Introducing the Cube
The Rubik’s Cube has captured the imagination of all ages ever since its invention in 1974, fascinating and frustrating Cubers across the globe for almost five decades. One of the world’s most popular toys, the colourful 3-D combination puzzle is a unique fusion of simplicity and complexity.
In today’s digital world, the simple handheld Rubik’s Cube provides an antidote to the age of screens. And yet, with 43 quintillion possible combinations, the Cube is full of complexity. It took its inventor Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian Professor of Architecture, more than a month to solve his own Cube! Despite the rise of smartphones and videogames, the Rubik’s Cube remains a bestseller, retaining its popularity with young and old alike.
Part of its appeal lies in its potential to stimulate creativity and wellbeing, for puzzlers from the ages of 3 to 103! A range of physical and mental benefits have been ascribed to the Cube, a puzzle that requires cognitive ability, concentration, patience, determination, a good memory, spatial awareness, fast reflexes, and dexterity.
Researchers have shown that the bright colours and simple shapes can promote cognitive development for young children, while the classic puzzle provides an equally stimulating challenge for adults and the elderly, developing pattern recognition and problem solving abilities and keeping the mind active.
Digital platforms have transformed the analogue puzzle, helping the Rubik’s Cube inspire the formation of an international community of fans and dedicated Cubers. The Cube attracts new enthusiasts every day, developing new modes of play, new connections, new puzzles, and new events. Today there is a World Cube Association, a Rubik’s Cube World Championship, a network of Global Ambassadors, and an elite group of competitive speedcubers.
With a range of new products available, including apps and a series of smartcubes, the Cube continues to evolve, attracting new generations of Cubers. But through all its variations and evolutions, the essence of the iconic puzzle remains constant: the Rubik’s Cube invites Cubers to create order from chaos, exploring their limits and testing their boundaries.
Are you ready to take on the challenge? You’ve come to the right place! We have compiled a guide to the world’s favourite puzzle, so read on as we bring you: Everything you wanted to know about the Rubik’s Cube.
History
It all started in Budapest in the 1970s, where Professor Ernő Rubik invented the Cube as a teaching tool to model 3D movement for his Architecture students. It soon became clear that Rubik’s invention held an appeal that would go far beyond the classroom. Rubik received the patent for the original 3×3 Magic Cube in 1975, and his puzzle was released in Hungary in 1977.
Hungary’s communist regime, under the influence of the Soviet Union, maintained a tight control over imports and exports, but international toy fairs helped to spread the word about Rubik’s invention. In 1980 the Ideal Toy Company acquired the rights for worldwide distribution, and by 1981 the Rubik’s Cube had inspired an international craze, selling over 100 million units and winning numerous awards.
Cubing Online
Fast forward forty years, and a new generation is mastering the analogue puzzle using the tools of the digital age. The Rubik’s Cube has proven extremely popular on YouTube, where videos of unusual solves have amassed millions of views. When solving one-handed or blindfolded just isn’t impressive enough, how about a Rubik’s Cube solve with the feet? Or the Guinness World Records video of 13-year-old Que Jianyu solving 3 Rubik’s Cubes while juggling them mid-air?
Rubik’s Cube magician Steven Brundage reached the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent, and a compilation video of his tricks has had over 75 million views.
Beginner tutorial videos are some of the most watched, with Bright Side’s How to Solve a 3×3 Rubik’s Cube in No Time reaching over 22 million views at the time of writing. Popular Rubik’s Cube YouTuber J Perm has 457,000 subscribers, and his beginner tutorial video is approaching 13 million views.
With a combined total of over 50 million views, the Rubik’s-related video series Things Non-Cubers Say, offers a glimpse into a thriving online Cuber community with its own language. An essential home for this community is the “Cubers” subreddit, with almost 100,000 members sharing tips, tricks, and videos.
The Rubik’s Cube has also become an unlikely Instagram star. The hashtag #cubeography has collected over 70,000 posts featuring the Cube modelling in various locations and landscapes around the world, highlighting the enduring aesthetic appeal of Rubik’s invention. Since 1982 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City has displayed the Rubik’s Cube in its permanent collection.
Spare a thought for those 80’s Cube pioneers who struggled in silence and isolation, with only an instruction manual and possibly a local whiz to lend a hand. Today’s Cubers can engage with a supportive online community sharing resources to learn, solve, discuss, and battle together.
Speedcubing
The stars of this community are the speedcubers, who compete for the fastest solves at competitions like the World Cube Association World Championship. The recent Netflix documentary The Speed Cubers brought this growing sport to mainstream audiences, focusing on the 2019 World Championship showdown between Feliks Zemdegs and Max Park.
