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Up to Date Best Cubes on the Market?

pjk

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Edit: A new thread has been created from this thread: https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/threads/which-cube-should-i-get-up-to-date-recommendations.70960/

For new solvers joining the community or old cubers who want to know the best cubes to get today, where is the best place to check? We can look at different cube shops to see what is offered, but that isn't ideal as there is a paradox of choice issue.

In this puzzle reviews forum, people have posted countless reviews, and the "What Cube Should I Get?" thread in the Hardware area has over 10,000 replies, yet there isn't a thread with the latest and greatest cubes on the market (as voted by the community) for people to look at (which is up to date). There is this spreadsheet in the works which shows what some of the fastest solvers are using, but it isn't ideal as many are custom.

So, what is currently the best way for cubers to find the latest and greatest? Should we start a new thread and keep it updated, or a wiki page? I think it would be useful to many people to have something updated monthly or bi-monthly with the best cubes for different pricing budgets. Maybe the top 3 of each puzzle type? Let me know your thoughts.
 
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pjk

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I believe speedcubereview.com has a list of rated cubes where users rate cubes they review and the cube with the most points wins. Last I checked the GTS2M was listed #1.
That's a good start, but is it managed by 1 person or a group? It would be nice to have something that everyone can contribute to so the opinions are of the community rather than an individual. It would be good to have a top 3 in each category so people of different budgets can choose.

Maybe someone with a bit of coding knowledge could make an algdb.net style webpage, where people suggest puzzles for each event and vote or rate them, this should probably include a budget, manufacturer and premium setup category for each event.
That would be a great idea, but would take some work.

The goal to start is to simply have an updated page with top 3 puzzles of each event (2x2, 3x3, 4x4, etc.) with prices, as decided by the community. And each month or as new cubers come up, we can update it. We can do it as a thread to start, or a wiki page. A stickied thread that we update regularly may be the best start. What do you think?
 

AvGalen

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Thanks for mentioning speedcubereview. It looks quite useful at first glance, but at second glance I am missing a lot of information like "releasedate" or "price-indication". There also don't seem to be enough reviews to be reliable so I will probably get more info from some of the linked videos than from the actual site
 

cuber314159

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That would be a great idea, but would take some work.

The goal to start is to simply have an updated page with top 3 puzzles of each event (2x2, 3x3, 4x4, etc.) with prices, as decided by the community. And each month or as new cubers come up, we can update it. We can do it as a thread to start, or a wiki page. A stickied thread that we update regularly may be the best start. What do you think?

I can't really figure out how to do this but we could make it so that the ratings of a particular cube fall so for example, a cube may come out and originally be rated 5* by many people but over time that is obviously going to go down as better cubes come out, so there could be an algorithm that says that every month the cube loses 1-2% of its points so over time the cube becomes obselete, as it would in reality.
 

pjk

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I can't really figure out how to do this but we could make it so that the ratings of a particular cube fall so for example, a cube may come out and originally be rated 5* by many people but over time that is obviously going to go down as better cubes come out, so there could be an algorithm that says that every month the cube loses 1-2% of its points so over time the cube becomes obselete, as it would in reality.
I think a start could be a new thread listing the recommended puzzles as of the present date. Then overtime in the thread we can discuss new puzzles, updates, etc. and update the first post accordingly. It isn't ideal but would at least be useful as long as the thread stays active and updated by the community. The "Where to buy cubes thread" and "What cube should I get" threads are popular, but way out of date.

What do you think about that as a start?
 
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lucarubik

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I want to say real quick that i think that "value" should not be part of the rating, even tho it is in most cases like amazon and such
If you can see both the rating and the price why would the second be part of the first
I think making a budget category is almost a must
And yes i think there should be an easily accesible very simplified often updated tier list of cubes, and non cubes.
I like the wiki page, although some people might dismiss its information assuming its outdated
 

pjk

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Here is a rough draft below. I need help getting this filled in so we can then create a thread to further discuss and update this over time. The first few I started with came from this spreadsheet of what the top cubers use. Please go ahead and copy below and make additions and reply here.

