Tangram Cube Fun

In August 2017 I bought a twisty puzzle—the Tangram Cube. I made several posts telling about solving it. The solution guide I presented. Recently, after a break from twisty puzzles for months, I started solving the puzzles in the case that were scrambled. Eventually I came across the Tangram Cube. I didn't even remember its name, let alone how to solve it. But I finally found my notes from 2017 in this blog, and was able to solve it. I've looked for a better way, a way in which I could easily solve the triangles (centers) near the beginning, and then use pure 3-cycles to solve other pieces, but I couldn't come up with anything. So here I present my current solution for the Tangram Cube.

Step 1. Solve the two little corners using at most one simple twist of W.

Step 2. Solve the six big corners 1 or more at a time by twisting edges or using Up Replace Down to get as many of them as possible then The Move to finish up. Use one of the Little Corners and one of the Edge turns with The Move.

Step 3. Solve the 3 long edges by moving the slice so they are in the correct spots, then if necessary flip two of them. Slide one to A, flip it, slide the other to A, flip it, slide if necessary. For example: K A K' A flips L and A. K A K A K flips L and R. Or you could use L or R as the flip spot and always only use 4 moves. If you need a pure flipper use (K A K' A) x 3 to flip L and A.

Step 4. Permute the 3 little edges using The Move with two Edges. (J A J' R) x 2 is a pure 3-cycle K1 to DE to YP.

Step 5. Orient the 3 little edges. (L A R) x 2 flips DE and YP. (J A J' R) x 2 (A K A K') x 2 is a pure flipper of K1 and YP.

Step 6. Solve the centers 1 or more at a time using (J A J' A) x 3 (W L W' L) x 3 which cycles Bottom > Back > Right. The setup move W' R W swaps the centers on the right and back so the cycle is reversed.

(J A J' A) x 3 is a 5-cycle. Right to Front to Left to Top to Back. 

If the 3-cycle is only going to solve one piece why not solve one piece using the shorter 5-cycle instead?

Now that I have re-figured out the puzzle, it is time to have some fun with it for a while before moving on to other scrambled puzzles in the cabinet. :)

Thanking God for Past and Present

Today when I was splitting some firewood and bringing it to the porch it dawned on me that this must be "the last hole." When the boys were all home (before they grew up and moved away—far far away) we played a lot of frisbee golf in the front yard. Trees, rocks, bushes, the swing set, and the little ditch beside the porch—these were the holes. Over the years the course has changed somewhat. The rosemary grew over the rocks. The swingset is now on the south side of the house holding a bird feeder instead of swings. The big oak fell down one storm. We had the oak that was the last hole and the driveway pine tree cut down during the winter of 2019.

I brought some of the last hole oak to add to the fire and said a prayer of thanks. Thanks for all the fun times the four of us had together playing frisbee golf, and thanks for the firewood to warm the house on this cold spring day.

Today I also found by the shed an old flattened chewed up water bottle and gave thanks for the great fun Molly our dog was. She loved to grab a plastic water bottle and race back and forth across the hill with it, tossing it up and catching it as she went. And when she was close enough for me to make a move for it, it was a fun game of keep away that she always won. Such energy. Such enthusiasm.

Red Twist 3x3x3 Puzzle

The Red 3x3x3 Puzzle has the same scramble as the normal puzzle

They both have a checkerboard pattern 

They are both solved

Qubami Sticker Mod

Today I transformed a Stickerless colored plastic cube into a Qubami. More specifically, into my Qubami. Years ago I bought a Qubami from Kelvin Stott. It was a unique puzzle that had 3 colors, 3 symbols, and was one of a kind. You could solve it by color, solve it by symbol, or solve it with 3 colors and 3 symbols in every row and every column on every side. I read today that it could also be solved with every color on every row and column, and every symbol on every row and column. My original Qubami story.

Some time between then and now our house was broken into and some of my puzzles were stolen, including the Qubami. I haven't thought much about it since. I don't know what got me to thinking about it this morning, but I decided to find a picture of my old Qubami if I could. Found it in my Google Photos page.

I have some cube stickers in my desk that I have had for years. I have a Sharpie pen. I picked out 3 colors, put the symbols on them, and applied them to one of the 20 $2.25 cubes that I bought at speedcubeshop.com a few months ago. First I thoroughly scrambled the cube so the stickerless cube solution would not be a solution to the Qubami stickers. It is not as pretty as the original puzzle, but it works! I have my Qubami back.

