There's a 3x3x2 and then there is a 3x3x2

And I'm not talking about the Crazy 3x3x2. The puzzles I'm talking about look alike. But one of them is a Cubestyle 3x3x2 that does the freaky move. So why does that make it blogworthy? Well...

I always solve a 3x3x2 by doing the edges first with some quick simple moves. Nothing more complex than The Move. But on the Cubestyle Freaky 3x3x2 you can do a 3-cycle of edges with M Up, U2, M Down, U2. So between this 3-cycle, and double swaps, and the 8-move commutator, edges can be moved without messing up corners. So...

The Normal 3x3x2 can be thought of as my Edges First 3x3x2.

The Freaky 3x3x2 can be my Corners First 3x3x2.

I like it.

3x3x2 Trio

Before I talk about the puzzles, check out the cool plant. What a gift from our marvelous Creator! Our Creator Father God blessed me with this little plant this morning. Halellujah!

Now what about the puzzles? The black one with stickers is simply a 3x3x2 cuboid. It doesn't have any fancy moves. The 3x3 faces can twist in multiples of 90º and the 2x3 faces have to turn 180º.

The Crazy 3x3x2 has circles on both 3x3 faces. Wherever the red white blue corner is is the 1 face. The other face is the zero face. Years ago when Roark was my "master scrambler" he did a move on the Crazy 3x3x2 that we called "the freaky move." You turn an inner slice only 90º then turn a 3x3 face 180º then turn the inner slice 90º again so that it is back to 3x3x2 shape.

The Cubestyle 3x3x2 in the picture can also do the freaky move, but you have to hold the center just right so that it either doesn't spin with the other pieces or it spins all the way with them. If it goes part way it can cause problems.

Whereas the Crazy 3x3x2 that has a freaky move can not be solved without a freaky move, the Cubestyle 3x3x2 with a freaky move can be solved without another freaky move. You know how on a 3x3x3 M up U around M down U around, which by the way is The Move, does a 3-cycle of edges? The same algorithm works the same way on my Cubestyle 3x3x2!

Solving the Simple 3x3x2. I start with the edges then do the corners. The corner 3-cycle is (U L2 U' R2) x 2 to go from URF to DRB to DLB. If, when doing the corners I end up with 2 swapped, I hold the puzzle so neither of the two is on the bottom left and a 3x3 face is up and do (U R2) x 5. That leaves the edges intact and the corners solvable.

Solving the Cubestyle 3x3x2 should work the same way.

Solving the Crazy 3x3x2 is another matter. I remember that the corner 3-cycle is a little more complex and moves URF to somewhere else on top, I think, to somewhere on the bottom back I think. And it is the simple 3-cycle, then move the top, then do the simple 3-cycle the other direction. Or something like that. Oh, and I start the solve by solving the circles. If no freaky moves have been done then it is just like solving a simple Floppy Cube. Oh, and when doing the corners care must be taken where the Red White Blue corner is.

Time to look up the Solution Guide! I tried a solve and got the edges and some of the corners, but then I must have held the Red White Blue in the wrong place, or else messed up a setup move, because it ended up scrambled and I had to start over with the circle and then the edges. Before attempting the corners again let's look up the Guide. I obviously had a different color scheme puzzle when I made these notes. Now it should be Yellow Up and RWB @ UFR/DFR/DBR/DFL

It also says that if 2 corners need to swap at the end do the freaky move and start over at step 1. Two corners needed to swap. I tried the (U R2) x 5 thing, but that messed with the circle pieces. So I left off the last R2 but after solving corners again I still needed to swap 2 corners. So here comes the freaky move, but I am skeptical. Whoa! I did the freaky move with Red White Blue at DRF and Yellow up and it was super easy to solve the circle. Two edges were swapped and then after solving those a couple 3-cycles and the corners were solved. All right!

17 Puzzles

Originally posted on April 21-22, 2017 on BudLCuber Google site.

Roriana stayed with us for a few days this week. How fun! 

We brought her home with us after visiting last weekend. When Roark and I were playing catch outside he spotted an osprey. Here he is looking at it through the binoculars with Roriana close by.

We played with some puzzles. Four of the 17 puzzles... well... I haven't played with in quite awhile. The Windmill Cube just takes some getting used to. It is really a 3x3x3 cube, but shape-shifts and requires orientation of the middle layer centers. It is also more challenging to orient the middle layer edges. But it can be solved using the Working Corner Method I have been having fun with lately. The 3x3x3 with circles—all are zero faces, which means that the pieces inside the circle do not move when the layer is twisted. I find that this makes the solve a little more challenging than a 3x3x3. One easy approach though is to start with the edge pieces that are inside the circle. Then use ABC to solve the white outer edges. From there it is pretty much the Working Corner Method. It took me awhile to remember how to solve the corners of the 3x3x2, but I finally did. The Crazy 3x3x2 was beyond my powers of recollection. I was on the right track, but couldn't recall all the details, so I looked it up in my spreadsheet.

Dian Sheng 3x3x2

This was the cheapest one I could find, and it is a bit disappointing. It does not turn very well around the circle. I have attempted to loosen it up by adding lubricant, but it hasn't helped a lot. Maybe some. I think I will avoid this puzzle maker in the future.

On the plus side, as I was playing with it, not only was I able to remember how to solve it without looking at my notes from the past, but I also came up with a new and better way to solve the two edges that are adjacent to the corner.

Drat. I should have written it down immediately. Now I can't get it.

(Later) OK, I've come up with something but I don't think it is what I came up with this afternoon. But here it is. After getting the circles filled correctly locate the corner—on this puzzle it is the red, white, blue corner. With the white circle on bottom, use either setup moves or EPS to place the blue-white (or red-white) edge on top and across from where it needs to go. Spin the corner to the top so that the blue-white (or red-white) is directly across from its spot beside the corner. Do (M2 U2) x 2 to move it across. Move the corner and edge that are now paired up back around to the bottom.

I think this is easier than the former method I used, but probably not a whole lot. I think it is somewhat similar to what I came up with earlier today. It seemed so intuitive this afternoon.

August 20, 2014
After a number of scrambles and solves, the turning quality has improved enough that I am not quite so disappointed anymore.