Speedsolving the Cube: Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step Instructions for Many Popular 3-D Puzzles

by Dan Harris, Robert Steimle (Illustrator)

They call it “speedcubing”—a mind-bending blur of quick twists and turns that solves Rubik’s Cube in times that have been clocked at less than 20 seconds! Today, thanks to the 2003 revival of the Rubik’s World Championships, speedcubing is spreading like wildfire. Here, complete with detailed illustrations and basic as well as advanced solving techniques, is the ultimate speedcuber’s guide. It not only gives the solution to the familiar 3x3x3 cube (which has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000—that’s 43 quintillion—possible positions), but also the 2x2x2, 4x4x4, and staggeringly difficult 5x5x5 puzzles. With millions of cubes out there and countless would-be champions looking for tips to improve their times, this is the definitive manual for this unique sport.

Genres: Puzzles, Nonfiction, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Ceri Westcott · Rating 3 out of 5]

FUCKING SHIT

[Caden · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't very useful, in my opinion. I like certain websites better.

[fp63 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Assez complexe et avec des erreurs dans la version française. J'y ai trouvé une méthode sympathique de résolution.

[David]

Very good

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I loved this

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember very well when Rubik's Cube became an international obsession. I practically wore the corners off my cube; I kept it in my backpack and in every slow moment in my junior-high-school classes, I sneak it out and twist and turn it surreptitiously under my desk. I first solved it one morning during band class. My classmates didn't believe I'd done it—they accused me of peeling of and rearranging the colored stickers. It wasn't until several weeks later that I worked out a reliable solution, and even then it wasn't anywhere near as efficient as the one that soon appeared as a small, black-and-white booklet in the impulse-buy shelves of every supermarket everywhere. This how-to guide, Speedsolving the Cube, originates from a more modern, esoteric level of Rubik's cubing than I was ever acquainted with in my youth.

I should mention that the claim of "Instructions for Many Popular 3-D Puzzles" in the title is a bit misleading: this book covers only the four most popular variations on Rubik's Cube, the original 3×3×3 puzzle and the 2×2×2 ("Rubik's Mini Cube"), 4×4×4 ("Rubik's Revenge") and 5×5×5 ("Rubik's Professor Cube") versions. However, this book provides just about everything you could possibly want to know about solving these puzzles quickly.

For each of these games, "beginner" and "faster" solutions are explained step-by-step using a visually oriented notation that was difficult to grasp at first but highly intuitive once I grasped the general approach. The beginner methods focus on simple moves that can be applied over and over again, whereas the expert methods introduce additional special cases that improve efficiency but also greatly increase the amount of memorization required.

So far I have mastered the easy versions of the original and Rubik's Revenge puzzles. Both solutions contain one crucial step that is frustratingly difficult to do correctly—and of course the slightest mistake in either sends you all the way back to square (cube?) one—but once I had them well enough ingrained that I didn't have to think in terms of the notation, they no longer posed a real problem.

Error Alert: The edition I have (copyright 2008) contains a mistake at the very last step of the beginner solution of the standard Cube. In Table 4.8 (special cases for permuting the top corners, p. 36), the "Swap Diagonal Corners" algorithm fails to mention that for it to work, you first have to turn the cube over (move x2).

The author claims that solving times of one minute can be achieve with the easy method for the original Cube, but such speed would require not only unhesitating mastery of the pattern, but a cube that has been optimized for speed by treating the rotating surfaces with silicone lubricant.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a "cuber" for a few years now and this is the best guide I have found so far. In a rather short book, it covers the first rudiments for a beginner and has given an intermediary like myself plenty to work with. And it is, as the title promises, very easy to follow.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for getting starting information on solving a rubik's cube. Also great for learning tips and tricks to up your time!

[Mike Gibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful book whether you're trying to learn how to solve a Rubik's cube for the first time or learn how to solve it in 60 seconds.