QiYi/New Island Hateview

                Yes, I use the word hate. And no, I don’t use it lightly. I have two issues about these companies and the product they both are producing. One is a known issue, one is a personal preference. So let’s begin.

                The New Island Phoenix came out a while before the QiYi Bullfight. Yet, they are exactly the same cube. According to JRcuber, the Phoenix, which came first, is re branded off the QiYi. The New Island Company has confirmed it has re branded the Bullfight, put a higher price tag on it, and sold it as their own. And my only question is, why? Why would you even think that’s a remotely good idea? It might be bad in patent terms, but geez above that it’s just dumb business. New Island confirms they rebranded the puzzle for themselves, and then they sell it at a higher price! How does that make money? Where in the world is that a good idea? I’m honestly not sure why New Island did this, when they could change the design slightly and make it their own, but I won’t say much more about it. I just think it’s stupid.

                As for my personal opinion, I found the Bullfight to be a mix between the Fangshi, which is kind of obvious, and the Zanchi, which is something I hadn’t heard before, if I had heard it was similar to the Zanchi, I would have never bought it, as I have a strong hatred for the way the Zanchi feels. And cube is the mix of that awful thing, and the Fanshi. Now I have no huge gripe with the any Fangshi puzzle except the overall sandy feeling. I dislike that feeling very much. Now add to that the clicky, awkward turning Zanchi and you have one of my least favorite puzzles ever. Now I will admit two things. First, I feel potential. For everyone who liked sandy feel of clickyness, go buy this cube. It is as solid as an Aolong. The second thing I will admit, I have only had this one day. As to whether I will actually spend time to try and make it better, I’m not sure. It’s very hard to want to work with a cube like that. Maybe I am wrong about it entirely, I know I have been before, but for now, I think I will just leave it alone.

WR Hualong

I haven’t seen a whole ton of hype surrounding the new Moyu speed cube, the Hualong, but I can definitely admit it has me and others a bit excited. It’s the next thing out of Moyu’s toy box and after its recent success across many platforms; I think Moyu deserves a little appreciation and attention to its newest cube. However, this hype will beg the question, is this the next big thing? Will Feliks finally restore order by claiming a sub 5.55 with this cube? Will Matts prove himself the best and beat Felik’s world record average on it? Honestly, I don’t feel like it.

                Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad cube, besides the speed the Hualong will match basically any modern 3x3. It’s no fault of the cube’s or anything Moyu could change; it’s just the simple fact that they aren’t the only company now with a viable speed cube. Yuxin has released its 3x3, which I think is incredible, new main material for sure, and QiYi and New Island both released the bullfight (I don’t know which company did it first, don’t ask), which, while not on my favorite list, is definitely a decent option. Moyu will just have to accept that they can’t control the whole market anymore. Even Feliks has switched his main to the Gans 357, which while not being a cube I have ever dealt with; I hear it is another solid competitor.

                So what cube will break both the 3x3 world records? Honestly, that’s as easy to say as who will break it. Yeah, everyone knows Feliks deserves it, but think of all the other cubers who are sub 10, and all they need is one lucky scramble to put them on top. Cornelius, Matts, even Kevin Hays could put out some kind of miracle. I guess the point here is not the type of cube or the cuber themselves; it’s just to remember this simple idea. As the cubing world grows, competitions, hardware, they both grow. We have to accept that soon one person may not hold all the records. Soon many cubes will hold many records across many places of the world. We can’t ask a simple question like will the Hualong beat 5.55 or when Feliks will finally break that darned single record, we just have to be prepared for the inevitable, that someday it will be broken, we just have to be ready for it.

New "Batch" of Speedcubers?

This is a post I have been wondering about doing for a few months now. It’s kind of hard to imagine, but I think this is kind of the year to start asking about it. Who are the next “batch” of top speedcubers, so to speak? Who will start taking the podium when people like Feliks have all moved on in life? Will it mark a decline in the sport entirely?

I only ask questions like this because of the surprising news I heard a few weeks back straight off of Kevin Hays’s YouTube page. He made the announcement when he was talking about his Cubicle sponsorship, that this summer would be his last in the professional cubing world. He said he had to move on with his life and think about the rest of his college life and his working career beyond that. And it scared me a little to hear that. Sitting in a video in front of me was one of the world’s premier speedcubers, someone who has had so many world records and podiums in countless events, I won’t spend the time to look them up. This guy sitting in front of me, whose life had been intertwined with speedcubing for many years now, said he’s stopping after the summer. It got me thinking, who else? Who else is going to have to move on with their life and push cubing into the back ground, only to slowly disappear? When I think about it, Feliks is only a few years younger than Kevin, and Matts is the same age as Feliks. The cubing world as we know it will soon be out some of the best speedcubers ever to exist.

