Growth does not occur linearly, but is characterized by jumps and leaps amidst lengthy plateaus. And so it was with this little method of mine. After picking up cubing again, I made a number of conceptual breakthroughs that removed the over-reliance on look-ahead and vastly increased the number of options one has for optimally solving each sub-step. While there are a number of similarities with the old way of doing things, this latest iteration of the rice method will look very different from before.
The post will include a brief synopsis of the steps, define some terms, followed by an in-depth explanation of each part, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the method, have some example solves and videos, then end with advanced material. So let's get to it.....
Synopsis
0. Don't get confused by the fact that we will start with blue as D, then end up with white as D.
1. Make a cross using middle layer edges with blue and green edge pairs on the bottom
2. Solve blue corners in the D layer, then green corners in the U layer
3. Insert green edge pair into U layer
4. AUF to make columns and rotate the cube so that white is bottom and yellow is top like normal
5. Insert a white edge pair into the DL/DR slot with the correct centers
6. LSE
Definitions
Edge pair: Two edges of the same primary color that have opposite secondary colors that are in the correct position relative to each other. For example, the blue/red edge and blue/orange edge is considered an edge pair when you can form a blue line with them, such as when they are in the UF and UB positions, respectively.
Corner pair: Two adjacent corners that are in correct position relative to each other. For example, the UFR and UFL corners. Discussed further in the last section.
Middle layer edges: Assuming the traditional "white is always down" philosophy, the middle layer edges would consist of the blue/red, blue/orange, green/red, and green/orange edges.
Layer: What you think of when referring to a given side/slice of the cube. Note that the centers won't be relevant until Step 5, so they can be ignored until then.
The 6 Step Program
Step 0: Essentially, we are solving for the middle layer edges first so we don't have to hunt for them mid-solve, building the corners around that, then making some adjustments so that we end up in the same place as what would be accomplished by block-building and CMLL in Roux.
Step 1: Let blue be the D color and green be the U color for now. Make a cross in the D layer with two edge pairs using the middle layer edges, one vertical and one horizontal. An example would be a blue/red+blue/orange edge pair in the DF/DB position and a green/red+green/orange edge pair in the DR/DL position. Note that you don't have to pair up these edges before putting them in place; they can just be put in one at a time. Pick the side with an easy cross to be your D layer.
Step 2: Now that we have a cross, we want to put the blue corners in the D layer. Make sure to place them correctly relative to the blue edge pair. Then, solve for the green corners. While the vast majority of 2x2 or CMLL algs will keep the cross or at most dislodge an edge that can easily be inserted, I would consider using a different alg if two or more edges are moved around.
Step 3: At this point, AUF so that doing an M2 move will insert the green edge pair of the cross into the correct position in the U layer. Line the columns up.
Step 4: Rotate the cube so that white is on the bottom and yellow is on the top.
Step 5: Using only U, D, and slice moves, make a white/blue+white/green edge pair and put it in the U layer. Then, use slice moves to line up the blue center with the green columns, AUF the edge pair, and do an M2 to insert the pair with the correct center.
Step 6: LSE
Advantages of using the rice method:
1. No algs needed, very intuitive
2. Allow for a range of solving styles, from rigid speedsolves to CN and FMC solves
3. Don't have to block-build
Disadvantages of using the rice method:
1. Requires knowing LSE
2. Colors can be confusing
3. Solving for the corners can eat up a lot of moves if you're not careful, but knowing algs will help.
Example solves:
Example 1: uses corner pairing
Example 2: also uses corner pairing
Example 3: uses block building to solve the first layer
Example 4: also uses block building
A poor attempt at a tutorial video
Intermediate
1. The cross and corners can be made with red and orange being the U and D layers. Even with a blue/green cross, you can have the D corners be green.
2. Inserting D corners one at a time can be inefficient, so making a corner pair and inserting that will speed things up. Lets say that we are solving for a blue DFR/DFL corner pair. If blue is point up, place the pair above where it needs to go and do xMF2M' to insert it. If blue is facing the right side, then either perform xrFM'FRF' or xMSR'FS'M' to insert the corner pair. Mirror this if blue is facing the left side.
3. When inserting the DL/DR edge pair, you can solve for a yellow edge pair instead of a white one and make yellow be your new D layer.
Advanced
4. Blockbuilding the D layer is very move-efficient, since you can build a "first block" and tack on a row to that. Another option is to build three rows; the sky is the limit.
5. Color-neutrality: One thing I've noticed is that I've been able to take advantage of situations where a number of 1st layer pieces are already in position or easy to solve for that would not be an option even for Roux solvers.
Here are some of the best solutions I've found that illustrate this:
Example 5
Example 6
Example 7
Example 8
Example 9
