[Help Thread] Dan's Beginner Roux (DBR) - a customised and easy Roux-like Beginner method

[Dan the Beginner]

Hi, All. Here I am again, struggling to learn the more advanced part of Roux, and I made an easy customised version for myself, as I struggle to learn the parts after the initial block building. Please check the description on the Youtube page (link below) for more detailed information about this customised version. It is like a half Roux and half DBM (my own customised Beginner LBL method). And I stress, it's a Beginner method and it's meant to be easy and very intuitive. Sorry for the video quality, not showing the beginning few steps inside the frame but they are just moves used for setting up the Blue-White edge piece and the Green-White edge piece. The rest of the video should be clear enough. See Kian Mansour's 4-part video for instructions on block building. I just follow that and therefore use Blue (and Green) for the 2 sides.

Here is the Youtube video - Click here.

UPDATE (Feb 4, 2022) - Here is a newer demo video -

Please help with your critique, suggestion, comment and point out any errors and lack of clarity. The 3+1 LLL (OLL+PLL) steps used to replace CMLL and LSE are already covered in another thread in this area. Click link here. https://www.speedsolving.com/threads/help-needed-for-a-beginners-customised-method.84850/

Any beginner wanting to try this should watch Kian Mansour's video, just Part 1 and 2, click -->. Link here. I also select Blue colour for the left block as in Kian's video. TIP. I always set up the Green-White edge at the same time (as with the Blue-White edge peice). I think it is much easier (for beginners) to do at this time, when there is a lot of freedom of movement, than later.

Update. and another TIP. I found that it is not necessary to use wide-turns if you don't want to (when building the second block). To avoid messing up the Blue block when you need to do a F or B', you can turn the Blue block (using L or L' respectively) so that it is away from harm before doing the F or B' turn, and then you have to turn the Blue block back. So, the whole thing is, e.g. for a F move to insert pieces into the Green block, do - L then F and then L'. These are the only different thing I do to build the blocks. You can see how I did this in the second solve in my video. In fact, you will see me building both the Green and the Blue blocks at the same time, depending which pieces are conveniently located, Green or Blue, and not waiting to complete Blue block first before the Green one. This flexibility is only possible if you have done what's in the first tip above, and it may be very helpful as sometimes some pairs are already there but in the Green colour or some pieces are already well positioned in the loading spot and/or on the top waiting for you to match up, except it may be the Green colour. The 2 tips here are the only changes I made to Kian's Beginner method as shown in his video (Part 1 and 2).

 

[abunickabhi]

Hello there.

The tutorial is novel, and I hope more beginner Roux variants come up.

There is no LL in Roux, its just CMLL and LSE to solve the L10P.

 

[LBr]

A while ago, I came up with this lame keyhole Roux method, where you make a parallel 1x1x2 and 1x1x3 on the bottom, then just do keyhole to solve f2b. Cmll was basically beginners corners. with lse, you should be able to learn the advanced part yourself, as it's not that hard to get used to

 

[Dan the Beginner]

Hello there.

The tutorial is novel, and I hope more beginner Roux variants come up.

There is no LL in Roux, its just CMLL and LSE to solve the L10P.

Thanks for your help. I was misleading, when I mentioned LL and PLL. I have edited that bit now and make it clear.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

A while ago, I came up with this lame keyhole Roux method, where you make a parallel 1x1x2 and 1x1x3 on the bottom, then just do keyhole to solve f2b. Cmll was basically beginners corners. with lse, you should be able to learn the advanced part yourself, as it's not that hard to get used to

Thanks. I am sure I will have to learn the CMLL etc, but I like to take things slower. Already I like Roux better than CFOP, as there are less algorithms. If any beginners are reading, here's what I found, and I am also a begiiner (3 months into this cubing). The block building looks hard and you can get lost, but given enough trials, the obvious moves to take will become obvious. Inserting the pairs of pieces is often like reversing a car into a parking slot, and that's fun and much easier once you get that feel. To me, it's more interesting than the first 2 layer steps in Beginner LBL, and interest and fun are also important or even more important to me, besides speed. I hope this method will make it so simple that it will encourage more beginners to continue, as they hit the 4LLL or CMLL wall. This DBR and also the DBM are slow methods, but they are easy. You just need to know Sune (and where to start using it for the different cases like Hammerhead, Bow Tie ...) to use it. Very intuitive and very little algorithms (until you are ready for the advanced stuff).

