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Questions tagged [rubiks-cube]

For questions about the Rubik's Cube (a 3-D combination puzzle) and its variations.

The Rubik's Cube is a puzzle invented by Ernő Rubik in 1974.

The Official Rubik site can be found here.

The Ruwix wiki site covers all aspects of the cube, and also covers Rubik variations, such as the Pyraminx and MegaMinx.

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Turn 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube into 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube

I have a 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube, but all I want is a normal 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube. Luckily, I also have an unlimited supply of small pieces of tape. Each piece of tape can cover the face of two neighbouring squares on my Rubik's Cube. When two pieces are…
JenserCube
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Why is a single-corner twist not a valid position on a Rubik's cube?

For those of you familiar with the solution to the Rubik's cube, you will know that a single-corner twist is not a valid position. It can neither be attained by scrambling, nor can it be solved if it occurs. I understand that there's some…
user20
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Will tiles on a solved rubik's cube always be in the same position?

When a rubik's cube is solved, will the tiles always be in the same position? For example, if you were to write the number 1-9 on one of the sides before scrambling it, will the numbers always be in the same order once the cube is solved on all…
Avilan
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What is the maximum "minimum number of steps" needed to solve a rubiks cube?

If an algo X outputs the minimum "number of moves" (not the actual moves, just their count) to solve an input configuration, what's the maximum number X can output for any configuration?
kBisla
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How to determine if a Rubik's Cube is sufficiently scrambled?

Once I solve a Rubik's Cube I obviously want to start again. I just scramble it until it seems to be enough; however, sometimes when I then solve it, I can skip entire steps from the beginner's method. Is this normal or was the cube not scrambled…
Tartori
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What is the most efficient method to solve a Rubik's cube?

I know there are several different standard methods to solve a Rubik's cube, some easier, some more straightforward. It is known that the minimum number of moves to guarantee a solution is 20. Which method comes closest to the theoretical minimum…
Kevin
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Rubik's cube with one disoriented corner

I have been trying to solve Rubik's cube using beginner's method provided here: https://ruwix.com/the-rubiks-cube/how-to-solve-the-rubiks-cube-beginners-method/ I ended up with just one last corner which is not oriented properly as shown in the…
Shimano
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Flip edge in Equator layer

If you use the Beginners' Method to solve the Rubik's cube, and solve the equator layer (the layer between the U-layer and D-layer), it can happen that one of the edges is flipped, like this: Screenshot generated using Cube Explorer A way to solve…
ProgramFOX
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How many solvable permutations of the Rubik's cube exist where each color appears at least once on every side?

Every now and then, scrambling my Rubik's cube I find it in a state where every side has at least one tile in each of the six colors. For example here's a scramble I just did (obviously put through a solver after-the-fact to get an optimized…
BoltClock
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5x5x5 Rubik's Cube Smiley

I did some turning on my 5x5x5 Rubik's Cube and I now have the cube like on the image below. 4 times a smiley -_- and 2 times a solved plane. But I have no idea how I did this, does someone know the algorithm? The yellow plane is solved, the red…
martijnn2008
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Is there a Rubik's scramble generator for the top layer only?

I want to practice solving the last layer, but the online scramblers I've seen are full cube only. Is there a Rubik's scramble generator for the top layer only?
KevDog
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What is the shortest known rubik's cube algorithm?

This is related to this question, but different. I'm not asking for the least number of moves needed, nor for pointers on how to use fewer moves. In Singmeister's notes (an 80's book!) there is mention of M. Thistlewaite's algorithm, which could…
Yrodro
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Swap the edges in a solved Rubik's cube

I have a rubik cube, which always have two swapped edges in the last layer. No matter which color I start with, there are always two edges in the last layer which remained swapped with each other. How to solve this scenario. Or if this is an invalid…
Aqeel Ashiq
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Rubik's cube swapping edge pieces middle layer diagonal

I was wondering if any one knew how to swap 2 diagonal edge pieces. Assume the white squares don't matter. Image generated on https://ruwix.com/online-rubiks-cube-solver-program/
some_person
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What's wrong with this parity?

Here you see my Rubik's $10\times10\times10$ I don't know how to solve this using an algorithm, also the same thing happens to my $6\times6\times6$. What algorithm should I use? (The whole cube is solved except 2 edges)
MCCCS
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