Speedcubing facts for kids

3x3x3 Rubik's Cube

Speedcubing (also known as speedsolving or cubing) is a competitive sport involving solving a variety of combination puzzles, the most famous being the 3x3x3 puzzle, as quickly as possible. A person who practices solving twisty puzzles competitively is known as a speedcuber (when solved specifically focusing on speed), or a cuber. For most puzzles, solving involves performing a series of moves, known as algorithms, that alter a scrambled puzzle into a solved state, in which every face of the puzzle is a single, solid color.

Competitive speedcubing is mainly regulated by the World Cube Association (WCA). The WCA currently recognizes 17 speedcubing events: the cubic puzzles from the 2x2–7x7, the Pyraminx, Megaminx, Skewb, Square-1, and Rubik's Clock, as well as the 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5 Blindfolded, 3x3 One-handed, 3x3 Fewest Moves, and 3x3 Multi-blind.

As of July 2023^[update], the 3x3x3 world record single in competition is 3.13 seconds, set by Max Park at Pride in Long Beach 2023. The 3x3x3 world record for a trimmed average of five solves is 4.48 seconds, set by Yiheng Wang at Mofunland Cruise Open 2023.

History

The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor of architecture Ernő Rubik (born July 13, 1944). In 1979, Ernő Rubik partnered with Ideal Toy Company to garner widespread international interest in the cube, which soon developed into a global trend. On June 5, 1982, the first world championship was held in Budapest, Hungary. Nineteen people competed in the event, and the American Minh Thai won with a single solve time of 22.95 seconds, which was, at the time, the fastest Rubik's Cube solve ever recorded in the competition. Other notable attendees include Jessica Fridrich and Lars Petrus, both of whom later became influential in the development of solving methods and the speedcubing community. The Rubik's Cube waned in popularity after 1983, but with the advent of the Internet, sites began to surface to discuss the cube. With these websites facilitating the renewed popularity of the cube, it ushered in a new generation of cubers, creating a growing international community of people dedicated to the sport of speedsolving.

Those prominent in the online community, such as Ron van Bruchem, Tyson Mao, Chris Hardwick, and Ton Dennenbroek, eventually wanted to create a place where cubers from around the world could meet and compete. In 2003, they organized a second championship in Toronto, Ontario, followed by another competition in the Netherlands later that same year. This revival of competition sparked a new wave of organized speedcubing events, which included regular national and international competitions. There were twelve competitions in 2004, 58 more from 2005 to 2006, over 100 in 2008, and over 1150 in 2018. Since Budapest's 1982 competition, there have been nine further World Championships traditionally held every other year, the most recent in Melbourne, Australia. This new wave of speedcubing competitions has been and still is organized by the World Cube Association (WCA).

Since speedcubing's rise in popularity, numerous entrepreneurial ventures have sprung up specializing in making or selling speedcubes, creating international competition between these brands and Rubik's. Dozens of cube manufacturers have begun improving the cube's technology to allow for smoother turning and faster solving. This has helped to facilitate the eventual rise of the Rubik's Cube as not just a toy, but also a lucrative business.

Solving methods

The standard 3x3x3 can be solved using several methods, not all of which are intended for speedcubing. CFOP, Roux, and ZZ are known as the "Big 3" methods, as they are the most popular and can be used to achieve the fastest times. The CFOP method is used by the majority of today's speedcubers. The "Big 3" used to be a "Big 4", previously including the Petrus method, but this method has waned in popularity in recent years due to method and puzzle improvements over the years. Although some speedsolving methods (such as CFOP) employ a layer-by-layer system in tandem with algorithms, other significant (though less widely used) methods include corners-first methods and the Roux method, which starts by forming a 3x2x1 side block.

CFOP method

The CFOP (Abbreviation for Cross – F2L – OLL – PLL) method, also known as the Fridrich method, was named after one of its inventors, Jessica Fridrich, who finished second in the 2003 Rubik's Cube World Championships. Although it is known as the Fridrich method, its origins are credited to David Singmaster, who was one of the first to publish a layer-by-layer method of solving in 1980, and Guus Razoux Schultz, who built upon this and developed a more efficient system for the first two layers (F2L). Jessica Fridrich then finished developing the method and published it online in 1997, an event that was very influential in the revival of competitive speedcubing. The first step of the method is to solve a cross-shaped arrangement of edge pieces on the first layer. The remainder of the first layer and all of the second layer are then solved together in what is referred to as "corner-edge pairs", or slots. Finally, the last layer is solved in two steps – first, all of the pieces in the layer are oriented to form a solid color (but without the individual pieces always being in their correct places on the cube). This step is referred to as orientation and is usually performed with a single set of algorithms known as OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer). Then, all of those pieces are permuted to their correct spots. This is also usually performed as a single set of PLL (Permutation of Last Layer) algorithms. OLL and PLL use 57 algorithms and 21 algorithms, respectively.