Two-time World Champion Feliks Zemdegs could solve the Rubik’s Cube in under 10 seconds by the age of 13. “It was just so addictive. I never got bored of it”, he explains. The Australian held the world record fastest 3×3 solve until recently, when his time of 4.22 seconds was smashed by Chinese speedcuber Yusheng Du with a new world record of 3.47 seconds.
The other star of the documentary is Max Park, who was diagnosed with autism as a young child. Max discovered a natural talent for the Rubik’s Cube from an early age, and his parents describe how they used speedcubing competitions to develop Max’s social and emotional skills. The documentary shows Max emerging victorious, winning 5 World Championships at the 2019 competition. But the most striking aspect of the documentary is the warm friendship and mutual respect between Feliks and Max.
Why Cube?
Why We Cube is another popular speedcubing documentary on YouTube, and the title invites us to think about motives for picking up a Rubik’s Cube. Not just for elite speedcubers, but for everyone, including those who have never tried the puzzle before. There are many reasons to Cube.
Firstly, the Rubik’s Cube has been linked to a range of educational benefits. Originally patented as a “spatial logic toy”, the Cube has been integrated into school curricula to engage students with critical STEM concepts.
The Cube has been especially popular with maths teachers and students as it tests and develops spatial reasoning and pattern recognition. In March 1981 the Cube graced the cover of Scientific American, where Pulitzer-Prize winning scientist Douglas Hofstadter called it “one of the most amazing things ever invented for teaching mathematical ideas.”
A Berkeley study guide recommends the Rubik’s Cube for introducing concepts of permutation and group theory. Patterns for solving the Cube have relied upon mathematical theories and solution algorithms such as the Fridrich Method, developed by Jessica Fridrich, and the Roux Method, created by Gilles Roux.
Cube mastery requires the memorisation and synthesisation of hundreds of algorithms, and the logic and process reasoning involved in these efforts make the Cube an ideal foundation for Computing students. Running diagnostics on the Cube can translate into an aptitude for running diagnostics on a computer, and learning how algorithms work can help prepare Cubers for successful careers in coding.
Did you know: The Cube can always be solved using at most 20 face turns, as proved by a computer. Human solves usually need at least 50 turns.
Scientists have also been drawn to the Cube for its engaging ways of teaching the laws of symmetry, while Architecture students have followed in the footsteps of Rubik’s original class by learning about 3D modelling and theories of movement.
More broadly, Cubers develop problem solving skills, spatial awareness, and hand-eye coordination. The handheld puzzle makes an ideal travel companion for long journeys, helping to divert children’s attention away from screens.
Cubing is intuitive and fun. It feels good, looks great and can become addictive. The tactile appeal of the Cube helps it to fulfil a similar role to the fidget spinner, the trending toy of 2017, but the Rubik’s Cube holds far greater longevity. Spending hours aimlessly scrolling through your social media feeds on your mobile? Why not try a Rubik’s Cube to set those restless digits to something more stimulating for the mind?
Start with a Cube
The Cubing journey begins with the purchase of a Cube, and there has never been so much choice. The stickers on the 1980s cubes have been replaced by magnets, providing a faster action and removing any possibility of replacing the stickers – i.e. cheating!
Official Rubik’s merchandise is available through a range of online and high street retailers, and the Rubik’s brand enjoyed a record year in 2017, with retail sales reaching $250 million. Chinese cube brands are especially popular, including industry leaders GAN, DaYan, MoYu, and QiYi MoFangGe.
New product designs by GAN include the GAN Robot, which can intelligently solve any cube scramble, and the GAN356i, which records moves and combines with an integrated app to allow speedcubers to battle opponents online in real-time.
As well as the classic 3×3, there are several variations of Cube designs and shapes. Standard Cubes range in size from 2×2 to 7×7. Other shapes include the Rubik’s Snake, originally released in the 1980s, the Pyraminx, the Skewb, the Square-1, and the Megaminx, a dodecahedron-shaped Rubik’s puzzle with 12 faces.
French mechanical engineer Grégoire Pfennig has pushed the boundaries of Rubik’s Cube design even further. Pfennig holds the record for creating the largest Rubik’s Cube at 33x33x33. His record-breaking design is a fully functional Rubik’s Cube with 6153 moveable parts. For new cubers, the classic 3×3 should suffice!
Tips, Tricks, and Online Resources
So, you’ve got your first Rubik’s Cube. Now what?
According to its inventor, you should start playing with the Cube on your own, intuitively, without consulting any guides. Enjoy puzzling over the shapes and colours, and try your best to crack the code and conquer the Cube!
No luck? Don’t worry. Very few reach a solution alone.
