A new task has birthed: The Megaminx.

[Sniph]

I was pleased to find that my Megaminx has arrived from Mefferts today. It's a bit smaller then I expected, and much more intimidating. I just need some general advice. 1.)I need to lube it, what do I do? and 2.)I then need to learn how to solve it

Haha, this will be fun. - Jeff

 

[dougreed]

1) The process for disassembling the Megaminx is very similar to that of the 3x3x3. Just turn a layer half a turn (36 degrees) and try to pry up an edge. It should come out easily. You might inadvertently pull out a corner or two in the process.

2) If you can solve a 3x3x3, you can solve a megaminx. Some 3x3x3 algorithms work well on it, but mostly you'll just have to use intuition. Commutators will help a lot on the LL.

-Doug

 

[dougreed]

By the way, if your Megaminx is anything like mine, it is probably made very well. Even then, you probably don't want to lubricate it right when you get it. It might be a good idea to break it in a bit.

Also, you have to watch out for the parity problem if you got a six-color Minx. Since there are two of each edge, sometimes you will get to the LL and have something impossible (e.g. a 2-cycle of edges). I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to solve that... if you need more help, feel free to ask.

-Doug

 

[Sniph]

Thank you for the advice Doug.
Its a 12 colored cube so i don't have to worry about the paritys. I played with it alot yesterday and I figured out how to solve everything except the last layer. I solved the whole thing twice, with the help of a guide, but the last layer still confuses me. I have never worked with commutators at all, so it is kind of difficult. Any suggestions? :blink:

 

[dougreed]

Well the way I see it you can either learn commutators (moderately easy and rewarding) or you can learn Megaminx algs (easy and less rewarding). It's really up to you. Which would you rather do?

 

[Sniph]

Commutators by far.. Since I can apply them to other cubes

 

[dougreed]

Originally posted by Sniph@Apr 20 2006, 07:11 PM
Commutators by far.. Since I can apply them to other cubes

http://s12.invisionfree.com/rubiks/index.php?showtopic=175

I've been meaning to write something up like that for a while.

HTH,
Doug

 

[Erik]

The mefferts megaminx' are often very stiff, it is best to play with it for a while so the inside wears of a little and then lube it.

 

[Joël]

For information about commutators, you can also look at my site:

http://www.math.leidenuniv.nl/~jnoort/inde...ation=tutorial7

I am quite proud that I have this section on my site