[OT] Ow my head

[Tim Watts]

What do you do when your 7 year old asks for a Rubik's Cube.

And you have to actually learn how to do the thing after 30 years of mostly ignoring it?

Hint - I'm s**te at any puzzle where making one thing better breaks something else in one step. I can only solve problems where each step results in an immediate net improvement, which is fine for all the *real* problems I have to solve. Chess is a mystery too.

It's going to be a long weekend...

I suspect she's going to thrash my pants off when she gets the hang of it

:-o

[ARWadsworth]

Either, memorise one of the online solutions or just take the stickers off and put them back in the correct order:-)

[Andy Dingley]

A well made cube can be "popped" open, then re-assembled, without breaking it.

The other trick is to solve two thirds of it (easy), then hand it to The Smug Teenager Who Knows Everything with the words, "There you are, I've started it for you".

[Tim Watts]

That was my "method" in the 80's :)

That'd be a good plan. If I could solve more that one face... I think you misread "s**te" as "not too bad" whereas my abilities are roughly on a par with a twice convicted arab shoplifter ;->

[Andy Burns]

I used to be "OK" at it as a kid, you only need to know a couple of moves per layer to solve it, there are almost certainly more moves you could learn, that will shorten the sequence if you learn when to apply them. I found the moves have "stuck" somewhere in the back of my brain and I can still solve it years later, but nowhere like as fast as before ...

[Bob Eager]

Easy enough to take apart and put back in the right order...

[Steven Campbell]

Yeah I was the same. I could easily do it in under a minute back then. My kids got one recently and I found I could get to as far as just a few squares out but I couldn't complete it no matter what I did. I do remember back then when you got it to a certain stage (first 2 rows fully complete) you were able do hold it a certain way with certain squares facing in certain directions and then with just a couple of moves another couple of squares slotted in to place. It was all very methodical but certainly worked. Its put me in the mood now to show off to the kids. Anyone know any good online tutorials?

[Dave]

Is it not available in printable form? I was going to suggest that I could post Tim a scan for the original cube solution.

Dave

[Rupert Bear]

Learn Chess,, It is easier,, the cube is not a toy never has been..!

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[dennis]

The cube is boring, you learn a few moves and its solved. Once you know the moves that's it.

Chess has about the same number of moves but the games are all different.

[Rupert Bear]

Well,, I never could do the cube, not once,, on the other hand I found chess a lot easier...

Perhaps there is something in your words...

There is another thing,, I could never get properly to grips with the draughts either,, but chess was always my game ..

I found it got me tired,, an have not played in years..

Don't want to either..

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