The World of Cubing

Hey guys! Welcome to my world of cubes.

It was a few years ago I got my first Rubik's cube which I won at a Christmas fair. I was fascinated by the little puzzle. Though it was a flimsy one I was happy to get my own Rubik’s cube. I shuffled it and began to explore it trying to solve one single color, I tried but could not manage to get it. That day I lost interest, but I never realized that it was going to turn into one of my greatest passions. One night, I decided to take up the cube again. Playing with it, I discovered a trick to solve one color. My curiosity kept me up at night to solve the cube, and I finally managed to solve one color! That night I slept with content and eventually solved the whole cube.

Cubing may seem very tough and complicated when you first see it. It’s mesmerizing when you try to comprehend how they are able to solve the Rubik’s cube (which was first called the magic cube). All you see when a person solving a cube is a frenzy of twists and turns and voila!!! All the colors are matched and it is a fully solved cube. 

Ernő Rubik from Hungary invented the magic cube in 1974. When you initially start to learn the cube, you analyze the moves and get into the flow gradually. After you are able to solve the 3x3x3 cube, the other cubes are comparatively easier. You may be aware of 2 or 3 different types of cubes, but there are actually 45 different types of Rubik’s cubes. 

The record for solving the 3x3x3 cube is 3.47 seconds by Yusheng Du from China. I categorize cubers into 2 types. The first type is those who learn to solve one cube and focus on improving their speed on that particular cube. The second type is those who learn how to solve a cube and move to solve other cubes, trying to cover many cubes but speed is not their priority. I am more of the second type, I can solve around 14 cubes and I am not too fast in any particular cube. 

Rubik’s cubes help improve cognitive and problem-solving abilities. They also help in teaching life skills like patience, perseverance, and focus.

There are many tournaments promoting cubing across different age groups from regional, national, and world levels. The WCA (World Cube Association) organizes the World Rubik's Cube championship as the main international competition once every two years. The Indian National competition conducts Rubik’s cube tournaments in India. Cubing in India has been slow to pick up but has gained popularity in the last few years. Hoping to see India top in the World Championships soon.

Which cube do you like the most? How fast can you solve it? Write in the comments section below.