So now we have to wonder, who will take their place? I know I want too, but I can only average 13 seconds with a good warm up and some decent scrambles. It would take me a long time to average 7 or 8 seconds in order to be on top. But how about someone else? We need to inspire others so we can have a next batch of speedcubers. More than this, we need to inspire ourselves, so we don’t lose this awesome community we have constructed. So this is where I ask you, who do you think is next? Someone who already averages 9 seconds and just needs a push? Or a friend you have that has never picked up a cube? Will they be the next Feliks? Give them a chance, and see if they will take it.

I'm Back With Victoryish

Four days ago I competed in my latest competition, with some awesome success for me! In 2x2, I placed 18^th in the first round, with the limit to make round 2 at 25. This means I competed in it again, but because I don’t have a very good method for 2x2, and rarely average 5 seconds, I chose to enjoy myself a bit and slack off, receiving a final place at 25^th. However, I did have a good time with my 15 second solve where couldn’t complete a first layer, and a 7 second solve with only 3 seconds of inspection time, and really did enjoy myself. In pyraminx, I had a personal best single of 8.88 and received 11^th place overall in the one round competition. Oh, and a special note about pyraminx, I beat Kennan Lejuene, which made me feel pretty good.

         Finally in the main event Rubik’s cube I placed 16^th overall in the first round. This was good enough to make it in to round two with some buffer behind me, but that wasn’t the exciting bit of this round. The main thing that made me so happy with my performance was an 11.43 straight out of the blue, in between a few 14 second solves. I was happy like you couldn’t believe, because I had smashed my former personal best in competition, a 15.99, by 4 seconds! That confidence did me very well in round two, where I actually improved on my original average, earning a 14.97m enough to move me up one spot for a final placing of 15^th. In addition, in the second round I had another admirable solve for my skill level, a nice 12.59 was just a little icing on the cake.

         

          And it’s not over yet, I still have another competition before I get busy with end of the year stuff, it’s being held in solon, Iowa, on the 18^th of April. I’m really excited for it and I wanted to list a few goals for that competition. For 3x3 I want a personal best average, I’m not going to care about a single best here, and I’m hoping I will make the top 10 people in the competition. For 2x2, I just learned full Ortega, and I’m hoping to make round two, but of course, I won’t throw a fit if I don’t. Finally, maybe being in the top 8 or so for Pyraminx would really make my day. Anyways there is your update for my competitions, thanks for reading!

Moyu Aosu Overdue Review

That title though! But really, this review was long overdue because of a few problems that I will get into later, but first I need to review the puzzle itself. So let’s begin.

The general conception of this puzzle is that it is absolutely amazing, super-fast, really controllable, anti-popping, and overall an amazing puzzle. I honestly cannot agree with this full heartedly. The reason being that my cube came really tight tensioned, and was hard to turn from the get go, even after loosening I still found it weird to turn and awkwardly tensioned, so I might have to completely take it apart to re-tension when I lube. However, I might chalk down most of these problems to the fact that as of writing this, my personal best solve on 4x4 is over 4 minutes and I have been able to solve a 4x4 for less than a day. I guess if I was going to say much relevant to the cubing world right at the moment it is that the Aosu is not a beginner puzzle, and while most recommend it full out, I can only say it’s alright. However, I imagine that opinion will change dramatically when I actually learn a speedcubing method and become used to the puzzle. So right now I give a tentative 6 out of 10. We will see how it turns out later.

Now for the main thing I wanted to talk about in this essay, I had a major issue about this cube that was the reason for the lateness of this post. I had a defective center piece, as well as so misaligned edges, causing nasty catches and bad turning. These defects were terrible and caused me to have to email the Cubicle to have them replaced. It made me frustrated at the time but not with the Cubicle, but Moyu itself, for not having a more prepared product lacking issues. However, this is where the Cubicle shined through to become one of my favorite stores to buy from for anything. They fully understood these defects weren’t their fault, but they also knew it was their problem, and handled it very well, being super kind and sending me the pieces I needed. In addition to this delay, however, when the cube was originally ordered, the cubicle forgot about sending it and it didn’t come for a week after it was supposed to arrive. While I was a bit annoyed, the Cubicle’s amazing customer service shone through and they sent out the package immediately after I inquired about it, and I received it 4 days later.

 I share this “epic” tale with you because I want to make the point that even though a company like the cubicle makes mistakes, they are nicer than any other business I have ever worked with in correcting them and should definitely be rewarded with your business. No I am not getting paid to say this, I just honestly think in this world more companies should be so nice and any company that is should be held with honor. Thanks for reading!

Warning+ Where do I go?

