cubetimer
Regular
I'm probably not the first to think of this, but I was playing with my new 6x6 today and had a cool idea.
First, in case you haven't noticed, any even number cube can be used as any smaller order cube. a 6x6, for example, can be used as a 2x2 by only cutting the cube through the exact centers. It can be used as a 3x3 by splitting each face into a 3x3 grid of 2x2 squares. In other words, each turn is made by taking two outermost layers at a time together.
Anyway, here's the idea. I scrambled it as a 2x2 first, then without solving it I scrambled it as a 3x3. The result is something like a supercube or picture cube. You have to solve it first as a 3x3, which is a little tougher because each 'edge' and 'center' piece is made of potentially 4 colors, not two. Once solved, then you get to solve the resulting 2x2!
You could do this kind of solving for all kinds of other combinations, too. Use your imagination.
So I'm curious what other combinations some of you might come up with. To describe how your splitting the cube for the sake of this thread, I propose a notation something like this:
Splitting the cube only on the centers as a 2x2 means each edge is split into groups of 3 and 3. Splitting it as described to make a 3x3 would be splitting each edge into groups of 2, 2, and 2. So I'll describe this type of solving as 3-3, 2-2-2, since I scramble the 2x2 first in two groups of 3, then the 3x3 in three groups of 2.
You could also split the 6x6 into a 3x3 with edge group sizes of 1,4, and 1. If combined with the 2x2 as described before, this could be described as a 3-3, 1-4-1.
On a 7x7, you could solve a 3x3 within a 3x3 by doing something like 3-1-3, 2-3-2.
Anyway, I'm curious to see what you guys think...
First, in case you haven't noticed, any even number cube can be used as any smaller order cube. a 6x6, for example, can be used as a 2x2 by only cutting the cube through the exact centers. It can be used as a 3x3 by splitting each face into a 3x3 grid of 2x2 squares. In other words, each turn is made by taking two outermost layers at a time together.
Anyway, here's the idea. I scrambled it as a 2x2 first, then without solving it I scrambled it as a 3x3. The result is something like a supercube or picture cube. You have to solve it first as a 3x3, which is a little tougher because each 'edge' and 'center' piece is made of potentially 4 colors, not two. Once solved, then you get to solve the resulting 2x2!
You could do this kind of solving for all kinds of other combinations, too. Use your imagination.
So I'm curious what other combinations some of you might come up with. To describe how your splitting the cube for the sake of this thread, I propose a notation something like this:
Splitting the cube only on the centers as a 2x2 means each edge is split into groups of 3 and 3. Splitting it as described to make a 3x3 would be splitting each edge into groups of 2, 2, and 2. So I'll describe this type of solving as 3-3, 2-2-2, since I scramble the 2x2 first in two groups of 3, then the 3x3 in three groups of 2.
You could also split the 6x6 into a 3x3 with edge group sizes of 1,4, and 1. If combined with the 2x2 as described before, this could be described as a 3-3, 1-4-1.
On a 7x7, you could solve a 3x3 within a 3x3 by doing something like 3-1-3, 2-3-2.
Anyway, I'm curious to see what you guys think...
