[Member Intro] Back to cubes after a long hiatus

[ryuusei86]

Hi everyone! I'm R86 from Texas, USA. While on one of my many YouTube rabbit trails recently, I learned that Rubik's cubes are either a thing once again, or else have never stopped being a thing (I suspect the latter). I remember owning a Rubik's cube and a few other twisty puzzles way back when I was in junior high school in the early 1980s and they first came out. I know for sure that I had one original Rubik's cube plus at least two smaller 3x3s. I'm pretty sure I also had a Pyraminx, and The Orb. I remember also having a pamphlet that taught what I'm pretty sure is now known as the beginners' method of solving Rubik's cubes.

So I went to high school and college and grad school, and somewhere along the line all those items disappeared. Either I got tired of them and discarded them, or my mother did it while I was away. And I never thought about twisty puzzles again, until about a week ago on that aforementioned rabbit trail. And I couldn't get it out of my mind how much I used to love those things. And I thought I just had to have one again.

A lot has changed in 35 years, hasn't it? When I visited The Cubicle's website, I learned that multiple Chinese makers have improved on the original technology. So after some research, I ordered a MoYu Tanglong 3x3, a Type C WitTwo 2x2, one of those "Magic" things, and a couple other non-twisty puzzles to get me over $50 for free shipping. They are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

I realize this place is called SpeedSolving.com, but I'm not confident that this late in life I can become a speed solver. Back when I was a kid, I think I was pretty happy with myself to be able to solve a Rubik's cube in a few minutes. But who knows? Maybe the improved technology and newer solving methods will inspire me. Certainly I've always appreciated efficiency and manual dexterity. I do have far too many other hobbies though.

Either way, I hope that there's some way I can contribute here. At worst, I hope that I can suck up a lot of information and not cause trouble. The area on cube theory especially interests me as I love math.

Thanks for reading, and see you all around!

 

[Ordway Persyn]

don't worry about being a Speedcuber As long as you cube to be faster, you're a speedcuber regardless of how fast you are.

Also cubing wasn't very popular in the 90's but starting in 2003 it has started growing in popularity.

And welcome

 

[newtonbase]

Welcome. I too had a cube on the early 80s but didn't learn to solve solve until 2 years ago aged 41. Come and join us older cubers on this thread https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/...discussions-(was-Hi-Marcel-from-Holland-here) We're a friendly bunch and can help you get back into the swing of things.

 

[shadowslice e]

Hello! Welcome to the forums

I think you may find this thread quite interesting

 

[RhysC]

Yay, love seeing some of the original cubers returning to their natural habitats :3

 

[shadowslice e]

Yay, love seeing some of the original cubers returning to their natural habitats :3

The real OCs

 

[stoic]

Hi and welcome to the forums!
My story was similar to yours, and I hope you enjoy your time cubing as much as I do.
This site is a great resource, and there's always plenty of people willing to help.

 

[ryuusei86]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! My package arrived from The Cubicle, containing all the items I expected. I opened and scrambled the 2x2 first, and I'm pretty sure it took me no more than 45 minutes to solve.

But I won't be intimidated. I'm thinking of skipping straight over the 3x3 to a 4x4, which I'm sure I'll be able to solve in less than a day.

Just kidding. I'll scramble the 3x3 next. I'm aiming for under half an hour, with the cheats in front of me of course.

ETA: I can't claim great times yet, but for what it's worth, I've already fixed my MoYu Tanglong 3x3, which had a weird rattle. I took it apart and narrowed the rattle down to one corner piece. Eventually I managed to take that piece apart, and a tiny plastic rod about 1/2" long fell out. It didn't look like it was broken off from somewhere, but rather an extra piece that got in there somehow in the factory. I'm going to guess that this is not rare.

 

[MoyuFTW]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! My package arrived from The Cubicle, containing all the items I expected. I opened and scrambled the 2x2 first, and I'm pretty sure it took me no more than 45 minutes to solve.

But I won't be intimidated. I'm thinking of skipping straight over the 3x3 to a 4x4, which I'm sure I'll be able to solve in less than a day.

Just kidding. I'll scramble the 3x3 next. I'm aiming for under half an hour, with the cheats in front of me of course.

ETA: I can't claim great times yet, but for what it's worth, I've already fixed my MoYu Tanglong 3x3, which had a weird rattle. I took it apart and narrowed the rattle down to one corner piece. Eventually I managed to take that piece apart, and a tiny plastic rod about 1/2" long fell out. It didn't look like it was broken off from somewhere, but rather an extra piece that got in there somehow in the factory. I'm going to guess that this is not rare.

Good job. I've never heard of extra pieces in the cube though. Funny. I wonder what a small plastic rod like that is used for...

What does ETA even stand for? I thought it meant Estimated Time of Arrival...

 

[ryuusei86]

It does, but in web forums I've seen it used for Edited To Add.

The little black thing looked like one of the little struts inside the corner piece, but again none appeared to be missing or broken off. All's well that ends well I guess.

I have to say, I think I remember how that original Rubik's Cube felt all those years ago, and this MoYu TangLong is in a completely different category. It just feels so buttery in comparison. I think I can solve the 3x3 in under 3 minutes now, as long as I have my cheat sheet in front of me. I have my doubts that incredible speeds await me, but it sure is fun solving this thing and its little brother.

Also I may or may not have ordered a Pyraminx today.

ETA: Australia! I've had an e-mail pal in Sydney for many years.

 

[newtonbase]

It does, but in web forums I've seen it used for Edited To Add.

The little black thing looked like one of the little struts inside the corner piece, but again none appeared to be missing or broken off. All's well that ends well I guess.

I have to say, I think I remember how that original Rubik's Cube felt all those years ago, and this MoYu TangLong is in a completely different category. It just feels so buttery in comparison. I think I can solve the 3x3 in under 3 minutes now, as long as I have my cheat sheet in front of me. I have my doubts that incredible speeds await me, but it sure is fun solving this thing and its little brother.

Also I may or may not have ordered a Pyraminx today.

ETA: Australia! I've had an e-mail pal in Sydney for many years.

Those pieces are called torpedoes and it's not unheard of for them to turn up like that.

You will be under a minute before you know it. It's a great barrier to break. After that it just depends on how much work you want to put in.

Pyraminx is fun and easy. You could try a skewb too although I don't like them as they turn funny.

 

[ryuusei86]

Oh, I'm sure I'll be getting a Skewb at some point, and probably a Square-1 also, in no particular order. Probably a 4x4 too, although I have met the demon called Parity and that thing probably has it all the time.

Just what I needed, another addiction.