 

[abunickabhi]

Thanks. I am sure I will have to learn the CMLL etc, but I like to take things slower. Already I like Roux better than CFOP, as there are less algorithms. If any beginners are reading, here's what I found, and I am also a begiiner (3 months into this cubing). The block building looks hard and you can get lost, but given enough trials, the obvious moves to take will become obvious. Inserting the pairs of pieces is often like reversing a car into a parking slot, and that's fun and much easier once you get that feel. To me, it's more interesting than the first 2 layer steps in Beginner LBL, and interest and fun are also important or even more important to me, besides speed. I hope this method will make it so simple that it will encourage more beginners to continue, as they hit the 4LLL or CMLL wall. This DBR and also the DBM are slow methods, but they are easy. You just need to know Sune (and where to start using it for the different cases like Hammerhead, Bow Tie ...) to use it. Very intuitive and very little algorithms (until you are ready for the advanced stuff).

Would love to see more tutorials from you.

Beginners generally find block building super hard. Its a skill in itself.

 

[tsmosher]

Check out B-Roux:

Beginner Roux 3x3 Method/Variation

Beginner’s Roux(B-Roux) Method by CriticalCubing Roux is a speedcubing method which is on par with CFOP (if not better). However, Beginners learn LBL method first and then transition to CFOP as it is a more logical transition from Beginners method. This makes people not try out Roux method at all...

docs.google.com

I still solve this way with Roux unless there are very obvious blocks, and i would consider Roux my main method.

CMLL/COLL seem daunting, but if you use mirrors/inverses, there's really only ~20 algs by my estimation.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

Thanks, tsmosher. I will try CriticalCubing's method next. I have decided to leave CFOP and go Roux.

Update. For any beginners reading here. note this. There is a video for the CriticalCubing B-Roux method, mentioned in tsmosher's message above. I have watched the first of his video. It is very nice and thorough. He is very patient and clear. As I have already learnt from Kian's video (Part 1 and 2, and trying to learn CMLL in Part 3) and also having come from a couple of months' LBL practise, I am finding it too slow. It should be excellent for those beginners starting out with no cubing experience. His method is also very easy, as the block is built a layer at a time, and the first 2 layers for the same colour are built on opposite sides and then combined. (This is similar to the "daisy" approach in the Beginner LBL method, making it as easy as possible). With Kian's video, it may be a little fast and I struggled a bit as the 2 layers are built at the same time, but I was soon able to learn to do that (having grasped the basics of how cube pieces move around after my first 3 months with LBL). So, I will go back to and continue with Kian's video, and supplement that with other beginner Roux material I can find.

One problem with watching different Roux video is this and it is a strange one - Everybody uses a different colour for the sides (blocks). It would be very helpful if this can be standardised for the beginners (as they move from one video to another). I have seen Blue-Green (for the left and right sides) as well as Green-Blue, also Orange-Red, and, of course the front and back colours change also even if you swap Blue-Green to Green Blue. Confusing, even for this "senior" beginner.

As mentioned elsewhere, I have already made a small change to the basic Roux method, by putting both the Blue-White (first block) and Green-White edge pieces in as the first 2 steps, before starting to build the first block. I find that it is easier overall, and those pieces are usually quite stable and not affected by other movements around.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

Would love to see more tutorials from you.

Beginners generally find block building super hard. Its a skill in itself.

Not much as a tutorial, more like my notes in learning. For me block building is not that hard. What is a problem for me with block building in Roux is finding the pieces that I want to work on. That takes a lot of time. The piece I want always seems to have disappeared or just underneath my fingers..

 

[Dan the Beginner]

I would like to point out that, with this method, only 10 easy algorithms are used - 1 simple algorithm for block building (R' U R - see Kian's Beginner tutorial Part 1), and after that at most 1 (if I can call it an algorithm) to fix the bottom White colours, and 2 layers are built. After that, there are the 1.5 algorithms for converting a Yellow Dot, Yellow Angle or Yellow Line to a cross (F sexy F' + f sexy f'), and then the Flip Flop and Sune (2 algorithms) to swap top corners and to orientate the top layer), plus the 4 PLL M-move ones. The average number of turns per solve is about 80.

I think this Beginner (Roux+DBM) hybrid is the simplest solving method that is actually enjoyable to do, since there is no need to repeat the same routines (which are quite frequent in other Beginner LBL methods to insert or twist corner pieces or to build the second layer). Roux block building provides good variety of solutions, e.g. moving pieces from all possible locations, and it's better brain exercise. It's a bit tricky initially but also nice to do, once it becomes familiar. This DBR method is definitely for exercise and enjoyment, and not for speed.