Cube Mechanics

I’m a pretty big fan of Rubik’s Cubes.  In the past year, I’ve managed to grow my collection of this resurgent puzzle toy to around 20-something pieces, mostly by purchasing knock-offs from China

Ironically, some of these cheap imitation cubes have trumped the quality (in terms of smoothness and ease of movement) of the original ones.  I generally consider the one’s carrying the official Rubik’s Cube logo with the URL rubiks.com as ‘original’.  There’s actually been only 3 widely available branded variants (all of which are only exclusively available at Toys ‘R Us outlets here in the Philippines) in the market before the past couple of weeks.  There’s the regular-sized 3×3 cube, a 4×4 cube that’s slightly larger overall but is comprised of smaller ‘cublets’, and the 5×5 cube that has even smaller unit pieces.

Don’t get me wrong, the branded cubes have excellent build quality and come in very nice packaging.  It’s just that their mechanics leave a lot to be desired especially if you plan on posting fast times when solving for speed.  In fact, I’d have to say the jewel of my collection would be a white, obscurely-branded 3×3 cube that cost half the price of the regular branded 3×3 but slides along like a well-oiled machine and has spring-supported center faces that prevent it from jamming during fast turns.

During one of our covert sorties into Toys ‘R Us with my officemate and fellow Rubik’s addict one lunchbreak last week, we spotted  a new branded variant of the 3×3 cube.  It came in a bigger package with descriptions in Japanese text.  The package contained a kit composed of a tiny flathead screwdriver and an equally minute Phillips screwdriver plus a small plastic tube of oil (or is it silicone?).  Prominently displayed on the packaging were the words “FOR SPEED CUBING”.  We were hooked.

After getting out of the store in a hurry to minimize anymore damage to our wallets (900 bucks each. Ouch.) we were giddy with anticipation to play with our new toy.  So giddy that my companion wasn’t able to make it past the check-out counter without opening his.  On my part, I barely managed to restrain myself until after I got home.

So how was it?  At first glance, there’s nothing to differentiate it from the regular 3×3 when fully assembled.  It’s the same size and has the same branded sticker on the white center face.  I couldn’t determine any perceptible difference in weight either.  What’s notably distinct is it allows you to remove each center face panel (using the flathead screwdriver) which hides a screw that you can adjust with the Phillips.  The included pamphlet doesn’t really help much unless you can read Japanese.

I’m not exactly in the dark with how speed cubers get their cubes to spin so fast so I figured taking the entire thing apart then applying a few drops of the lubricant on every internal surface while loosening the screws on all six panels should help with its mechanics .  My first ‘fast’ attempt in solving the now reconfigured cube resulted in it exploding into a heap of plastic.  Must have gotten it a bit too loose.  Anyway, with a couple of more attempts and adjustments, I think I’ve finally hit upon the sweet spot.  It’ll probably vary according to the way each person handles their cube.

Using this self-(re)assembled cube, I’ve managed to post my best time yet (that’s a slow sub 1:30 to most hardcore cubers).  Having springs supporting the center pieces like my white cube certainly helps reduce lock-ups.  It has now probably taken the ‘fastest cube’ title in my collection.

All-in-all, casual or first-time cube buyers who plan to learn would probably be better off getting the regular 3×3 at 1/3 the price, but it can certainly be a must-have item for serious speed-cubers and compulsive collectors like me.