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This article describes the different mass-produced brands/types of the most commonly solved puzzles. Not everyone has the same preferences, so if you want to find the best cube for yourself you should look at reviews of all of the available types, rather than just following someone else's advice.

Contents 1 Cubes 1.1 3x3x3 1.1.1 Store-bought Rubik's 1.1.2 Rubiks.com DIY 1.1.3 Chinese DIY Kits 1.2 2x2x2 1.2.1 Rubik's 1.2.2 Eastsheen 1.2.3 Self-made 1.3 4x4x4 1.3.1 Rubik's 1.3.2 Eastsheen 1.4 5x5x5 1.4.1 Rubik's 1.4.2 Eastsheen 1.4.3 V-cube 2 Other Twisty Puzzles 2.1 Magics 2.1.1 Rubik's 2.1.2 DIY Magics 2.2 Clocks 2.3 Pyraminx 2.4 Megaminx 2.5 Square-1

Cubes

3x3x3

There are many different types of 3x3x3. Here we attempt to list a few facts about the most common types in use today. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Store-bought Rubik's

Store-bought Rubik's cubes are popular among beginning cubers due to their widespread availability. They are generally decent for speedcubing, but the centers are riveted rather than screwed into the core, so tension is not adjustable. According to User:BeastlyFry there is about a 50% chance of getting a good store-bought cube, :so you might have to buy a few of them before you find one that you like.

Rubiks.com DIY

These cubes are, as the name suggests, available at Rubiks.com. DIY means that the puzzle arrives disassembled and requires you to assemble it yourself. They have been criticized because the center caps do not stay in as well as some other designs, although this can be fixed with either glue or a small square of paper. Still, unlike store-bought cubes, the center tensions are adjustable, so these cubes are favored by some cubers.

Chinese DIY Kits

Chinese DIY kits are designated, in general, by a letter: Type A, Type B, and so on. They are available at several online shops including cube4you and 9spuzzles. Despite the name, some types of Chinese DIY cubes arrive assembled. They all, however, use screws for adjustable tension.

Type A

There are 3 versions of Type A cubes currently being sold:

Type A cubes can make good speedcubes and remain widely used by speedcubers. This is arguably the best type of 3x3 without lube, and feels very creamy and smooth. However, after lubing, its speed falls short of other cubes. Overall, it's still capable of reaching sub-10 second times.

Type A II cubes have "tracks" on the sides of each edge which supposedly help prevent popping. Unfortunately, this can cause the cube to lock up more.

New Type A cubes have little tabs that can be inserted into the bottom of each edge. This is another experiment in popping prevention.

Type B

Type B cubes are the worst cubes for speedcubing. Oddly enough, many of the more 'exotic' cube colors are of this type, such as transparent cubes.

Type C

Type C cubes are somewhat choppy and very fast, faster than Type A and less prone to lockups than Type D. This may be the fastest non-hybrid cube. Some say that it is a replica of the Rubik's DIY, but the caps do not tend to fall off. Many speedcubers use this type.

Type D

Type D cubes ship fully assembled and stickered. The color scheme varies, but generally they are stickered in either the Japanese color scheme or a mirrored version of the Western color scheme. The original stickers are generally not as robust as most vinyl stickers, which is why Cube4You ships a set of better stickers with each cube. Recent Type D orders came stickered with nice vinyl stickers in the Western color scheme. Type D cubes generally pop less than Type A cubes, but tend to lock up. The argument as to which is better for speedcubing, however, has not been settled. Some people recommend replacing the Type D core with a Type A core. It is also recommended to try a hybrid of this cube with Type C cubies.

Type E

Type E cubes are known as Dian-sheng (or DS) cubes. Out of the box they are quite bad, but after lubing with silicone they become much better. One problem is that they are still somewhat prone to locking up. There are two types of DS cubes. Rather than stickers, one of the types have the colors painted onto the sides of the cube. The color scheme is a mirrored version of the Western color scheme. The other type has regular stickers. Both of the painted and stickered types have different cubies.

