Rubik's Cube

[FX02]

After 30 years of trying, I've finally done the bloody thing!!!!!!

[Heather74]

Re: Rubik's Cube

with or with out the soloution????

[NostalgiaFreak]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I've been thinking of buying one myself, not sure on whether to get an original 80's one or a brand new one.

[FX02]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I've been buying them for years and they always end up being forgotton about and get relegated to the bin. My daughter got me one about 2 weeks ago and I must admit to having a look on youtube for some help. Even so, it was still hard to follow, but I finally got the gist of it. I know it's cheating but I didn't take it to bits.

Apparently it's all about algorithms?

[Heather74]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I know it's cheating but I didn't take it to bits.

or pull the stickers off

[Emettman]

Re: Rubik's Cube

After 30 years of trying, I've finally done the bloody thing!!!!!!

Well done.
It is 30 years, isn't it? I got my first one late in 1979 and it took me a few weeks of trying, without solution, to find a reliable but clumsy way of solving it. Mainly worked on on trains trips between Exeter and London, which I did quite often just at that point.
I never got to be a speed merchant.
I have a Charles and Diana cube from 1981...

Getting Old...


(picture cubes require a couple of extra routines)

[FX02]

Re: Rubik's Cube

Well done.
It is 30 years, isn't it? I got my first one late in 1979 and it took me a few weeks of trying, without solution, to find a reliable but clumsy way of solving it. Mainly worked on on trains trips between Exeter and London, which I did quite often just at that point.
I never got to be a speed merchant.
I have a Charles and Diana cube from 1981...

Getting Old...


(picture cubes require a couple of extra routines)

I think I got my first one around 1979, and at the same time I got another puzzle along the same lines but it was cylindrical and had one piece missing to enable you to shuffle the other coloured tiles about. I could manage this but not the cube.

I've never seen any with pictures on though. If you get a chance post a photo of your Charles and Diana cube up (complete and not messed up, I don't want to see Charles wearing Dianas dress!!)

[Richard1978]

Re: Rubik's Cube

My Dad's Rubik cube still somewhere at my parents home, I'm the only one to have done much with it in the last few years.

In the 1980s my Dad got one of the solution books to help improve his solving technique, which I've got around.

I once solved the cube with it, but it was very easy to make a mistake that would require me to start right from the beginning.

[FX02]

Re: Rubik's Cube

The other puzzle game I had was called Whip it. I'm not sure if that was the UK name for it, but thats what the Americans call it according to youtube.

[Kiop]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I read the book on solving techniques but could only manage to get two layers right.

I also had a Rubik's snake - remember that?

[Emettman]

Re: Rubik's Cube

If you get a chance post a photo of your Charles and Diana cube up (complete and not messed up, I don't want to see Charles wearing Dianas dress!!)

There were two versions: one showing portraits made up of nine parts (but the duplicate union flags made it somewhat easier) http://www.helmsoft.org/cube/cubcol/diana1.jpg
This was the official version, but I've never actually seen one one for real.

and one with nine each little pictures of Charles and Di, each with flags making up the other surfaces.

There's one of the latter, the same as I have, on eBay at the moment.
PRINCE CHARLAS LADY PRINCESS DIANA RUBIKS CUBE on eBay (end time 04-Aug-09 19:57:09 BST)

But this is the guy with all the Rubik info, more than you ever wanted to know:
Georges Helm's Cube Collection

[stevef]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I bought a new cube about a month ago and have now learnt 2 ways of solving it, i average under 4 minutes to solve it now, don't know how people do it in under 30 seconds.

[Emettman]

Re: Rubik's Cube

I bought a new cube about a month ago and have now learnt 2 ways of solving it, i average under 4 minutes to solve it now, don't know how people do it in under 30 seconds.

I've never got below about two minutes twenty seconds.

To be really speedy you need to have a wide range of techniques, the pattern recognition to spot which are appropriate, and good fast hands.