It sounds a bit patronising to tell people that they need to learn how to hold a cube properly. But this is probably the single biggest mistake I made when starting to learn speedcubing.
I didn't even think about how I held the cube until after I'd learned a whole load of algorithms. Then I realised that I needed to hold it a different way if I was going to execute the algorithms quickly. And guess what happened... when I changed my grip and hand positions all those muscle memories I'd built up were wrong... I found myself going wrong all the time in the middle of algorithms that I thought I knew really well.
In the end I had to effectively relearn a lot of what I had learned.
So, my top tip is start off with the right grip and hand positions and save yourself the trouble of relearning all those algorithms later!
Alex Lau has a great video (only 2 minutes long) showing how to hold the cube and do finger tricks.
He is a seriously fast cuber (I have seen him competing a few times) and knows what he is doing!!!
For the algorithms I am going to suggest later, you should concentrate on R, U, L and friends (R', R2 etc) ... with the odd F, F', D and D'.
I never use B or B'. One algorithm I use has one Lw and one Rw'. A couple of algorithms for the last layer have M and M2 moves.
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Learn the Cubing Notation
If you are just planning on being a casual cuber then learning a special notation for moves might seem a bit nerdy, or over the top. But it isn't.
Firstly, the notation is really simple. So it isn't much effort.
And secondly, everyone uses it. So any source of help you seek will always use this notation.
Finally, having letters to remember rather than moves is easier for some people...
The official notation is defined by the World Cube Association. It is based on the notation originally proposed by David Singmaster, with some modifications.
L = left
R = right
U = up (the top)
D = down (the bottom)
F = front
B = back
The most important thing to remember is that each move is clockwise if you were looking straight at that face. So an L turn is towards you, but an R turn is away from you. This sounds odd but makes sense if you actually look at it on a cube... trust me :)
Adding a ' means turn the opposite way. And adding a 2 means do two turns.
RR = R2
R'R' = R2
RRR = R'
R'R'R' = R
It's worth pointing out that L2, R2 etc can be done either way. Sometimes you might see R2' which is a hint that R2 anticlockwise might be faster than clockwise, but it is the same move and up to you to decide which you prefer.
A couple of the algorithms I use have wide moves in, but not many. Lw just means turn the left face and the middle section together; and Rw is move the right face and the middle section together. Those are the only 2 wides I use... I think.
There's one final move which isn't official but does appear in some common algorithms. That's the M move... sometimes called an M-slice. Here you move the middle section only, in the same direction as the R face.
(in the official notation an M counts as 2 moves - Rw R'. Unless you are interested in fewest moves competitions then this doesn't matter at all and M is easier to remember).
As a beginner you can learn algorithms and then chant them as you move R U R' U R U2 R'
Later you will find that some moves have names like Sune, Anti-Sune, Sexy-Move; but mostly you will just get used to executing them and will do it from muscle memory without even thinking about the notation any more.
Another place you will see the notation is in all the common timing apps. Usually they will show you a scramble of about 20 moves to solve. It's a good habit to get into using these... just in case you aren't very good at scrambling the cube into good random positions yourself.
Edit: sometimes you will see algorithms containing brackets like this (R U R' U) (R U2 R'). The brackets are just there as a suggestion for grouping, they don't change the actual moves that you do at all. It might be that each group can be done as a single fluid move, or that the groups help you to memorise the algorithm... or both :)
Firstly, the notation is really simple. So it isn't much effort.
And secondly, everyone uses it. So any source of help you seek will always use this notation.
Finally, having letters to remember rather than moves is easier for some people...
The official notation is defined by the World Cube Association. It is based on the notation originally proposed by David Singmaster, with some modifications.
L = left
R = right
U = up (the top)
D = down (the bottom)
F = front
B = back
The most important thing to remember is that each move is clockwise if you were looking straight at that face. So an L turn is towards you, but an R turn is away from you. This sounds odd but makes sense if you actually look at it on a cube... trust me :)
Adding a ' means turn the opposite way. And adding a 2 means do two turns.
RR = R2
R'R' = R2
RRR = R'
R'R'R' = R
It's worth pointing out that L2, R2 etc can be done either way. Sometimes you might see R2' which is a hint that R2 anticlockwise might be faster than clockwise, but it is the same move and up to you to decide which you prefer.
A couple of the algorithms I use have wide moves in, but not many. Lw just means turn the left face and the middle section together; and Rw is move the right face and the middle section together. Those are the only 2 wides I use... I think.
There's one final move which isn't official but does appear in some common algorithms. That's the M move... sometimes called an M-slice. Here you move the middle section only, in the same direction as the R face.