The CFOP method can be used as a less advanced method by dividing the steps into more steps, reducing the number of algorithms that need to be learned but sacrificing time, usually known as the beginner's method or layer by layer (LBL). Most people start learning CFOP with 4LLL (Four-Look Last Layer), which is the less advanced, slower, and algorithm-reducing (from 78 algorithms to 16) way to learn CFOP. The 4 steps are divided into Edge Orientation, Corner Orientation, Corner Permutation, and Edge Permutation (can be called EO, CO, CP, and EP). Later on, full OLL, which has 57 algorithms, and full PLL, which has 21 algorithms, can be learned. An average CFOP that solves with full OLL and PLL, along with an efficient cross (which takes 8 moves at maximum) and efficient F2L (which takes almost 30 moves), consists of 55-60 moves, which means that it has a higher move count than Roux and ZZ. However, finger tricks and algorithms are more researched with CFOP than any other method, which explains why the majority of the fastest speedcubers use CFOP as their main speedcubing method.

The CFOP method is the most widely used speed-solving method. It is a more efficient version of the Layer-By-Layer method (also known as the beginner's method). It is very popular due to the vast amount of resources that teach and improve upon the CFOP method. Many fast speedcubers, including two-time World Champion Feliks Zemdegs and world record holder Max Park, learn additional sets of algorithms for the last slot and layer, such as Corners of Last Layer (COLL), which orients and permutes the corners when the edges are oriented, or Winter Variation (WV), which finishes OLL while inserting the last pair, and ZBLL, which combines the solving processes of OLL corner orientation and PLL in only one algorithm.

Roux method

The Roux method was invented by French speedcuber Gilles Roux. The first step of the Roux method is to form a 3×2×1 block, usually placed in the lower portion of the left layer. The second step is creating another 3×2×1 on the opposite side, so each block shares a bottom color. The creation of these blocks is commonly known as "block-building". The remaining four corners are then solved using a set of algorithms known as CMLL (Corners of the Last Layer, without regard to the M-slice), which leaves six edges and four centers that are solved in the last step, L6E or LSE (Last Six Edges).

This method is not as dependent on algorithm memorization as the CFOP method since all but the third step is done with intuition as opposed to predefined sets of algorithms. Because of the frequent use of M moves, the Roux method can be performed without any rotations (unlike the CFOP method), which means it is easier to look ahead (solving a collection of pieces while at the same time looking for the solution to the next step) while solving. It is also considered one of the most efficient speedsolving methods, with its average move count being between 45 and 50 moves for experienced solvers. However, the Roux method of speedcubing has been criticized over the years because, unlike CFOP, ZZ, or Petrus, Roux requires M (middle layer) slices to solve the LSE. Using M slice moves makes it harder to achieve higher TPS (turns per second) because the finger tricks are almost always flicks, but high TPS is achievable through training.

One of the users of this method, Kian Mansour, broke the one-handed (OH) world record average with a time of 9.54 seconds. Sean Patrick Villanueva is the first Roux user to achieve a Sub-6 average of five in competition and is ranked eighth in the world by 3x3 average. He also podiumed in 3x3 at the WCA World Championship 2019 (2nd Place).

ZZ method

The ZZ method (short for "Zbigniew Zborowski") is a modern speedcubing method originally proposed by Zbigniew Zborowski in 2006. The method was designed specifically to achieve high turning speeds by focusing on movement ergonomics and is a combination of a block-building method and a layer-by-layer method. The initial pre-planned step is called EOLine and is the most distinctive hallmark of the ZZ method. It involves orienting all edges while placing two oppositely placed down-face edges aligned with the correspondingly colored center. It is also common to build an EOCross, where all edges are oriented and the four bottom edges are put in their place, similar to a CFOP. The next step solves the remaining first two layers using only left, right, top, and bottom face turns, one of the advantages of ZZ. On completion of the first two layers, the last layer's edges are all correctly oriented because of edge pre-orientation during EOLine. The last layer may be completed using a number of techniques, including those used in the CFOP method. An expert variant of this method, ZBLL (Zborowski-Bruchem Last Layer), allows the last layer to be completed in a single step with an average of just over 12 moves, but requires a total of 493 algorithms to be learned. Due to the ergonomics of ZZ, rotating when solving will never be needed, unlike in the CFOP method. The ZZ method has fewer moves than CFOP, with ZZ averaging 45-55 compared to CFOP's 55-60 moves. Because ZZ uses EO and block building, it is very move-efficient, these techniques are used in the FMC (Fewest Move Challenge). However, EOLine is considered by many to be more difficult than F2L, with only two edges solved (the front and back bottom edges), which can hinder lookahead and TPS (turns per second), making ZZ much slower than CFOP.