I am currently about half way through OLL, having about 33 of 57 cases memorized, which is taking a lot of work and effort to accomplish and is very difficult. So before I move on to my question for this blog I have to give a warning. Cubing gets super difficult as you keep going, and I want you to make sure you are having fun the entire time you are practicing or trying to improve. Feliks has always said never force yourself to practice, and I whole heartedly agree. Cubing is one of those sports where very little mindless boring work is required, and most things that can be done to get better are actually pretty enjoyable, you just have to wait for the right time. I know personally I could probably memorize two OLL algorithms a day if I had the time and felt like it, but sometimes all I can do is wait until I am feeling up to memorizing before I do, because otherwise the sport just wouldn’t be fun anymore, and chances are I would quit cubing before long. I definitely think, especially if you are about to start learning OLL, make a pact with yourself, that you will only cube when you want to, and when it makes sense for your schedule, so it doesn’t stress you out. This way you will be able to go for longer before ever getting bored, and will have more fun over all.

                Now my question for all of the cubers who read this blog, where do I go from here? I’m halfway done with OLL and when I get done with that I will have mastered basic CFOP and won’t have much place else to go. Obviously, there are things I can do, like increasing my look ahead, which right now is shoddy at best, but I know there are more tangible things that are easier to practice, so I want to try one of those. My thoughts were to try and learn the extended cross for a lot of basic cases, because one major problem I have in my solves in the cross to F2L transition, and I feel like knowing how to do X cross could be really beneficial. In addition to this, I think my next step is just to learn more F2L tricks, because right now my F2L is very basic and is cause for a lot of cube rotations and wasted moves, and I think it could be much improved. So just some ideas to consider, if you have a specific thing you think would be good to work on please comment. Thanks!

World Record Strats

                Now warning before I start, this might be extremely obvious to some of you and other would say that this post is really unnecessary just because it’s so blatantly obvious, but I think this idea is legitimate and one everyone needs to consider. Plus I’m writing it so I guess I win.

                World record strategy. What am I saying when I say these words? Is there some perfect algorithm that will solve your cube in 5 seconds every time? Most certainly not. Is there some epic way to guarantee yourself a world record whenever you compete? If there is, I haven’t found it. No the strategy I’m talking about first takes years and years of practice. And by that, I mean the first step of this strategy is being good enough to get a world record anyway. You have to be Feliks or Matts good. The reason for this is because there is no special trick to have the ability to get a world record. Only once you have the ability is this applicable. Think about every time someone asks you about your cube. Are they asking for specific algs or something? No, they are asking for the “secret” for the cube. So yes, step number one is practice until you are able to achieve the world record in your event of choice, and of course the more often you can achieve it in your own practice, the higher a chance you will have elsewhere.

                Next is the actual strategy. This is when you already have the ability to solve on a world record scale, and now you just need to actually break it. And the special secret is… Spamming competitions. Yup. That’s it. The basic idea is that once you are able to solve cubes really fast all the time, you need the opportunity to have a lucky enough solve that you can actually achieve a world record solve. Unfortunately, these kinds of lucky solves are far and few between, so you have to go to enough competitions that at least one of these are available. This takes a while, which is why, in addition to having fun, the best cubers are competing once a month, to have another chance at glory in a solve.

                Finally, all that is left is solve itself, which is by far the hardest. You have to be ready to act upon the solve, ready to take it and score big. Only then will you actually be a world record holder, to live amongst the best in history.

Another Competition and Progress, and a Tiny Little Rant

Drum Roll Please!  I’m happy to announce yesterday I was competing in the Sunday contest and during I had a new personal best average of 5 of 14.34! This is an amazing achievement for me and I’m so happy to see my improvement! And since I have made a really awesome new achievement I wanted to announce two exciting events.

First! I will be attending the Lawrence Spring 2015 competition! This will be my fourth competition and I will be going against some of the best cubers in the country, including, but not limited to, Kevin Hays, Chris Olson, and Kennan Lejuene.  I’m not going to release any official goals until sooner to the date, but being over half learned in OLL would be so cool.

In other news, something I have been wanting since I started on this dream 8 short months ago… I’M GOING TO U.S. NATIONALS 2015!!!! Now it’s not confirmed yet, but my parents seem willing and I am beyond excited to go. Now being as this will be my first competition on an international scale, I wanted to shed a little advice, as I have been to enough competitions now that I think I can honestly talk about this.