Most tutorials instruct you to begin by solving one face, or by creating crosses composed of one colour, followed by the corners and then the additional layers.
Some of the most popular resources for solving the puzzle are to be found on YouTube. The official Rubik’s YouTube channel recently produced an Official Guide 2020, breaking down the solutions to each layer in separate videos. YouTube’s 0.25x speed setting can be your friend on these tutorials, allowing you to follow along in slow-motion.
Ruwix, the Twisty Puzzle Wiki, has an online Cube solver to save you from even the most complicated scrambles. You Can do the Cube provides educational resources and solution guides. And the “Cubers” subreddit shares new tips, tricks, and resources every day. But you might need to learn some Cubing jargon first in order to understand the posts…
Glossary
Here are some important Cubing terms:
Algorithm – the steps of an operation on the Cube which reorients its pieces in a certain way.
Scramble – randomly generated moves that leave the Cube unsolved, mixing up its pieces.
Cubing Notation – a notation system for representing operations on the cube.
Let’s take a closer look at Cubing Notation.
- Letters represent different moves – L (Left), R (Right), U (Up), D (Down), B (Back), and F (Front).
- These letters can come in three forms: L, L’, or L2.
- L refers to a clockwise turn of the layer to the left by 90 degrees.
- L’ refers to a counter-clockwise turn of the layer to the left by 90 degrees.
- L2 refers to a 180 degree turn in either direction.
Now you have what you need to start cubing. Good luck!
The Cube in Popular Culture
Ever since the playground craze of the 1980s, the popularity of the Rubik’s Cube has been reflected in popular culture. The Cube has appeared on TV, in films, and in music videos. It has made 6 appearances in The Simpsons, and recently starred in the Big Bang Theory. Blockbuster films The Pursuit of Happiness, Spider-Man, Being John Malkovich, and Wall-E all featured a Rubik’s Cube. And the Spice Girls took it to Number One in 1998, with the video for Viva Forever starring a Rubik’s Cube in an enchanted forest.
Celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon, with Justin Bieber, Will Smith, and Megan Fox all pictured cubing. Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt recently uploaded a video of himself solving a cube in under a minute, recommending to his millions of followers: “Stuck in quarantine!? Get you a Rubik’s Cube!”
Remote Cubing
Chris Pratt is not alone in finding the Rubik’s Cube an ideal lockdown companion. The hashtag #CubeAtHome was seen by over 27 million people on TikTok, and Cubers have become popular Twitch streamers.
After the live event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Red Bull Rubik’s Cube World Cup was moved online using the Rubik’s Connected Cube. The first ever digital speedcubing competition was heralded a great success, with Sussex teenager Chris Mills winning gold and the £22,800 prize money.
Rubik’s Brand CEO Christoph Bettin commented on the thriving online community. “What’s very exciting is we are becoming a lifestyle brand with geeks, hipsters, kids, and retro-fans to name a few. Rubik’s offers something for everyone.”
For those “retro-fans”, the Rubik’s Cube provides a time portal back to the playground of the 1980s. So much of 80s popular culture has been recycled and reimagined in recent years, and the cult status of the Rubik’s Cube is to some degree part of a wave of 80s nostalgia that has brought us electro-pop and post-punk bands, patchwork denim and bum bags, and the wildly popular Netflix series Stranger Things.
But the Rubik’s Cube wasn’t just a “fad”, as predicted by the New York Times in 1982… the Cube is here to stay! Why? Perhaps the Cube’s enduring appeal lies in its almost limitless number of possible solutions. “That is one of its most mysterious qualities,” Rubik writes in his new autobiography Cubed: The Puzzle of Us All. “The end turns into new beginnings.”
Conclusion
As chronicled in his autobiography, Rubik has long puzzled over the longevity of his invention. He recently suggested that the Cube “speaks to the noblest, universally shared human characteristics: curiosity, playfulness, problem solving, and intelligence.” These characteristics can be developed by Cubers of all ages and ability levels.
Another important theme in Rubik’s assessment of his puzzle is the co-existence of Order and Chaos. His Cube challenges puzzlers to create Order out of Chaos, and, while cubing, to learn how to peacefully co-exist between both. In today’s increasingly chaotic world, there is something comforting about the Rubik’s Cube, and it can teach us important lessons about how to deal with unexpected problems and challenges.
As Max Park’s story confirms, the Cube is more than a puzzle toy. Today the Rubik’s Cube represents a thriving and supportive community, where Cubers can develop social and emotional skills as well as logic, spatial reasoning, and pattern recognition. There are no barriers. As Rubik notes, “No matter your social background, colour of your skin or gender, the Cube encapsulates the puzzle of us all.”