Corners-first methods

Corners-first methods involve solving the corners and then finishing the edges with slice turns. Corner-first solutions were common in the 1980s and were one of the most popular methods that 1982 world champion Minh Thai used. Currently, corner-first solutions are rarely used among speedsolvers. Dutch cuber Marc Waterman created a corners-first method in the cube craze and averaged 18 seconds in the mid-late 1980s.

Fewest Moves Challenge (FMC) methods

At the highest level, there typically is not a standard method used for Fewest Moves solving. Rather, competitors attempt to solve the cube intuitively using solving techniques such as blockbuilding, Normal-Inverse-Scramble-Swap (NISS), commutator insertions, and Domino Reduction after its rise to popularity in 2019. Most solves utilize multiple of these techniques in order to generate a solution.

Blindfolded methods

In 2003, when the first blindfolded competitions were organized, world record solvers would use the 3OP (3-Cycle Orientation Permutation) Method, which orients and then permutes pieces using 3 cycles. As of today, methods such as 3-Style and M2 are among the fastest and most popular blind-solving methods. The Old Pochmann Method, which is a method that solves one piece at a time, is a method typically used by beginner blindsolvers. Blindfolded solvers use letter patterns to help memorize sequences of moves in order to solve the cube.

The lettering scheme that blindfolded solvers use is called the Speffz lettering scheme, and each sticker or individual color is given a letter. The way letters are assigned is starting on the top edge of the top face, going clockwise, and starting with A. The top edge of the top face is A, the right edge is B, the bottom edge is C, and the left edge is D. The same process is done on the other sides in the order top, left, front, right, back, bottom to get every edge lettered from A to X. The same process is applied to all of the corners, starting with the top left corner and going clockwise in the same face order. A cycle of piece swaps is then used with the letter E being used as a buffer location for corners and D commonly being used for edges in the Old Pochmann method.

Competitions

Anssi Vanhala solving a 3×3×3 Rubik's Cube with his feet in 36.72 seconds, at the 2009 Estonian Open.

World Cube Association (WCA)

Speedcubing competitions have been held every year since 2003. The World Cube Association (WCA) was formed in 2004 to govern all official competitions. For a competition to be official, it must be approved by the WCA and follow the WCA regulations. Included in the regulations is the necessity of having one or more WCA delegate in attendance. A delegate's main role is to ensure all regulations are followed during the competition. Once the competition is finished, results are uploaded to the WCA website. Judges oversee the round. Delegates help the judge. Runners give the scrambled or solved cube to the competitor. A scrambler scrambles the cube.

Format

The majority of puzzle competitions are held using a trimmed mean of five format. This involves the competitor executing five solves in the round in question, after which the fastest and slowest solve are disregarded and the mean of the remaining three is used. The 6×6×6 and 7×7×7 events are ranked by straight mean of three — only three solves, none of which are disregarded. In 3×3×3 blindfolded and 3×3×3 fewest moves challenges, either straight mean of 3 or best of 3 is used, while 4×4×4 blindfolded, 5×5×5 blindfolded, and multiple blindfolded challenges are ranked using best of 1, 2 or 3, depending on the competition.

When a round begins, competitors turn in the puzzle they will use. Puzzles are scrambled using a computer-generated scramble. Each round, five, three, or one (depending on the format, mentioned above) scrambles are used. Every competitor in the round will receive each scramble once. Before starting a solution, a competitor has up to 15 seconds to inspect the puzzle (inspection is removed for blindfolded events). This is monitored by a judge with a stopwatch. Once the solution is complete, the judge records the time on the competitor's scorecard and it is signed by both. If the puzzle is unsolved and the timer is stopped, the time is recorded as "DNF" (Did Not Finish). There are also numerous reasons why the solve can receive a two-second addition to the solve time, such as a face being more than 45 degrees off, or the competitor going over the allowed inspection time. A competitor can also receive an extra solution to replace the one just completed, for example in the case of a timer malfunction or a duplicate scramble.