 

Dobrá Voda Forest

The 7 of us recently went on a walk to and through the local forest. It was great! Well, it was great in spite of the ticks or whatever those little bugs we got were. They looked kind of like ticks but none of them attached so I'm not sure. We got them all off while they were still crawling around.

Cubing With The CZ Kiddos

All three kiddos have joined in the cubing fun this summer. I remember when I taught Roark how to solve a cube and Roriana had fun exploring on her own with patterns. Here I am teaching 7-year old Annie how to solve the cube and Alex and David enjoy exploring patterns. Alex is also getting into solving a little as he has learned UFDG, which I will explain shortly. Even David can put a short scramble on the cube and get it back to solved.

I have made a page about our cubing and included it in the menu bar. Go to page.

Trees, Rocks, and a Park

We have been here a little over a week now. A couple days ago I left the house for the first time. The kiddos wanted to take me on a walk to the climbing tree.

Eventually we made our way to the rocks nearby.

After playing on the rocks we went back to the trees where we were greeted by a friendly little dog. We also ran around in the field and saw a fun tree.

Can you see the child in the tree in the picture above?

Can you see the child in the tree in the picture above?

Finally we walked to the park.

MoYu Fisher Time Wheel - Stickerless

I got a new puzzle. Rline did an unboxing and I liked the looks of it. It hasn't disappointed. I haven't worked out a system for solving it yet and may not ever. It is just fun to mess with. I have fully scrambled and solved it. Let's see...

It is like a Fisher Cube, you know the shape mod of a 3x3x3 that can be slippery and hard to control. It could be scrambled and solved exactly like one. But there are circles on the top and bottom faces and on each edge of the 4 vertical sides that can be turned manually giving each ... How should I explain this?

8 of the edges of the puzzle solves like corners of a cube. On a Fisher cube each edge is one piece. On the MoYu Fisher Time Wheel each of these pieces are cut by circles so that there are 3 extra pieces.

Trying to describe this is crazy. I'm just going to say that there are 54 extra little pieces to solve above and beyond a 3x3x3 cube or 3x3x3 Fisher Cube. I don't even want to try to describe at this point how I have gone about solving it.

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

We went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm today. Met Lani and Lora and Summer and Zoey and Mason there. We had a fun day together. Dan and Alyce even showed up later and we gave them a tour.

Summer and Zoey enjoyed playing with my 2x2x2 cubes. Summer is good at getting one side a solid color.

New 2x2x2 Cubes

Thanks to a mixup of sorts with SpeedCubeShop I got three 2x2x2 Cubes for next to nothing. And they kept a customer instead of losing me to TheCubicle, which I have never tried yet but was just about to. TheCubicle is in New York. SpeedCubeShop is in Californa. I am in California. Maybe someday I will try out TheCubicle anyway just for fun. So what did I get? From left to right—the MF2S, a Moyu Cube; the QiYi QiDi S; the QiYi Cave. That is what it says on the box it came in, but at the store it was called a Cavs. I suspect that Cavs is correct.

And here they are with my old 2x2x2, Cyclone Boys.

2x2x2 Algorithms

1. Bottom Layer
Color neutral
Not the layer—just the bottom
2. OLL
L2 U2 L U2 L2
F (R U Ri Ui) x 2 Fi
R U Ri U R U2 Ri
Li Ui L Ui Li U2 L
F (R U Ri Ui) Fi
(R U Ri Ui) (Ri F R Fi)
Fi (R U Ri Ui) (Ri F R)

3. PBL
Matches	Algorithm
0	R2 B2 R2
1	(R Ui R) F2 (Ri U Ri) [Top Front]
2	R2 Ui B2 U2 R2 Ui R2 [Front]
4	[Bottom]
	(R2 Ui B2 U2 R2 Ui R2) U2 (R2 Ui B2 U2 R2 Ui R2)
or	(F R Ui) (Ri Ui R U) (Ri Fi) (R U Ri Ui) (Ri F R Fi)
5	[Top Front]
	(R' U R U') R2 (F' U' F U) (R F R' F') R2 U'
or	[Top Left]
	(R U Ri Ui) (Ri F R2 Ui) (Ri Ui R U) (Ri Fi)

I am learning to solve the 2x2x2 faster and smoother. Why? Because Josiah got a 2x2x2 for his birthday and he is into speed.