(in the official notation an M counts as 2 moves - Rw R'. Unless you are interested in fewest moves competitions then this doesn't matter at all and M is easier to remember).
As a beginner you can learn algorithms and then chant them as you move R U R' U R U2 R'
Later you will find that some moves have names like Sune, Anti-Sune, Sexy-Move; but mostly you will just get used to executing them and will do it from muscle memory without even thinking about the notation any more.
Another place you will see the notation is in all the common timing apps. Usually they will show you a scramble of about 20 moves to solve. It's a good habit to get into using these... just in case you aren't very good at scrambling the cube into good random positions yourself.
Edit: sometimes you will see algorithms containing brackets like this (R U R' U) (R U2 R'). The brackets are just there as a suggestion for grouping, they don't change the actual moves that you do at all. It might be that each group can be done as a single fluid move, or that the groups help you to memorise the algorithm... or both :)
Monday, 13 April 2015
Getting a Speedcube
There are lots of speedcubes available. I have two -
1) Dayan Stickerless
2) Dayan Zhanchi
The first one was given to me by a friend who had a spare; and the second one I bought for about £10. I bought the Zanchi because I liked the other Dayan and wanted to try another cube that was different... but not too different.
For a beginner the only important thing is to get a cube that turns easily. By that I mean you should be able to turn the sides using only one finger.
If you can't hold the cube in one hand and turn the top face with just your index finger, then the cube is too stiff to solve fast. Most algorithms take 50-80 moves to solve the cube - so to get under a minute you need to be able to do about one move per second (if you have no pauses).
Other than that you can choose pretty much any cube advertised as a speedcube and it will probably be OK. Check out the reviews online to see what other solvers think are currently the best ones. Generally the Chinese cubes seem to be the most popular.
Bear in mind that if you want to have a go at a competition, then stickerless cubes are not allowed. Or rather, more precisely, cubes where the body is coloured are not allowed.
1) Dayan Stickerless
The first one was given to me by a friend who had a spare; and the second one I bought for about £10. I bought the Zanchi because I liked the other Dayan and wanted to try another cube that was different... but not too different.
For a beginner the only important thing is to get a cube that turns easily. By that I mean you should be able to turn the sides using only one finger.
If you can't hold the cube in one hand and turn the top face with just your index finger, then the cube is too stiff to solve fast. Most algorithms take 50-80 moves to solve the cube - so to get under a minute you need to be able to do about one move per second (if you have no pauses).
Other than that you can choose pretty much any cube advertised as a speedcube and it will probably be OK. Check out the reviews online to see what other solvers think are currently the best ones. Generally the Chinese cubes seem to be the most popular.
Bear in mind that if you want to have a go at a competition, then stickerless cubes are not allowed. Or rather, more precisely, cubes where the body is coloured are not allowed.
Wednesday, 8 April 2015
Practise
Before I go any further I should say that I don't have a magic method for speedcubing. As far as I know, every solving method requires a lot of practising to get reliably fast.
So if you are looking for a quick and easy route then, sorry, this isn't it.
What I can give you are some tips to help you avoid making the mistakes that ended up with me having to relearn steps the right way.
The topics I will cover on this blog are:
1) Get a speedcube
2) Learn the cubing notation
3) Learn how to hold the cube properly
4) Learn some algorithms
5) Practise
6) Get faster
7) Go to 4 or 5
And that topic number 5 is probably the easiest to explain...
So if you are looking for a quick and easy route then, sorry, this isn't it.
What I can give you are some tips to help you avoid making the mistakes that ended up with me having to relearn steps the right way.
The topics I will cover on this blog are:
1) Get a speedcube
2) Learn the cubing notation
3) Learn how to hold the cube properly
4) Learn some algorithms
5) Practise
6) Get faster
7) Go to 4 or 5
And that topic number 5 is probably the easiest to explain...
Friday, 20 March 2015
Why?
I got a Rubik's Cube in the 1980s when they first came out. After about a month I finally managed to solve it. And over the next few months I refined my method into a technique that could reliably solve a cube in 2-3 minutes.
That seemed pretty good back then, since most people couldn't solve the cube at all.
Now the world record is 5.55 seconds! Woah, that's fast.
I'm in my forties now, so I don't expect to have the dexterity to get that good. But can I solve a cube in under a minute maybe? That's what I wondered. And here's how I got on.
That seemed pretty good back then, since most people couldn't solve the cube at all.
Now the world record is 5.55 seconds! Woah, that's fast.
I'm in my forties now, so I don't expect to have the dexterity to get that good. But can I solve a cube in under a minute maybe? That's what I wondered. And here's how I got on.
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