No matter what happens, be really friendly to people. I say this to everyone from first time newbies to seasoned speedcubers, and for a very good reason. Cubing is one of the sports where everyone is a nerd. That’s it. Everyone has enough nerdiness inside of the to spend days learning how to solve a rubiks cube, and most of us have even more nerdiness enough to spend months memorizing hundreds of algorithms, and practicing tons of different tricks to get really fast. This identity that we hold is something that should bind us. The fastest cubers shouldn’t be rude to slower ones, even they were slow once. The slower cubers should hate on other slow cubers, just because they aren’t in the same group or aren’t in as many events as others. The point I really need to make here is that cubing is one of the best things in the world. It really is. And I think the best part, is just the sense of family that comes from competing, and knowing the secrets of the greatest puzzle on earth. So please, please be friendly no matter where you are, no matter how newbie the person you’re talking to is, or how much better you feel over everyone else.

Remember, you once had to read a pamphlet to solve it too. Don’t get cocky, and have lots of fun!

Christmas Cubes

Hello everyone, today I’m here with a blog going over the cubes I got for Christmas! Of course, my parents don’t really know cubing, so these cubes are my own purchase, but because I got the money from Christmas, it still counts. And for any wondering, all these items are from thecubicle.us

So to start, I got the Moyu Pyraminx! While my full review on this puzzle, I can say right now it is my main maybe, and I find it a little uncontrollable right now. This is contrary to almost every review I have heard, which all say that this puzzle is perfect. I don’t understand it, but I can get to that in the review.

                Another two items I got were the 1x1 and a green box to hold my main speed cube. Both these items are very plain and normal, however I have to say the 1x1 is surprisingly heavy compared to how it looks and it is quite a surprise when picking it up.

                Third I got the Phil’s Lube pack, which came with Lubicle speedy, weight 5 and Maru lube. I must say of all the items I received this has to be my immediate favorite, even though that opinion may change later. The reason I say this is because while the pack only contains 3 lubes, it covers the spectrum of lubing needs and makes it very easy to find a good feel and speed for your cube.

                Finally, I got the acclaimed Moyu Aosu 4x4. While many reviews immediately say this cube is amazing, I had a few defective pieces I am busy trying to replace, however even though this isn’t a great circumstance I must say the Cubicle is handling it very well. Unfortunately this will delay my review until I can fully use and lube the puzzle.

                Overall, I’m very happy about my Cubes and other accessories and I can’t wait to give you full reviews on all of it!

So Many World Records!

I don’t know if anyone reading this has noticed this as they have surfed the cubing media, but world records are being broken all over the place! I know that in the last two months, Feliks has broken the one handed average and the 5x5 average, Antoine Cantin broke the one handed single, and so many more every which way. This leads me to beg the question, how? Aren’t world records the things that can’t be broken often, and should be really hard to get? Because it is beginning to look like anyone can do it while sitting on their couch eating popcorn. It wouldn’t be the same if it were just the skewb record or something similar, because the event is only a year old and it should have lots of world records. But not every event extremely frequently.

                You might be wondering where I’m going with this, and here it is. I’m scared. The truth is I think that by the time cubing has been fully popularized, and there are lots of people doing it, there will be no records left to break. And I know, it’s not the end of the world, but I know that I want to have something to strive for, and a world record is definitely something worthwhile to try for, and if I can’t go for that because it becomes impossible, where do I go? I can only try and be the world champion, which then requires a nasty plane ride to a random country, and if I fail there, then I have to wait two years to try again. I think that all these records broken then lack of in the future will cause an increase in the number if puzzles we compete for, but I don’t really wanted to see another Rubik’s magic ordeal, where the event is discontinued, and people can’t compete in their main event. So I don’t know what to do and not so calmly ask, any ideas? 

YJ Chilong Review

 Hey guys! I’m back from break and ready to get back into blogging! So let’s start off the New Year with the cube that got me a 15.99 in my last competition, the YJ Chilong!

This cube was fast when I took it out of the box. Not quite as fast as the Aolong was, and I actually found the speed quite nice, but it was a little unexpected. I have done well over 300 solves in with it and it still hasn’t lost its speed. I find that this speed is best represented by the sexy move, which I can perform on this cube faster than any I have ever tried. It’s so satisfying to see this occur and it makes me like the cube a lot. As I have become accustomed to this speed and style of the cube, I have come to really enjoy the feel. It is a little clicky feeling and actually feels a little cheap, it the way the plastic feels when it moves. It’s hard to explain this feeling exactly, but despite the fact that it doesn’t feel like a high quality cube, the feeling is one I enjoy a lot.

Reviews don’t even need corner cutting or popping sections anymore, but we refuse to give them up I guess, so I must say this cube has never popped, and I actually find it hard to take pieces out because on my tight tensions the simple anti-pop mechanism does its job. As for corner cutting, this cube is good, but on my tight tensions it can’t quite cut 45 degrees. Reverse is even less than average, barely cutting a fourth of a cubie, which makes it feel blocky, however this is not noticeable for me because it is very controllable for my style. But be warned, this cube can lock up in the last layer, even for me, which leads to a blocky feel and some bad times occasionally.

