(4x4x4) How to make a 3x3x4 block ?

[JuLiEn]

Hi everybody,

As I said in the title, I would like to know what is "best" strategy (I mean the fatest way to do it) to build a 3x3x4 block.

Julien

 

[trying-to-speedcube...]

Reduction + petrus I think...

Probably selected edge pairing is faster but it doesn't give a nice continuation.

Oh, and this is not "expert village" stuff... Intermediate, if not beginners...

 

[Hadley4000]

Oh, and this is not "expert village" stuff... Intermediate, if not beginners...

That's what I was afraid of when I saw the split. Everyone is going to be like, "YOU DUMB NOOB! GO DOWN A BOARD."

 

[Dirk BerGuRK]

Hi everybody,

As I said in the title, I would like to know what is "best" strategy (I mean the fatest way to do it) to build a 3x3x4 block.

Julien

Hey Julien,

When I solve a 4x4x4, I always enjoy building a 3x3x4 first. The way I typically do it is:

1. Build opposite centers
2. Build a 1x3x4 Block on L using one of the completed centers
3. Build D center
4. Match and place 4 edge-center-center triplets for F and B

You might notice that step 1 and 2 are the same first two steps of k4. k4 then moves on to solve all the centers where here I try to solve two dedges as well. I have also read about people using a similar technique but a little more structured. They build layers in order from left to right instead of building both simultaneously. Step 4 might seem odd, but it can be surprisingly fluid. It's all about the look-ahead. Also, I could really see step 3 and 4 being combined without too much effort.

Anywho, I really like the 3x3x4. There are a few different ways one can proceed from here: finish reduction, solve last slice/cll/ell, etc. My best times with this technique are sub 1:20 (set almost a year and a half ago), but I almost never practice. Hope that helps.