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Shorten Megaminx scrambling notation?

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Thieflordz5

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I was thinking, don't you just need the +/- and U, as long as you know where to start, (like starting D+, -) since each twist is double, you don't need the extraneous +/-
So a scramble might look like this:
R+ - + + - + - + - U D- + .... and so on.
You could also have the beginning of each letter so the same scramble would be:
R+ D- R+ D+ R- D+ R- D+ R- U D- R+...

Even with the second method, you shorten the notation by 33.3%!
What do you guys think?
 

Lucas Garron

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The scramblers at competitions will generally not be the people familiar with scrambling minx (those are competing!). It helps if the official notation is clear.

Unofficially, you can condense your scrambles any way you want.
 

Stefan

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Also, the alternating letters and the width help me to not lose track of where I am, especially when the puzzle locks up or even pops and I lose focus for a moment.

I prefer
R-- D-- R-- D-- R-- D-- R-- D-- R-- D-- U'
to
R- - - - - - - - - - U'.
 
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TMOY

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Considering a megaminx scramble is only 60 bits of information (since the Us always match with the Ds they follow), you can also write it as a 60-digit binary number. Or a 15-digit hexadecimal number.
Yes, it's a stupid idea, but it's the "puzzle theory" section here, it's not meant to be practical :D
 
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