All About Twisty Puzzles

Introduction If you've traveled in the broad world of twisty puzzles for some time, you might have heard other people say things like "I can solve one side on a 3x3!". In most cases, this side is indeed solved to be one color, but the pieces aren't permuted properly so that a further layer by layer solve isn't possible. A common reaction is saying that one ought to solve the puzzle layer by layer instead of face by face. Nevertheless, it certainly is possible to solve a 3x3 side by side, and it isn't even that hard! In this tutorial, I'll teach you how to solve a 3x3x3 face by face. I'm assuming you're familiar with the traditional way of the layer by layer solve, including the algorithms that come with it, and some common algorithms that occur in other standard twisty puzzles  (e.g. the corner swap, adjacent edge swap...). The first 2 faces Traditionally, we'd start on the white face. Just to spice things up, I'll start ...

Introduction The Gigaminx is a great puzzle to solve, especially if it's a well-turning puzzle. Nevertheless, the solve of the Gigaminx, Teraminx etc. can get boring after a while. It consists of 12 centers which need to be reduced, each in the same way. Same story for the 30 edges. This is still reasonable on the Gigaminx, but can get tedious on higher order minx-puzzles. This tutorial might get rid of your daily searches for fun in the solving experience of puzzles of this kind. There are 2 thing I assume you know when you start this exciting adventure: you're able to solve a Megaminx and you're familiar with the AI reduction method. If the latter sounds foreign to you, you might want to consider checking out this  article which explains this approach on a 4x4, or you can consult my 4x4 AI tutorial . Approach Reducing a 5x5 to a 3x3 with the AI method is no different than reducing a 4x4 to a 2x2. The only difference lies within the edges. Therefore, redu...

Introduction You may have come across immense algorithms for certain puzzles which are so difficult to wrap your head around, you don't even consider learning them by heart. These (in many cases computer-generated) algorithms don't always show their structure and you aren't always sure why it does what it's supposed to do. In this article, I'll talk about the adaptability of algorithms and the use of commutators to invent your own algorithms. In my opinion; something you've reasoned your way through is better remembered than something you've tried to memorize. Algorithms Anatomy When you look up algorithms for certain cases, you may recognize some of its internal structure. For example: if you know some speedcubing PLL algorithms, you might have noticed that the F-perm is actually the T-perm with a set-up move. If you know what the T-perm does, than it's easy to see what the F-perm is for. Another example is the opposite edge swap algorit...

Introduction The AI reduction method is basically the reduction of a 4x4 to a 2x2. This way of reducing implies no parity. The basic AI concept and the reason for this lack of parity is explained in this article . There are actual AI Cubes on the market, but this is not necessary for this kind of reduction. You can use a standard 4x4x4 cube and reduce the first two layers using the layer by layer method or as 4 corner blocks. You can apply Step 1 four times to get the latter done. After this is done (if you don't have an AI Cube) you can start with the tutorial below.  Furthermore, the only 2 things you need to know before starting this tutorial is (1) how to solve a standard 2x2x2 and (2) these two algorithms:  Rotating corner block: ( R' D' R D) (R' D' R D) Corner swap: ( 2R U 2R U' 2R) U' D (2R U' 2R U 2R) D' These algorithms should be executed by pretending you're dealing with a 2x2x2, thus turning two layers. The cube used...

Concept The Bermuda Earth is the third puzzle in the Bermuda Cube series, produced by Dayan (after Mercury and Venus, in case you were wondering). It was produced in 2011 as a set of 8 puzzles, after the 8 (known) planets in our solar system. The Earth variant has 3 kind of faces: standard 3x3x3 faces on white, yellow and blue; big triangles on the green and red faces and a fisher face on orange. The big triangles result in bandaging, which gives the puzzle its unique look and solving strategy.  Personal experience Difficulty I don't consider the Earth variant to be that difficult. I don't have any other planets  in my collection yet, but I surely want to give them a go! I read some articles online and found that Earth is amongst the more easy variants, together with Mercury and Venus. The harder ones are Jupiter, Uranus... It seems like the puzzle becomes more complicated while moving away from the sun. Solving experience I solved the puzzle with the...

Concept The Tuttminx, desinged by Lee Tutt in 2005 and mass-produced by Verypuzzle 6 years later. Verypuzzle has made 3 designs so far, each one getting rid of a particular issue. The idea and geometric design of the shape can me simply put: it's the extension of a dodecahedron to a truncated icosahedron. (Maybe a bit easier: it's a football). Its surface consists of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, which makes 32 sides in total. But despite this massive amount of sides to wrap your head around, the puzzle isn't actually that hard compared to other puzzles which may seem easier at the start. It's a non-jumbling puzzle, which means that every piece lands into a spot it's supposed to land into, it doesn't get out of orbit  (although I find this term rather deceptive). The previous versions of the Verypuzzle production were able to jumble, although this was never intended. Their last design got rid of this problem, altough it's still possible with the rig...

Introduction The regular 3x3 has lots of different ways to be solved. With this in mind, it may sound logical that his big brother has even more ways to be approached! Therefore, I shall only discuss some unique aspects which are typical for a 4x4, compared to a 3x3. Parity, why does it happen? If you have solved a 4x4 before with the most commonly used method (the 3x3 reduction), than you've probably already encountered the concept of parity . In mathematics, parity literally means 'to be even or odd'. Applied to cubic puzzles: does it have an even number of layers or an odd number of layers? If you reduce a 4x4 to a 3x3, you're reducing an even-layered puzzle to an odd-layered puzzle. In other words, you're changing  its parity. This also explains why one doesn't have any parity issues when a 4x4 is reduced to a 2x2, since you're reducing from even to even. If you change a puzzle's parity, you're forcing it to change its 'settings...