The official timer used in competitions is the StackMat timer, which was originally designed for sport stacking. This device has touch-sensitive pads that are triggered by the user lifting one or both of their hands to start the time and placing both their hands back on the pads after releasing the puzzle to stop the timer.

Official competitions are currently being held in several categories.

Speedsolvers solving Megaminxes at the 2011 Estonian Open.

Competitions will often include events for speedsolving other puzzles as well, such as:

• Pyraminx, a pyramid-shaped puzzle.
• Megaminx, an twelve sided puzzle similar to a 3x3x3.
• Skewb, a cube shaped puzzle added in 2014 as an official WCA event due to its growing popularity and the ease of its regulations.
• Square-1, a cubed puzzle that changes shape as it is solved
• Rubik's Clock, a double-sided circle-shaped puzzle with many clocks on it that is considered solved when all clock hands are in the 12 o'clock position.
• 3x3x3 with Feet (formerly), starting in 2020, 3x3x3 with Feet was removed from the list of official WCA events.

World Rubik's Cube Championships

The WCA organizes the Rubik's Cube World Championship as the main international competition once every two years. The latest championship was held in Melbourne, Australia from 11 to 14 July 2019.

Championship	Year	Host	Date(s)	Nations	Competitors	Puzzles	Events	Winner (3x3)	Winning time(s)	Ref
I	1982	Budapest	5 June	19	19	1	1	Minh Thai	22.95 (Single)
II	2003	Toronto	23–24 August	15	88	9	13	Dan Knights	20.00 (Average)
III	2005	Lake Buena Vista	5–6 November	16	149	9	15	Jean Pons	15.10 (Average)
IV	2007	Budapest	5–7 October	28	214	10	17	Yu Nakajima	12.46 (Average)
V	2009	Düsseldorf	9–11 October	32	327	12	19	Breandan Vallance	10.74 (Average)
VI	2011	Bangkok	14–16 October	35	292	12	19	Michał Pleskowicz	8.65 (Average)
VII	2013	Las Vegas	26–28 July	35	580	10	17	Feliks Zemdegs	8.18 (Average)
VIII	2015	São Paulo	17–19 July	37	428	11	18	Feliks Zemdegs	7.56 (Average)
IX	2017	Paris	13–16 July	64	938	11	18	Max Park	6.85 (Average)
X	2019	Melbourne	11–14 July	52	833	11	18	Philipp Weyer	6.74 (Average)
XI	2021	Almere	Cancelled	—	—	11	17	—	—
XII	2023	Incheon	12–15 August	—	—	11	17	—	—

World records

The following are the official speedcubing world records approved by the WCA.

Note: For averages of 5 solves, the best time and the worst time are dropped, and the mean of the remaining 3 solves is taken. For events where only 3 solves are done, the mean of all 3 is taken.