 As for controversial issues with this cube, the general consensus is that it is a very reasonable beginner speed cube. I would disagree, saying it is very good for even those averaging 16 seconds, which is what I currently average. This puzzle is easily fast enough for it and if you can control the slightly blocky feel, it works well at 16 second speeds. One issue that Cyoubx had with this puzzle was the corner twisting, which might be an issue but my tensions are so tight it is almost impossible to twist a corner if you are literally just hold the cube and twisting the piece, so it just doesn’t happen. I can see it is definitely possible, the mechanism is rounded enough and there is nothing on the corner piece to prevent it, but on tight tensions it just won’t happen.

Overall my grade for this cube is an 8.5 out of 10. I like how this cube feels and is plenty fast, but if you don’t control your cubes well you will have issues with the blocky feeling. But no matter what I recommend you buy this cube, I picked mine up from the thecubicle.us, and it is well worth the price. Thanks!

My Method for Pyraminx/ Learning?

So if you read my last post, you will know I briefly talked about my Pyraminx solving method, and how it wasn’t the best method for speed solving, but worked alright. So In this blog, I wanted to explain my method, and why I think you should learn it, and then where I think you can go from there. So, for starters, my method is so simple. One of the easiest methods that can ever be taught. It’s based on Paradox Cubing’s tutorial, and is great for any beginner Pyraminx solver. Basically, it is, at its most basic state, just a bunch of sledge hammers over and over again until the puzzle is solved. There is a little more to it, but it is very simple.

                To start, you simply line up the three “corner” type pieces on the correct side, so everything can be oriented correctly. Next, you use the sledge hammer move to insert the 3 edge pieces, to complete the first layer. From there, the top layer is oriented in one of 6 possible cases, so 5 algorithms (plus the solved state) complete the puzzle, minus the tips, which of course are easy to fix.

                There are a couple of reasons I wanted to share his method with everyone. For one, it’s just super easy. If you can solve a Rubik’s Cube, even just with the most beginner method, this method is perfectly attainable. Another reason I wanted to share it, is because using this simple method, I averaged 9 seconds at my last competition, which is decently fast. The main reason for this is because even using such a simple method, using some look ahead tactics and first layer tricks I learned from 3x3, it was not too much work to make a beginner method into a decently effective solving strategy. This is why I have “Learning?” in the title, because I am seeing the effects that my practice in other events. Now I don’t mean to brag, I am still not anywhere near competition winning times, but It does show what happens when you practice, and how effective things in one scenario can be in another.

                So what do I suggest you do? First, I would make sure you practice. I try to do so as much as possible, and even though it seems like sometimes I don’t learn anything, I am slowly absorbing information, which is very useful.  Then, after you have a bit of knowledge under your belt, for fun, pick up a small cuboid, or maybe an interesting shape mod, or maybe just another competition legal puzzle, and see what fun you can have, solving it in weird ways, or finding cool little tricks to make a layer or solve parity. I find it so satisfying to watch my skills have an application like this, and I think you might as well, so just give it a try, and most of all, just try to make cubing a little more enjoyable, because its one of the coolest things I think you can do.

Paradox Cubing's video

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP8uNejf3y8

Winter Break Update

Well I don’t know about the rest of my readers, but I am pretty excited for the holiday time! I finally get a break from school and some time to practice cubing. And since Christmas is right around the corner as well, I wanted to talk about some events I might want to get into. Then, after Christmas, I’m going to do a full review on the puzzles I get, and hopefully learn a few methods to different puzzles.

                So to start, I’m wondering if I should get into 4x4. It’s kind of the next step in competing; I have already gotten decent in 3x3, 2x2, and Pyraminx, but I don’t want to just stay in those. I want to keep adding puzzles to my repertoire, and 4x4 really seems to be calling my name. The reason is that both the aolong and the V2 were amazing, and the Aosu is reviewed as the best 4x4 of all time, which makes me think I will have a good time learning the method. I’m thinking I will learn Yao, because even though it is a little bit more complicated, it seems to be a very good method and all the main speedcubers use it.

                Besides that, I think the best thing I can over break and continuing into the New Year is continuing on learning OLL’s, because I can’t wait to get sub 10 and be really competitive. Now I fully understand full OLL isn’t the only thing that makes someone fast, but it is still very necessary in speedcubing, and I think it’s a very reasonable thing I should try for. After that, I’m not sure what I want to focus on. I could learn some algs for COLL, as that might help with my times for 3x3, but I think my next best practice option would be working on a new Pyraminx method. The current method I know is good, but won’t ever win me a competition, so I will have to get much better in order to have a fighting chance. So that’s my update for now, thanks!

