Comment by Oreb | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Oreb | Hacker News Reader

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There are a lot of methods, optimized for different purposes. Some are easy to learn, but take a very large number of moves to solve the cube. Some are exactly the opposite: Difficult to learn, but enables you to solve the cube in just a few seconds. Others are optimized for solving the cube in the fewest possible number of moves, but requires so much thinking that they are not suitable for fast solutions. Others again are optimized for blindfolded solving.

My two favorite methods are Roux and 3-style.

Roux is the second most common method for speedsolving. Compared to the more popular CFOP method, Roux is more intuitive (in the sense that you mostly solve by thinking rather than by executing memorized algorithms), and requires fewer moves. Roux is much more fun than CFOP, if you ask me, and for adults and/or people who are attracted to the puzzle-solving nature of the cube rather than in learning algorithms and finger-tricks, I think it's easier to learn. Kian Mansour's tutorials on YouTube is a good place to start learning it.

3-style is a method designed for blindfolded solving, but it's a fun way to solve the cube even in sighted solves. It's a very elegant way to solve the cube, based on the concept of commutators. It takes a lot of moves compared to Roux, but the fun thing is that it can be done 100% intuitively, without any memorized algorithms (Roux requires a few, though not nearly as many as CFOP). It's satisfactory to be able to solve the cube in a way where you understand and can explain every single step of your solution. As an added bonus, if you know 3-style, you can easily learn blindfolded solving, which is tremendously fun, and not nearly as difficult as it sounds.

Edit: If you do decide you want to learn, make sure you get a good modern cube. The hardware has advanced enormously since the 1980s, modern cubes are so much easier and more fun to use. There are plenty of good choices. Stay away from original Rubik's cubes, get a recent cube from a brand like Moyu, X-man or Gan.

I used to be able to solve the 3x3 in high school using memorized algorithms and then I lost interest since there was no reasoning involved. Your comment makes me want to pick it back up and learn 3-style, so thank you for the clear explanation!

If what's fun is the reasoning, then the thing to do is other shapes and styles of puzzles besides the cube.

This is my collection: https://imgur.com/v9OuYNw

Like you, I learned the 3x3x3 in high school via memorized algorithms, and that was only so interesting. Years later my brother got me a Megaminx (the dodecahedron equivalent to the 3x3x3 cube, third one in the top row there) and I was absolutely fascinated by learning to solve that by porting what I knew from the cube. From there I got all those other shapes as well. The most interesting ones to search by name: Dayan Gem 3 (the one that looks like the Star of David), Face-Turning Octahedron (last one in the second row), Helicopter Cube (to the right of the 3x3x4), Rex Cube (right from the Helicopter Cube).

Even with CFOP, there is a large amount of intuition needed in order to break below the 25 second limit, mostly because of lookahead. During that phase, you need to train your fingers to do moves while your brain anticipates the next moves. There are no real formulas involved, it's really about intuition, pure skill, and multitasking.

I have hit a wall there personally.

I love the Roux method! I just went to a competition this weekend and got my personal record of 9.39 second average with Roux.

The unfortunate part is that beginner tutorials for Roux kind of suck.

Congrats, that's an awesome average! I wish I was that fast. I don't time myself often, but when I do, I usually end up somewhere around 15 seconds. My efficiency is not bad, but my hands are just too slow.

I agree about beginner tutorials. There are some decent Roux tutorials, but they are mostly not targeting complete beginners. I believe it should be possible to make a Roux-based beginner method that is even simpler than the popular layer-by-layer beginner methods most new cubers learn. If you think about it, it seems almost obvious. If efficiency is not a concern, the first two blocks of Roux have to be simpler than the first two layers of a layer-by-layer approach, since you are solving a subset of the first two layers. CMLL is also obviously simpler than the CFOP last layer. The only thing that remains is the last six edges, and that's simple enough that I think beginners could figure out by trial and error. With the right simplifications (at the expense of efficiency) and good pedagogy, I therefore think Roux is ideally suited for teaching to complete beginners. Unfortunately, nobody has done it yet.

I’ll add my vote for Roux in terms of pure fun. And there is more freedom to play between fastest solves and fewer moves with more planning.

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