Event	Type	Result	Person	Competition (Date(s))	Result details (Min:Sec.100ths)
3×3×3	Single	3.13	Max Park	Pride in Long Beach 2023 (11 June)	—
	Average	4.48	Yiheng Wang (王艺衡)	Mofunland Cruise Open 2023 (19-20 June)	4.72 / 4.72 / 3.99 / (3.95) / (5.99)
2×2×2	Single	0.47	Guanbo Wang (王冠博)	Northside Spring Saturday 2022 (26 November)	—
	Average	1.01	Zayn Khanani	Pioneer Valley Cubing B 2023 (22 January)	0.91 / 0.97 / (0.71) / 1.16 / (2.91)
4×4×4	Single	16.79	Max Park	Bay Area Speedcubin' (3 April)	—
	Average	19.38	Max Park	Arizona Speedcubing Spring 2023 (19 March)	(17.60) / 18.49 / 19.37 / (23.80) / 20.28
5×5×5	Single	32.88	Max Park	CubingUSA Nationals 2023 (27-30 July)	—
	Average	36.46	Max Park	CubingUSA Western Championship 2023 (30 June-2 July)	34.73 / (33.38) / 38.43 / (40.56) / 36.23
6×6×6	Single	59.74	Max Park	CubingUSA Southeast Championship 2022 (29-31 July)	—
	Average	1:08.56	Max Park	WCC Western Championship 2022 (7-9 October)	1:11.79 / 1:03.71 / 1:10.18
7×7×7	Single	1:35.68	Max Park	Marshall Cubing September 2022 (24 September)	—
	Average	1:42.12	Max Park	Marshall Cubing September 2022 (24 September)	1:35.68 / 1:46.74 / 1:43.95
3×3×3 Blindfolded	Single	12.78	Tommy Cherry	4BLD in a Madison Hall 2023 (28-29 January)	—
	Average	14.72	Tommy Cherry	CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2023 (17-19 June)	13.46 / 14.45 / 16.26
3×3×3 Fewest Moves	Single	16	Sebastiano Tronto	FMC 2019 (15–16 June)	—
	Average	21.00	Cale Schoon	North Star Cubing Challenge 2020 (18–19 January)	23 / 18 / 22
				MBLD in a Madison Meeting Room 2023 (4–5 March)	20 / 21 / 22
			Jayden McNeill	Side N Blind Narre Warren 2023 (3–4 June)	20 / 21 / 22
				Singapore Eighty And Below 2023 (29 July)	19 / 23 / 21
3×3×3 One-handed	Single	6.20	Max Park	Marshall Middle Slice 2022 (27 August)	—
	Average	8.65	Patrick Ponce	Stevenage Spring 2022 (30 April-1 May)	8.86 / 9.11 / (7.77) / 7.98 / (10.81)
				CubingUSA Nationals 2023 (27-30 July)	9.22 / 8.27 / 8.47 / (10.93) / (7.81)
Rubik's Clock	Single	2.61	Tommy Cherry	CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2023 (17-19 June)	—
	Average	3.50	Tommy Cherry	CubingUSA Nationals 2023 (27-30 July)	3.29 / 3.86 / (3.27) / 3.36 / (DNF)
Megaminx	Single	24.44	Leandro Martín López	Di Tella Open v2 2023 (22-23 July)	—
	Average	27.09	Leandro Martín López	Di Tella Open v2 2023 (22-23 July)	27.52 / 27.27 / (31.76) / (24.44) / 26.49
Pyraminx	Single	0.75	Elijah Brown	Berkeley Winter A 2023 (21 January)	—
	Average	1.51	Ezra Shere	Flag City Summer 2023 (22-23 July)	(1.61) / 1.53 / 1.42 / (1.39) / 1.57
Skewb	Single	0.81	Zayn Khanani	Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022 (7-10 July)	—
	Average	1.53	Carter Kucala	Canadian Championship 2023 (13-16 July)	1.89 / (1.14) / 1.55 / 1.14 / (4.15)
Square-1	Single	3.73	Ryan Pilat	CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2023 (2-4 June)	—
	Average	4.91	Max Siauw	Stumptown Speedcubing Summer 2023 (22 July)	5.32 / 4.60 / (6.26) / 4.80 / (4.58)
4×4×4 Blindfolded	Single	51.96	Stanley Chapel	4BLD in a Madison Hall 2023 (28-29 January)	—
	Average	1:08.76	Stanley Chapel	Michigan Cubing Club Epsilon 2019 (14 December)	1:02.51 / 1:14.05 / 1:09.72
5×5×5 Blindfolded	Single	2:19.07	Hill Pong Yong Feng	May MBLD Madness Singapore 2023 (20 May)	—
	Average	2:27.63	Stanley Chapel	Michigan Cubing Club Epsilon 2019 (14 December)	2:32.48 / 2:28.80 / 2:21.62
3×3×3 Multiple Blindfolded	Single	62/65	Graham Siggins	Blind Is Back LA 2022 (26 June)	57:47

A scatter plot of Rubik's Cube world records (single and average) against time. This depicts the improvement made over the years, as well as highlights records that stayed unbroken for an unusual amount of time.

Lubrication

Members of the cubing community lubricate their cubes to allow them to be turned faster, easier, smoother, more controllable, and more reliably than a non-lubricated cube. The WCA allows lubrication for official competitions.

A lubricant’s MSDS indicates potential cube-damaging properties. Cube lubricants normally belong to the silicone family of lubrication because these are less likely to damage the cube.

There are also water-based lubes that usually dry out faster but sometimes can be faster. Also, there are plant-based lubes, they can also be fast, but it's advised to use them faster because they can spoil.

See also

In Spanish: Speedcubing para niños

• Rubik's Revenge
• Professor's Cube