Progress Plus a Thank You

Hi everyone! I had a little time over the weekend and I started learning a few of the OLL’s. Now, this in itself is not overly special, because so many people have learned much more than that, but it’s really cool for me because it’s the next step on my cubing journey and I can’t wait to continue going and see how far I get to go. In addition to that, I also achieved my new personal best time of 11.32 seconds on 3x3. Again, mildly impressive to those who have been doing this for a while, but I am amazed at my own improvement and so happy to see my progress.

Now on to the purpose of this blog, I wanted to give a big thank you to Anthony Brooks. For any of you that have read my blog for a while, you know that over the summer I really got in to speedcubing and went on a trip where I met Anthony at the Liberty Science center. I had been excited to go for months and thought I was just going to have a fun time. But meeting Anthony was so much more than I had ever anticipated. Watching someone solve a cube in 8 seconds flat in front of your face is just a little to amazing not to have a small freak out. It was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. But not only was he really good, Anthony was also a really nice guy to learn from and gave me quite a few useful tidbits on cubing. Then, some of you will know the story, I got really inspired to speedcube, learned 2 look OLL and PLL in two weeks while touring Europe, and by the time I touched down in America again, I had learned over 10 algorithms and received a personal best and my first sub 20 with a 19.87.

So with all the inspiration, I think it’s fair I give Anthony Brooks a big thank you for motivating me. I’m not sure if I ever would have gotten into speedcubing hard core unless I met him, but I did and I know my life has been changed for the better. So any time you are in Texas or a competition he might be at, make sure you talk to him to see what I’m talking about. Thanks Anthony!

Moyu Quality Control?

This post is more of just an idea to maybe improve something in the future. So here we go. You might occasionally hear about higher order cubes that have the single bad piece or unusually placed sticker, that makes the cube bad until you fix it. This may be a slight annoyance, but it is usually fixed pretty easily and I would only call it an inconvenience. However, recently Moyu has had a few blunders which weren’t just one or two bad pieces on the off puzzle, but defects effecting an entire batch or series of cubes. Of course everyone knows about the most recent incident, in which the Aolong V2 had a bad first batch, with very scratchy, dry and slow plastic. I have to commend them as they fixed the problem as soon as it became apparent, but I still think it could have been avoided. Another issue I have heard of as of “recent” is the Aosu 4x4, which evidently had some deformed center pieces that made for an awful puzzle. This is definitely not a huge deal, but it was more than just one or two people who had an issue so I figured it was worth noting.

Now at the beginning of this post, you probably thought I was going to bust some major stuff out on Moyu, things I had heard and had been compiling for years to give a scathing review of Moyu, that would put them out of business for good. No. you see, I actually like Moyu, it’s my favorite cubing brand and they make some of my favorite puzzles. This post is just to say, hey, there is room for improvement! For instance, they could put a tiny bit more money into their quality control department, hire an extra person, and maybe get a few of those extra problems resolved before the cubes hit the stores.

 But one thing I think would be really beneficial for Moyu is just to slow their roll a bit. In the last year, they have released so many cubes I didn’t bother to even find a number, but among them is the entire “Ao” series, which most of which were top notch cubes, along with the Pyraminx and the Skewb, which from what I have heard, are very good, and I really want to get the Pyraminx, as I think it will easily replace my Shengshou. The point is that they have released so many puzzles, and they only had one big issue, but in addition to that, the also had difficulties with corner twists on the original Aolong and according to Kevin Hayes, whom I would consider an expert in the area, the Moyu 6x6 left much to be desired. If they just slowed down the release of these puzzles a little bit, maybe had some more tests done to see if the 6x6 was a good cube, or if the Aolong was going to be a stable cube, they could have stopped some issues and had a few better products, and definitely would not have had to make a completely new batch of Aolong V2’s. So just a simple idea Moyu, slow it down, get it under control, and keep making the best products, and keep producing world record setting equipment!

Ranks in the WCA

So a while back, I had a post about new events the WCA could add to make the competition experience a little more diverse. Today I want to broaden that subject with the idea of adding ranks to the competition. I know for a fact that CrazyBadCuber did a video on this a very long time ago, so I wanted to talk about his ideas, and then give my opinions on them and my ideas on what might be able to happen.

So CrazyBadCuber’s idea was to have a ranked system based upon your average time in competition. He thought having four divisions, A-D with lower times for each division would be best. While I see his idea here, I think there are a few flaws. One, he says in his video that you are ranked based on the average of your previous competition. The problem I have with this that what if you have never been at a competition before, or had an average of a DNF? Are you instantly put in the bottom, D, division? Another problem I had was his method for moving up a rank. He said that you started in whatever level you were at from your average from the last competition, and that if you wanted, you could go for a faster average and try to move up a division, but if you did, you would be not be able to come down a ranking ever again. But what if you have a lucky average, like I did on 2x2 at my last competition? Am I instantly in the big leagues and can never go back?

