raise you a [22x22x22](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KhUSzRsN2Io/hqdefault.jpg)! ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/22 "2016-02-28T11:25:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve seen some quite irregular cubey things -for example 3x4x5 or some such. Does the irregularity make them easier or harder? I’m fairly confident that three different sizes would make it easier - because then you’d only be able to make patterns with the opposite sides jumbled, and I find them generally quite easy to unscramble. Not quite so confident on, say, 3x4x4 … you’d have the top and bottom only able to be swapped, but with the middle fully rotatable I could imagine that you might end up with some fairly complex patterns on the other four faces - and some of the usual algorithms would be barred to you ---
**Author:** ![Majestic\_Lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Majestic\_Lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Majestic_Lee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/23 "2016-02-28T13:57:07Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’ll see your 20x20x20 cube and raise you a [22x22x22](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KhUSzRsN2Io/hqdefault.jpg)! !!! ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/24 "2016-02-28T14:44:38Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I have in my house at the moment… > > A 3x3 Rubiks cube > A 5x5 cube > A megaminx (dodecahedron) > > I’ve also had in my possession, over the years, a 4x4, pyraminx, and a few other random rubiksish puzzles (the snake, rubik’s magic, etc) which were pretty straightforward by comparison. > > It seems to me, from playing around that: > > - A 4x4 cube is a reasonable degree harder than a 3x3 > - A 5x5 and higher is \*\*not \*\*appreciably harder than a 4x4 … once you can do a 3x3 and a 4x4 you can do anything. > - A pyramid shape is much easier than a cube. > - The dodecahedron shape is \*\*also \*\*possibly easier than a cube - certainly not harder. > > So … there’s lots of cubey things out there. A Gigaminx looks promisingly tricky. But is there anything else out there among the many many different Rubik’s Cuboids now available that’s harder than a cube? Particularly \*\*unexpectedly \*\*hard… dodecahedron…I had that one as a teen. Once I took it out of the package and turned a few of the faces…well I eventually threw it away out of boredom since I never could get it back to “solved” ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/25 "2016-02-28T14:55:50Z")
how funny, to me anyway, just went into guestlings room for something and spotted my old[“rubic’s chain”](rubik’s chain puzzle) puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/26 "2016-02-28T15:01:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. You don’t play with that one-that one plays with _you_. > 2. Once you touch it, your game is over. [The sensations you shall experience](http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2013/03/13/diy-hellraiser-rubiks-cube-puzzle-box) ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/27 "2016-03-01T03:23:08Z")
I’ve got your hard-iest cube thing right here: Here’s a high-speed [video replay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTRm1-7BvH8)of a solve of a 3x3x3x3x3x3x3 cube. (Yes, a SEVEN-dimensional cube). You feeling particularly bright today? By all means, download the program and scramble-up a [5x5x5x5x5x5x5](http://astr73.narod.ru/MC7D/5_7solved.jpg) cube: [You are not prepared.](http://astr73.narod.ru/MC7D/MC7D.html) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/28 "2016-06-10T18:27:02Z")
After posting on this thread, I pulled that “cube of many colors” out and started playing with it. Have solved it 13 times, every solution different. Also want to recommend the “X-Cube”. Got one of these about a month ago. Imagine a standard 3x3x3. Then add an extra layer to all but the top and bottom faces. You get a 5x5x3 with “missing” edges so it kind of looks like an “X”, or perhaps a squat plus sign. I have solved it several times, but only through a process of “informed trial and error”. The real bugger with it is that it “morphs” as you work it and limits your ability to turn the extended sections unless they have all nine cubies. Hope that’s clear. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183/29 "2025-09-04T00:33:59Z")
An update: I kept at it since that post solving it once or twice a day. The total of different solutions now stands at over 850! If anyone would want to duplicate this arrangement of colors, it is as follows.Top face: LG, W, R-P,G,lb-B,Y,O. Front face: O,G,B,-Y,R,W-LB,P, LG. Left Face: Y,B,P-LG,W,R-O,LB,G. Right face:B,P,LB-W,Y,O-R-G-LG. Bottom Face: LG, O,TY-G,LB,W-P,B,R. Rear Face: LG,W,R-LB O,B-P,Y,G This is as viewed in the form of an unfolded box. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-hardest-cube-y-thing/747183.md?page=1)