Source: walmart.ca

We all have played with Rubik's cube at some point in our lives. So many teenagers spend their time solving the Rubik's cube and when someone masters how to do it, there's no coming back. From little challenges and races with friends to world championships, Rubik's cubes are loved by everyone. From children to adults, everyone likes to play with them, because these cubes truly question the cleverness of the human mind, and people usually fall in love with this game.

Source: ruwix.com

Some people learn how to solve it and some just keep wondering about how others can solve it. Some people practice it a lot and reach the level of proficiency. Recently, Yusheng Du with 3.47 seconds broke the previous record for fastest solving of Rubik's cube by Feliks Zemdegs with 4.22 seconds. And even a robot has solved a Rubik's within just 0.38 seconds. The Rubik's cube is just a puzzle with 6 sides, with each face made up of 9 coloured stickers, and with each face being able to rotate independently. When a cube is solved, the colours on any particular face are all similar. The complications do not appear when specific methods are learned, but it is particularly tough to return the puzzle to its solved status. After solving the basic Rubik's cube puzzle, the player tries to make variations with it, and after that, the player chooses to purchase a bigger and more complicated version of it. A normal Rubik's is a 3×3×3 cube, then it is a 4×4×4 cube, and then comes a Megaminx or a Pyraminx, and the collection never stops. All these types of Rubik's cubes are distinct from each other and every one of them has a particular challenge.


Today, there are numerous types of Rubik's cubes with around 33 layers. The original classic Rubik's cube was invented in 1974 by Professor Erno Rubik in Hungary. And it was originally called the Magic Cube. With time, it became as the Twisty Puzzle and it was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corporation in 1980. Today, there are different types of Rubik's cubes, the 2×2×2 was an initial pocket or mini cube. The classic and standard one was 3×3×3 cube, and it was similarly named as Mirror Cube or Mirror Blocks. Any collection of the cube is incomplete without mirror cube, and it is the favourite 3×3×3 mod of a lot of cubers. The next one, 4×4×4 was called as Rubik's revenge or Master cube. And ultimately, the 5×5×5 Professor's Cube was the most popular one, and it was designed by Udo Krell. The official Rubik's Brand has licensed Twisty Puzzle cubes only up to 5×5×5.

Source: manqube.com

From mini cubes to Professor's cubes, people still get obsessed with it. However, there are many other types of this twisty puzzle, and Megaminx and Pyraminx are one of them. Multiple designers around the world have invented and created new types of Rubik's cube. With the evolution in 3D printing, designers like Tony Fisher and Oskar Van Deventer have created new designs and cubes. A big cube with 12 faces is like a 7×7×7 cube and it is known as Megaminx. This type of cube takes a lot of effort to solve and if one can solve the Megaminx, then they can solve any size. Even after very little differences in the size of the cubes, they are extremely incompatible from each other. There are some other unique twisty puzzles like 3×3×4 Cuboid, 3×3×3 Mastermorphix, Square-1 cube, Pocket cube, Rubik's clock and Pyraminx, and without these cubes, any Rubik's cube collection is incomplete.

Axis Cube
Source: ruwix.com
QJ Dodecahedron
Source: ruwix.com 
Mirror Cube
Source: ruwix.com
Ghost Cube
Source: ruwix.com
Mastermorphix
Source: ruwix.com
Fisher Cube
Source: ruwix.com

Probably the weirdest and the most uniquely designed Rubik's cube is ‘Void Cube’. This unique cube was designed by Katsuhiko Okomoto and it is similar to the 3×3×3 cube, but it has no pieces in the centre, and the player can even observe through holes. However, because of the weird mechanism of this puzzle, it doesn't move smoothly like a normal cube and it doesn't cut corners well. But it is still a popular puzzle and many people even collect it. The Void Cube is just the beginning of a series of these twisty puzzles.


Several designers have invented some other Rubik's cubes like Holey Megaminx, LanLan Edges, and there is also a Void 6×6×6 with a 2×2 hole, and this list will keep increasing with time. There are similarly some unique shape mods of Rubik's cube twisty puzzle which have 3×3×3 core mechanism in the inside but they seem to be something else from the outside. There are different types of shape mods in twisty puzzles like Ghost Cube, Picture Cube, YJ Heart Puzzle, Fisher Cube and Axis Cube. Yet, people try to solve these amazing puzzles and they try to solve it as fast as possible.

Void Cube
Source: ruwix.com

Today, with the help of Youtube and other sources on the internet many people attempt to solve these cubes. But most people despite struggling over it for hours, have probably never managed to solve all the types of cubes. However, even after decades of its origin, the Rubik's cube continues to excite, frustrate and relieve its players. Several people lose their patience while trying any type of Rubik's cube and throw it away, just to regret afterwards. Still, these bright coloured squares have their charm, distinctive moves, colours and a sense of please in it. And the ones who try to solve them with patience, practice and brain can effortlessly win over them.

___________________________________________________________________

Reference:

  • www.rubiks.com
  • www.ruwix.com
  • www.wikipedia.org
Discus