I have a few proposed solutions to these problems, plus a couple extra tidbits to make the process better. To start with where you get ranked because of your last competition, just simply do a mean of 3 solves at the start of the comp, for all the competitors who are new. This will give them practice in competing and determine their ranking. To solve the other issue of lucky averages, I think if you had time, you could just have everyone do a mean of 3 for that competition, to get a baseline for their rank. Then they can compete from there, like normal. Of course that is a lot of extra time, so one thing you could do is have a sign up for the division you would like to be put in, and completely exclude time. Instead, focus on the status of the division and the prize each division winner gets. Make it somehow clear that if you compete in the top class with a 20 second average, you are still “better” than the guy who has a 10 second average, but chose class 2 because he wanted to win. Enforce this by making the prizes decrease dramatically for each division, so there is more incentive to move up a rank.

I feel like rankings in the WCA would be very difficult, and even though I haven’t yet expressed this, I don’t think they are the best idea, because you make people feel like winners who haven’t done the work. However, I wanted to share how it could be done, and maybe if some other cubers give their own input, these rankings could be a very fun addition in the future!

CrazyBadCuber's video on this subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtfo4ZS6CU

Competition Success!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I recently competed in a cubing competition, and I can honestly say, that it was a complete success! I competed in Rubik’s Cube, 2x2 and Pyraminx, and did very well for myself in all 3.

                To start, in round one I placed 14th in 2x2 with a low 6 second average. While not the most amazing time for those here who are proficient in 2x2, but I rarely practice it and was quite happy to have such a reasonable time. This was also very fun because 14th place got me into round two, which was an amazing first for me. In all three of my competitions I had never made even close to a second round, and it felt amazing to be able to continue the fun and keep competing. Unfortunately, I got a little bit nervous and dropped back to last in the round, finishing the day with a high 8 second average and 20th place. I do have to comment though; my scrambles in the first round of competition were insanely easy, with a few OLL skips and very easy first layers. I cannot say the same for my second round, which had less luck on what I received to solve.

                I can’t use the same excuse for 3x3 unfortunately. I had very reasonable and realistic solves, and I just decided I was going to get really nervous and do very poorly. In the mix of my solves I had a 25 v second, a 24 second, and a 22 second, which are very bad, especially when you look at the 16 average I had had that morning. However, it did turn out alright, also in the mix of my solves I had a 16 and a 15.9. which by far are my best solves in competition to date. Unfortunately, the high 24 second solve kept me out of round 2, but I  am still very happy because a major goal for me was to get a sub 20 solve and I had more than one, so I am content.

                Pyraminx was probably the best event I competed in. For my first time in competing, I earned my personal best average time of 9.92 which was good enough to barely land me in the top 10, I finished in 9^th place. This made me so happy because as it was the first time I had ever competed in the event and I did better than any other event , however a small portion of this is due to the fact that only a small number of people compete in Pyraminx.

                Overall I am overjoyed with my success in this competition. I got decent or great ranks in ever event I competed in, got an official sub 20 solve for 3x3, and most of all I managed to learn all the PLL’s for the competition, which was another major goal I had strived for. I’m so happy and anxious to compete again!

My Last Post (For A While)

So for you who don’t know, this blog is an assignment for the AP Lang class I am taking at my school. I have done it now for about month and a half and I have really enjoyed it, but as finals draw near for my classes, I am starting to become loaded with work and the blogging is not required for the rest of the term, I am going to take a brief hiatus from posting things. So I wanted to make my last post for a while pretty special and talk about my entire timeline when it comes to cubing.

It started when I was in 7^th grade, long ago, and a Rubik’s cube was just a little key chain sitting in my house, unsolved for years. Some of the more “popular” kids came to school with Rubik’s cubes, teaching kids how to solve them and going for the best times. When I saw this, I instantly wanted to try it, so I took the little keychain cube I had and brought it to school. I tried to solve it for what must have been only 2 days, but is was hooked. I broke out what little money I had stored up and bought myself a fresh new Rubik’s cube, and using the instructions, had it solved within an hour. But this wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to be the best I could be, so I memorized the beginner’s method over about a 2 day span. Soon I was racing against one of my friends, struggling to get that extra second over him. We went back and forth for a while, and then it just fell away. I’m not sure who ever had the fastest time, but soon it didn’t matter. We went on to different things. However, I didn’t stop loving the idea of solving puzzles. Soon I had bought myself a 4 dollars Lanlan 2x2 from the internet, and was spending all my cubing time on that. I watched YouTube videos on how to get better and tried very hard. It interested me so much I put down my Rubik’s cube for 2 years, because a 3x3 just took too long to solve when I could do a 2x2 in 15 seconds.