Once we get at least something setup for each puzzle, it will be a good start and useful resource for new comers and people who aren't super active but want to buy a new cube. I'm certainly not in a position to make recommendations as I've used the same puzzles for years. But recently I wanted to buy some new upgraded puzzles and noticed there wasn't a good spot to find the best/most recommended. As a result, I looked up what the top solvers were using and went from there. This thread should be useful for others in a similar position.

-------------
What Cube Should I Get? What are the best puzzles on the market today?

Below the the top recommendations as of September, 2018. If you suggest different puzzles than what is shown here, reply to this thread to discuss so we can keep this post updated with the most recommended cubes.

2x2x2:
Budget:
Great:
Expert: GAN 249 M 2x2 - $17.99 - Buying options:

3x3x3:
Budget:
Great:
Expert: GAN 356 Air SM 3x3 - $49.99 - Buying options:

4x4x4:
Budget:
Great:
Expert: Cubicle WuQue M 4x4 - $59.99 - Buying options:

5x5x5:
Budget:
Great:
Expert: Cubicle WuShuang M 5x5 - $64.99 - Buying options:

6x6x6:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

7x7x7:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

Megaminx:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

Pyraminx:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

Skewb:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

Clock:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:

Square-1:
Budget:
Great:
Expert:
 

pjk

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Could we not merge this information with the document that contains the top cubers' cubes and make two tabs in this document? That way we can maintain 1 document with all the relevant information.
Good idea, the spreadsheet can be edited by anyone right now. Please create a new tab and fill in as much as you can there.
 

AbsoRuud

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Good idea, the spreadsheet can be edited by anyone right now. Please create a new tab and fill in as much as you can there.

I made a tab for all the WCA events. I didn't add feet, blind and multiblind since I figured people just use their regular 3x3x3 main(s) for that.

I added a couple of cubes as examples, my ratings are fictional. Feel free to edit. :)
 
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pjk

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I made a tab for all the WCA events. I didn't add feet, blind and multiblind since I figured people just use their regular 3x3x3 main(s) for that.

I added a couple of cubes as examples, my ratings are fictional. Feel free to edit. :)
Great! Now we just need the community here to help edit fill it in. I think having Budget/Great/Expert is a better idea than ratings. This simplifies it a bit for people wanting to just buy a great cube, or the best cube.

I know a lot of people here would know which ones to recommend right away, so if you're reading this, please help contribute in the tabs on this spreadsheet here.
 

cuber314159

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I made a tab for all the WCA events. I didn't add feet, blind and multiblind since I figured people just use their regular 3x3x3 main(s) for that.

I added a couple of cubes as examples, my ratings are fictional. Feel free to edit. :)
Could you edit it so that everyone can add their ratings in the columns beside the cube and the spreadsheet calculates the average rating, and ideally, deplete the rating at a rate of 1-2% per month as cubes become outdated.
 

AbsoRuud

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I like both ideas. Both are easily done. I already added "Class" where we can put budget, great, expert. Of course some budget cubes are super good cubes, and can get a high rating. And some expensive cubes are not so good and can get a low rating, so I think rating should stay, but a weighted rating from various users should be possible. Having it degraded is trickier though. Because for example the Weipo is still a top cube, but it's not the newest, so the rating would have gone down a lot over the last year. Which isn't fair, it still rocks. :) I don't think we should let cubes drop in rating automatically. If people change their mind about the ratings of the cube, it makes more sense for them to change their rating on it in the list.

Edit: Weighted average added. I put three names in the columns as examples. The function counts until column ZZ so that should be more than enough columns for everyone to get their vote in.
 
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lucarubik

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I still some guidance should be given to anyone who wants to score a cube
from the top of my head i'd say value is or is nto a thing, noise is or is not a thing and what would be a 0/10 and what would be a 10/10
 
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