The method I am learning is Ortega. Not the fastest, but potentially very fast indeed. And of course, I have deviated a bit from the Ortega method because I already know an F Perm algorithm, so why learn the T Perm? Although it would probably be good for Josiah to learn it for later use on the 3x3x3. And when there are 4 matches I can use the 2 match algorithm twice instead of learning the Y Perm. Again it would probably be better for Josiah to learn the Y Perm.

I might just mention that the Ortega Method for the 3x3x3 is simply a Corners First Method. So I can incorporate and practice what I am learning when solving a 3x3x3 corners first.

Another BLD Solve On The First Try

This is good. I was beginning to think I had lost it. Only 1 piece was solved after the scramble. All were solved when I opened my eyes.

L U' B2 L' D R2 U F R U2 F' U2 R U2 L' D' R' F' D2 L2 B' L' D B' L

I am not stressing as much about when to transition from and to M2/D2 and F Perm. I get an idea before starting, but then think about it as I go.

Puzzle Shopping Adventure #1

(The following is an email I sent to Brandy)

I have a story to tell. 6 of the stickers I originally got from Jason were too long. He made them 26 mm like the tall ones of the bottom layer instead of 22 mm like they should be. They are the 6 biggest stickers of the top and bottom faces when the puzzle is cube-shaped and the thinnest layer is the top layer.

While I was applying your stickers as soon as I discovered one that was not right I emailed him. As it turned out I sent him 9 emails that night and he responded to all of them. In other words we had quite a conversation throughout the evening as my work progressed. In the end he apologized and said he would send replacement stickers and give me any set of stickers I wanted. That is how I got the standard color stickers for my black Mirror Blocks Cube. 

I also have the 6 replacement stickers for each of our cubes. I just stickered my bright yellow cube with the original stickers. I left off the 6 replacement stickers so it will be easier to tell where Josiah's go. But really, it isn't hard to tell.

So how is it that I was able to give you a completely stickered cube on time for the party? I hand cut the stickers that were too long with an exacto knife then rounded the corners with scissors. Did you notice that some of the stickers didn't look quite right?

In the meantime I ordered a new Z cube with colorful carbon fiber stickers from SpeedCubeShop. I paid $5 extra for them to do a "Professional Setup Service" on it so it would be smooth and quiet out of the box. But it wasn't. Evidently they did not do the setup, or they did not do it correctly, because three of the six springs were way noisy. So I contacted them via email and went back and forth with Cameron about how to make it right. In the end I decided to lube it myself and asked if he would send me a $5 product to make up for their mistake. He said he would. I asked for a Sticker Remover Kit! It hasn't come yet but when it does I will replace the six stickers on Josiah's cube.

Back In The Groove? I Hope So.

Eyes Closed First Try Solve!!! I didn't take notes, and I started with edges. When I got to the end of the edges it dawned on me that I had learned a wrong letter. It shouldn't be BAR, it should be BAO. I don't know why I thought O was R in the first place, but I'm glad I caught my mistake during the solve. It was good to get it. I used my black stickered Z cube. I really like the way it feels as I twist and turn it. I think Alex called it squishy. It fits.

2 Weeks???

Has it been that long since I did an Eyes Closed Solve on my first try? Yesterday I had another fail on the first try. This morning I got it right.

D' L F U L' F D R F D' F' U R' B' R' F' R D' B' R2
R1
PH
I A
4S DF
O
Pass	4
Chocolate	Vats
Gary	2	Doughnut	King

I'm thinking about going back to using only the F Perm on the corners and M2 as much as possible on the edges. But on this last solve look how much jumping back and forth there was on the edges. Maybe I should go back to using only the F Perm for awhile until I am good at it again. I dunno.

Well, I tried another solve and again messed up on the first try. On the second try I just did the corners then checked, and checked several times through the edges. No messups, but lots of looking at it to make sure I hadn't messed up. Sheesh.

D2 F L F U' B R' U2 F2 U' F U2 L D L2 B R F L' U' L U R D' R'
O K
He	Does	Promote	Compassion
2	Forgive	4	Jesus
U 2
VK OI	1	B4P

I have put the Tangram Cube away. And until I get confirmation that Josiah still wants to learn the Mirror Blocks, I am not solving it like I was every day. I am determined to get back to being able to solve the cube Eyes Closed on the first try consistently. 

Plus I want to start learning OLL for the 2x2x2.

