Rubik's Cube

The Rubik's Cube is a three-dimensional puzzle cube as well as the world's best-selling toy of all time, with over 300 million sold. It was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. 

In a classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six faces is covered by nine stickers. Each sticker is of one of six solid colours: white, red, blue, orange, green, or yellow. In currently sold models, white is opposite yellow, blue is opposite green, orange is opposite red, and some might replace blue with black or purple. The goal of the puzzle is to make all 6 faces have the same color.

 Types of Cubes 
The standard Rubik's Cube is 3x3x3 (3 blocks across, 3 blocks down, and 3 blocks deep). Cubes can be made in 2x2, 4x4, or larger versions.  the largest cube is 33 x 33, which is also 3D printed.

Another type of Rubik's Cube is shaped like a cuboid: a cube with uneven sides. These come in sizes including 3x2x2, 3x5, and 4x3. Some cuboids can shapeshift or jumble. That means the cube goes out of its original shape. To solve a shapeshifting cube it must return to the original shape before it is considered solved. 

Other versions include the Megaminx, Pyraminx, Rubik's clock, Mirror Cube, and Square 1.

 Structure 
A Rubik's Cube is a cube split into a number of smaller cubes with different colored faces attached to a rotating piece of metal in the middle. In total, there are 26 small cubes. The Rubik's Cube has six sides with 9 little cubes attached to each side. Each side is one of six colors. Red, yellow, blue, orange, white and green are the most common colors. 

The cubes can be rotated and twisted along rows and faces. The aim of the puzzle is to make each face of the cube have the same color. 

 Methods 
Solving a Rubik's Cube requires logic and thinking. There are many methods of solving the puzzle.  

The simplest one is known as the Beginner's Method. In this method, first the white cross is solved. Then the white layer is solved, followed by the middle layer. Finally, the yellow cross is solved, then the yellow corners.RBL_solve_guide_CUBE_US_5.375x8.375in_AW_27Feb2020_VISUAL.pdf (rubiks.com)  

Today the most commonmethod is called CFOP, also called the Fridrich Method, named after the popularized Jessica Fridrich. It starts with the white cross, then F2L (First 2 Layers), followed by OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer), and PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer). Other methods also include Petrus, ZZ, Roux, and others.  

 Records 
The world record for fastest single solve was set on April 13th, 2025 by Xuanyi Geng at 3.05 seconds. The world record for an average of 5 solves was set by Yiheng Wang on September 21st, 2024 at 4.09 seconds.

According to Guinness World Records, the fastest time a robot has solved a Rubik's Cube is 0.637 seconds. This was done by the robot "Sub1 Reloaded", created by Albert Beer. However, a faster time of 0.38 seconds was claimed by a robot built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Related pages
Pocket Cube
Rubik's Revenge
Professor's Cube

 References 

 Other websites 

 Rubik's cube World Record by Patrick Ponce
 The Rubik's Cube's solver application
 The Rubik's Cube's solution guide
 The Rubik's Cube's wiki 
 Simple solving manual 
 The Rubik's Cube's official website