Type F

Type F cubes are different in that instead of having caps on the inside of the pieces (as all cube pieces are hollow) they have caps on the OUTSIDE so as to keep the rubbing surfaces as smooth as possible. They turn relatively well, and are used by some speedcubers.

2x2x2

There are two major brands of 2x2x2 in use by speedcubers; it is also an option to make your own 2x2 from a 3x3.

Rubik's

Rubik's brand 2x2's are smaller and more prone to locking up than Eastsheen. Although they are not often used, some of the faster 2x2x2 solvers prefer this brand.

Eastsheen

Eastsheen cubes are the most commonly used type. With a little lubrication they become very smooth, and if they are broken in or lubed a lot they begin to cut corners very well.

Self-made

It is also possible to create your own 2x2 by cutting down the edges of a 3x3, gluing a few pieces together, and then creating the corners with plastic sheets. Dan Cohen has successfully done this for his 2x2. An example video tutorial for this type of cube can be found at [1].

4x4x4

As with the 2x2, there are two major brands of 4x4x4 used by speedcubers.

Rubik's

Rubik's brand 4x4s (before the retooling) are often used by older cubers, since they can be extremely good but require a long time to properly break in. These cubes can get surprisingly loose before they become unusably pop-prone, because unlike the Eastsheen cubes they do not have internal pops.

Eastsheen

Nowadays, Eastsheen 4x4s are the preferred cube to use. They are quite smooth, hardly needing any lubrication, and they cut corners fairly well once they are broken in. This cube is significantly smaller than the Rubik's brand cube, so cubers with smaller hands will probably prefer this type. Some cubers claim that white Eastsheen 4x4s turn more smoothly than black ones.

5x5x5

Until recently, there were two major brands of 5x5x5, but recently the V-cube brand has made its way into the speedcubing community by providing an extremely good 5x5x5 which is almost unanimously considered the best brand by far.

Rubik's

The Rubik's 5x5 is not a very good speedcube and is known by some as a "Rubik's Brick" due to the extreme amount of force that was once required to make turns on this puzzle out of the box. Although this puzzle has been retooled, and the newer Rubik's 5x5 cubes are much better, they are still not as good as the V-cubes. The outer layers tend to be much harder to twist than the inside layers. This is the largest of the three main 5x5 brands.

Eastsheen

It is difficult to compare this brand to the Rubik's brand, since the two brands are completely different. Eastsheen 5x5s tend to be very smooth and easy to turn, but they do not cut corners as well as either of the other two types, and the cube tends to become very loose over time. This is the smallest of the three main 5x5 brands, and is in fact the same size as the Eastsheen 4x4.

V-cube

This is almost certainly the best type of 5x5. The mechanism incorporates new principles which allow it to have low friction but also to remain intact even when several pieces are removed. Although it can take some time to break in this type of 5x5 to the point where it is very easy to turn, a V-cube 5x5 will easily cut corners without being broken in or lubed at all.

Other Twisty Puzzles

Magics

Magics are flat folding puzzles which are composed of several flat panels held together by loops of plastic wire. It moves similarly to a Jacob's Ladder, except in two dimensions instead of one. There are two competition events for these type of puzzles (Magic, with 8 tiles, and Master Magic, with 12 tiles), both of which involve solving the puzzle from a specific start into a specific solved state.

Rubik's

Rubik's was the first company to produce Magics, and because of this most Magics on the market come from that company.

DIY Magics

Some Chinese shops, such as Cube4You, sell DIY magic kits, which come with tiles and string and require the buyer to print out paper inserts and then assemble the puzzle themselves. These types of Magics have a very wide variety of tightnesses, and can end up either too tight to stay flat or so loose that wires often pop off.

Clocks

The only commonly used type of Clock is the Rubik's brand. Since that company no longer produces this puzzle, to get one it is usually necessary to use eBay to find one. Fortunately this is a very common and inexpensive puzzle.

Pyraminx

(STUB)

Megaminx

(STUB)

Square-1

(STUB)