Puzzled 2: mf8 2x3x4 Fully Functional Unbandaged

Thursday, November 8, 2012

mf8 2x3x4 Fully Functional Unbandaged

This little puzzle has been much more challenging that anticipated. After some careful experimentation and documentation, I was able to solve it consistently, but did not have a fully developed strategy in place. Instead of patiently working with it longer, I got curious about how others were approaching it, so went to rline's tutorial and the twistypuzzles.com forum. rline has some great ideas about reducing the corners, and Konrad has a way to 3-cycle corners! Now my task is to create a page that documents my initial strategy, and also documents my final strategy. The only problem at this point is that I did not, nor do not, have either one. If only I had had another week off from work... :)

2 comments:

UnknownFebruary 4, 2014 at 7:03 PM
But where can I find a solution (WITH algorithms) for the 2x3x4 UN-bandaged cube? The ones I found on YouTube r just too confusing. I know the 3x3, 2x3x3, and the 4x4 but I just can't figure out how to blend some of their algs to fit the 2x3x4. I'd like to try to solve it 1st in its cube state. And then move up to the scramble. HELP. HELP. Oh and I'm fairly new to cubing but still loving it. Mahalo.
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BudFebruary 4, 2014 at 7:50 PM
My Solution after implementing ideas gleaned from chareaves (rline) and Konrad and interacting with Burgo on the forum

1. Fiddle around with it until it is back to cuboid shape. Reduce the middle layer to 4 2x1 blocks.
2. Mess around reducing corners. If it gets down to a 3-cycle, just do it. Or if it gets down to 4 corners diagonally opposite every which way, then the 3 cycle a couple times will do it. The 3-cycle. Hold a 2x4 face on U and a 2x3 face on F. To cycle URF to DRB to DLF do (U L2 U' R2) x 2 (R2 F2) (U L2 U' R2) x 2 (F2 R2). To cycle ULF to DLB to DRF do (U' R2 U L2) x 2 (L2 F2) (U' R2 U L2) x 2 (F2 L2). Sometimes setup moves are required to get the three pieces ready for the 3-cycle. (U L2 U' R2) x 2 is simply my 3x3x2 Corner Piece Series.
3. Solve the middle layer.
4. Get all the yellows to the top. At this point it doesn't matter if cuboid shape is lost. Neither should you worry about if they are actually solved. You just want all the yellows up and the whites down, or whatever your top and bottom colors are. Just don't mess up the middle layer.
5. Use the Corners First 2 pairs algorithm to finish the solve.

I think the last time I played with this one I did not refer to the above notes and came up with a slightly different method, but the 3-cycle algorithm was certainly involved.

I don't always like the methods other people produce, but you are sure to find some ideas at Twisty Puzzling's youtube channel, or at twistypuzzles.com forum.
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Rubik's Cube Books

I got my first Rubik's Cube in the early nineteen eighties. The only way I could solve it was to take it apart and put it back together solved. Until, that is, I got some little books that explained sequences of moves that could be used to put pieces where you want them without messing up what was already in place.

The Simple Solution To Rubik's Cube
by James G. Nourse
Notes on Rubik's Magic Cube
by David Singmaster
Solve That Crazy, Mixed-up Cube Puzzle
by Don Frederick.

I think I put together my own strategy using bits and pieces gleaned from all three books. Eventually I lost interest and forgot how to complete the cube, forgot I had those books, and lost track of the cubes.

Mark Jeays' Working Corner Method

http://jeays.net/rubiks.htm

In 2007 my interest in Rubik's Cube was rekindled when I watched the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. Marae found my 1980s cube for me and I tried to solve it. Huh-uh. I could do part of it, but not the last layer. Looking online I found various tutorials. Mark Jeays included YouTube videos with his Solution 2. This method worked for me and although I no longer use it in its entirety, nor could I, as I have forgotten the yellow edges sequences, I still find the basic working corner technique helpful, and use a slightly modified version of his corner twisting technique at times.

In the summer of 2014 we packed 30 or so puzzles and flew to visit Raymond and Fam in the Czech Republic. Breann, who had learned this method and no other, made some comment about bubururu or something like that, and it piqued my curiosity. What were those algorithms, and how similar are they to the EPS technique I use now when using a working corner? So I looked them up. Actually, the three algorithms were for dealing with the two last edges solved, which either needed to be swapped, or flipped, or swapped and flipped. The swapper is very similar to the one I have learned and used since, but I actually like it better in one sense, with a slight modification.

To swap UR and FR without flipping:

U' R U' R' U' R U' R' U'

To swap and flip UR and FR:

F' U' F U' F' U' F U2

To flip UR and FR:

F' U F U' R U' R' U

Will I actually learn and use these? Probably not. But I like them. :)

There is a slightly different implementation of the Working Corner Method. Arnaud van Galen calls it the Keyhole Method. I like his demonstration better than the one I originally learned. It just dawned on me why he is able to get away with doing it the way he does. He goes ahead and finishes the F2L before going to the last layer, unlike the way Jeays uses the working corner (keyhole) to also get the last layer. Since I no longer use the working corner to get the last layer, I should implement Arnaud's technique.

Jasmine's Scalable Method

http://peter.stillhq.com/jasmine/rubikscubesolution.html

This was the next method I learned. For awhile the idea of speed cubing appealed to me. This promised to be a good beginner's method for those that wanted to go on to faster method's later. Now that I know what I know, I wouldn't recommend this method if your goal is to be able to consistently solve the cube in less than 30 seconds. Rubik's Speedsolver Champion Leyan Lo presents a beginner's method that I like the looks of although I've never learned it. I have recently watched Arnaud van Galen's complete beginner's method video series and recommend them. Gilles Roux presents a beginners' method that is very close to one of my favorite ways of solving the cube. The simplicity and comprehensibility make this method a good place to start if you want to understand the Rubik's Cube. Also, if you are interested in speedcubing you should check out this YouTube video.

After trying for months to get under a minute with both Jasmine's Method and the Corner's First Method—and failing, I finally decided to quit trying and just enjoy cubing at a nice slow pace.

Don't get me wrong. Jasmine's Method has its merits. The sequences for orienting the last layer edges and corners, and permuting the last layer edges are still in my arsenal of useful algorithms.

Adam Cheyer's Corners First Method

Philip Marshall's Ultimate Solution

http://helm.lu/cube/MarshallPhilipp/
After learning to solve the cube corners first, what is next? An Edges First Method! This was a very difficult tutorial to follow, but once I got it, it was my favorite way to solve the cube for awhile. It uses only a few algorithms, and when you are finished solving the cube you feel like you've solved the puzzle, not just used memorized sequences to unscramble it.

Gilles Roux presents a beginners' method that could be used to solve the cube edges first. The simplicity and comprehensibility make this method a good place to start if you want to understand the Rubik's Cube. His technique is much easier to follow than Marshall's.