Fast forward to my Sophomore year in high school. I have been watching YouTube videos on cubing for a year now, and have a 4 second best on my 2x2 Zanchi. Then, I decide to pick up my old Rubik’s cube again, which is now beat up and scratched all over, from months of use and years of inactivity. My first solve I do in 2 years rounds out to a minute and 30 seconds. Not bad, but I try and do better, and soon have a one minute and 10 second solve, which on a regular Rubik’s cube is not half bad at all. But I  know I need to move on up, so I buy my first speedcube, the infamous stickerless Zanchi. I worked hard, and got down to 41 seconds on the beginner method, but I was just beginning on my path. Soon I had mastered basic F2L and lost another 8 seconds. Then the fateful day you all know of if you have read my blog. I went on vacation to New York, then spent the next two weeks learning at least 10 algs and dropping 10 seconds and having my first sub 20 on the flight home.

         

          Finally I end here, averaging about 19 seconds and hopefully getting better. I hope my little story inspires you like it does for me, to keep going along my journey. So until the next post, enjoy Thanksgiving and practice hard!

More Mods and Custom Puzzles

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to share just a few more of the amazing mods and custom puzzles that have graced my presence in the brief time I have been a cuber.

To start, I really have to talk about the classic Ghost cube series. This awesome 3x3 shape mod just enthralls me, and even though I do not own one, it is such an amazing Idea I couldn’t prevent it from making the list. In addition to the 3x3, many other sized versions have been made, many of which seem so difficult I get frustrated just looking at them. One of my favorite bits about this series of cubes is the fact no colors are involved to make it easier, hence the term, Ghost cube. I love the idea of giving such a challenge and it makes me wonder where inventors of these cubes could take it. For instance, a crazy modification of the Ghost cube itself is the wacky Virust cube. I first saw this cube on Crazy Bad Cuber’s channel, and it instantly amused me. It is an OCD nightmare wrapped into a nice cube shape. The Ghost cubes were hard enough to solve, but then you add distracting sticker combinations to the mix? I might almost consider the creator an evil genius, because it looks like an intense and difficult piece of work.

Next on my continuing list of mods and custom puzzles is the Gear cube series. I have talked about this series of puzzles numerous times throughout my blog, but this is because I absolutely love how simple but amazing it is. The inventor took a normal 3x3 mechanism, made some slight adjustments, then added gears. It was probably difficult at first, but it worked out so well and the gear series now consists of so many puzzles I’m not bothering to research the number. But beyond just their simplicity, the cubes are some of the best turning puzzles I have ever seen, which includes some 3x3’s. I can’t be sure for the exact reason as to why this is, but, especially with the gear ball, the turning is extraordinary! And I haven’t even mentioned the crazy way the gears look as they turn. They are almost mesmerizing the way they twist as you solve. It makes for a very cool experience, and I just love the series.

And finally on my continued list of custom puzzles and modifications is one of my favorite puzzles of all time, the amazing Rex cube! I love this cube, because it was the first corner axis turning cube I had ever seen. It was so novel and unique I just fell in love and have loved it ever since. But I do want to give a special mention to a lot of other corner turning cubes. Even after being seasoned as a cuber I still love the unique idea of corner turners and I think they will always hold a special place in my heart.

My Terrible Megaminx

I have had this terrible Megaminx in my collection since almost the beginning of my cubing life. And in that time, I have never hated of despised anything more. It is clearly an off brand puzzle, and whatever brand it came from clearly spent no time trying to improve their work to make a better product. To start, it has tiles which frankly, don’t bother me, except for the fact that they are held onto by about one cubic millimeter of glue each which means Trying to put a tile back on without glue is actually impossible, and as for gluing it, there are no contact areas. Looking at the bottom of the tile you can see two faint lines of glue that connect the top edge of it to the corresponding piece. This is absolutely awful, because the only contact point the tile makes with pieces are on the edge, and so regluing will be messy.

Another frustrating piece of this terrible Megaminx is the clicking system. There are MASSIVE notches in the pieces that create a very awful turning, very slow puzzle, with absolutely no finger tricking of any kind. In addition to this, the mechanism is not very well mad, so pieces can wiggle upon turning. This coupled with the abysmal corner cutting, as the puzzle has no corners previously cut as 3x3’s do, makes for the worst moving and solving experience I have ever had with a puzzle.

So now the simple question, what brand is this puzzle? I actually have no idea, to tell the truth. I have looked at videos comparing brands, with no avail. No, it isn’t a QJ, although I hear that one is a close second. I know it is too disgusting to be a Dayan, and so I am stuck. What can I brand this Megaminx that has wronged me so badly? I can’t honestly say.