It is a little later in the day. I finally solved one first try start to finish eyes closed! It was less to remember and twist though as three of the top corners only needed to be twisted. Here is the scramble:
L F' L B' L' F' R F' L U R2 B2 L2 D' L' U' L D F' U2 L D2 B' D L

Puzzle Shopping Adventure #2

In the Spring I stumbled across cubes with Carbon Fiber stickers online and bought a cube, a skewb, and a pyraminx. I really like the black stickers on the colored plastic. And they are nice quality puzzles too. Well, the cube did have two issues. I have trouble distinguishing between yellow and white in some light, and it made a spring noise on the red side. I ended up removing the red cap and screw so I could lube the spring. It helped a lot. Last Spring I was doing puzzle shopping on Amazon.

At SpeedCubeShop this Summer I noticed a Z Colorful Carbon Fiber cube that has colorful stickers on black plastic. I thought maybe the colors would be better in dim light, but I was apprehensive about taking it apart to lube it. So the good news is that SpeedCubeShop offers a Professional Setup Service for $4.95 that I was assured by Cameron Brown, the owner of the shop, would eliminate all spring noises. But then the puzzles were sold out! Good news though. They got more and I snatched one up right away. I got it, a bright yellow QiYi Mirror Blocks Cube, and a SCS puzzle bag. There was a Labor Day discount and free shipping. But when it arrived, I'm afraid they hadn't done the Setup Service on it at all. Three springs were noisy, there is no trace of lube in it, and one of the screws was not screwed in as far as the others.

I emailed them. Cameron emailed back to apologize and offered to pay for me to return it so they could make it right. Or, he said I could have some of their lube for free and lube it myself. After my response he even offered to refund the setup cost. Whatever I wanted. I decided what I wanted was a Sticker Remover Kit that costs the same as the Setup did. He said they could do that. And that takes me to Puzzle Shopping Adventure #1...

But what did I do about the noisy springs? I popped out an edge and two corners then took off the three center caps of the bad springs, removed the springs and lubed them real good. I lubed the other screws without taking them out. There is still some spring noise but not nearly as often and not as bad. I wonder if the springs are even necessary...

Another ECS Fail and Another Tangram Cube Pattern and Twisting Corners

First the bad news. On my first attempt at an ECS today I ended up with the back two layers solved and the front layer scrambled somewhat. I think what happened from the looks of it, and what was supposed to happen, is that in the M2 stage somewhere I forgot to F' once.

So now I've entered it in the spreadsheet and will give it another try.

U2 L2 U F2 D' R2 B2 D F' U R D L' B R' B2 D F2 R U B' R2 F U' B2
cycle 3UF
Christ	Vas	4	Our	ESCape
Yes!	Rejoice!	Praise!
Flip 1 & 3
1JG	ABA
Whites on bottom back

August 8, 2017
I gave it that nother try this morning first thing. Weird thing. When I opened my eyes it was all solved except one layer was 90° out. No idea.

Ha! I did it again with the same result. Only this time I figured out where I messed up. So obvious! On the last A I failed to put A back at the end by doing U.

By the way, let's talk about twisting corners. I used to for a long time twist two corners with RU'R' F'U'F D F'UF RUR' D'. And for awhile I used The Move x 6 with D's here and there. Actually if 3 corners need to twist this is probably my favorite way. Then with Roark I used The Move x 2 F The Unmove x 2 F'. But now I am using a method that I've known about for a long time but never used much. RUR'URU2R' L'U'LU'L'U2L.

Practice Practice Practice

Just did an eyes closed solve. I got confused the first time through and forgot at least one of the steps. It was a mess when I opened my eyes. Tried again, writing it out this time in the spreadsheet. Well, I just wrote the letters, even though I had sentences for part of it. During the solve my mind wandered some and I thought maybe I had skipped something but when I opened my eyes it was all solved. Phew.

The Tangram Cube is still fun and has my interest. I try to solve it once a day at least.

The Mirror Blocks Cube lessons with Josiah started last Monday. We got through the intro and the first step in solving it. I should solve it at least once a day too. I got some stickers for mine and am going to get a new one and more stickers. For now my old one is naked so I don't solve it by color, just by shape. That's OK, since that is where I need the most practice anyway.

I also gave the Lidbeck family a bunch of my puzzles. Skewb, Square-1, Super Square-1, Snakes, Magic, Pyraminx, the Tower thingy with all the shades of different colors of balls, and maybe more.

Tangram Cube Pattern

I recently got a Tangram Cube and had fun figuring it out. Once when I was just scrambling it I noticed a pattern developing. With a little effort I was able to fill in a few spots to make this.