Puzzled 2: Starting Over

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Starting Over—Kind Of

After convincing myself that I could use my method to solve a cube with my eyes closed consistently, I decided to take a look see at how others really do it. I checked out NoahCubes@Cubing World on YouTube. It was thorough. Very. His corner method was similar to mine only used less setup moves because he uses a different PLL permutation. His edges method is M2, and from what I gather it is a popular method these days. M2 has pros and cons. The pro is that the move M2 is the swap algorithm! The cons are the complicated cases and the end game if there is parity.

I was pretty excited about a one twist swapper so tried to use M2 when it was easy, and my F Perm when M2 wouldn't work. And the parity issue? I'll just deal with it like I always have. And it works! I modified his M2 method a bit so it works with BD as the buffer and UF as the target. That way I have the same buffer for both M2 and F Perm.

I got to thinking. Why can't you do the same thing with corners? Why can't you use D2 as a swapper to get as many corners as possible? And so with DRB as the buffer I use DLF as the target when using D2. I tried it last night and it worked!

There are some gotchas that came up along the way. As long as I do an even number of M2 or D2 before switching to the F Perm I'm ok. So sometimes I have to use the F Perm to make the number of preceding M2s or D2s even.

Why complicate matters by using three different swappers instead of just one? Because two of them are so quick and easy!!!!!

After working through a scramble seeing what it would look like if I started with Corners, then what it would look like if I started with Edges, then trying to come up with a memorization system that would help me remember when to do M2 or D2 and when to use the F Perm, oh my, what a pain. I decided to take a break and go do some yardwork. While doing yard work it all became clear. When using the F Perm algo I use Food sentences. When using either M2 or D2 I use Jesus talk. Here is how it worked out.

L U' R2 U B' U' L D' F' L D B U L D' L B' U B U R B' D2 B D'

Joe	Knows
Yahweh	God	Loves	Others	Christ	Victorious
Ethan	Uses	Rice

Henry	Steams
God	Is	Patient	And	Jesus	Forgives

The first attempt I messed up and I didn't have a solve at the end. The second attempt I kept opening my eyes to make sure all was well. It was. Maybe I'll try again with another cube and see if I can get it start to finish with closed eyes.

Here is a breakdown of how many moves it takes me to solve each piece. Each word stands for a piece of the cube.

The ones that use the F Perm algorithm
Joe 23
Knows 25
Ethan 21
Uses 23
Rice 27
Henry 23
Steams 29

The ones that use M2 or D2
M2 for edges
Yahweh 7
God 7
Loves 7
Others 7
Christ 1
Victorious 7

D2 for corners
God 15
Is 9
Patient 7
And 17
Jesus 9
Forgives 7

So altogether I saved over 200 twists by using M2 for edges and D2 for corners whenever possible.

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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.