After a lot of competitions, I know from experience many of these have actually happened:
- Take the maximum time allowed for each solve. Even if you solve the cube in under ten minutes, just sit there until your time's about to run out and hit the timer.
I have seen many top cubers wait for specific times (20.00, 22.95, 30.00 or 1:00.00 after a bad solve or pop), but never the maximum time
- Solve until you get to the last layer. "Accidentally" screw up the PLL and start over. Repeat as necessary.
I think Ron once did this really accidentally on 2x2x2. He just couldn't finish it and kept making mistakes, getting a 5x.xx time. (he got the WR later as his revenge)
- Enter the blindfold competition even if you don't know how to blindfold *coughDavidBuckcough*. Spend ten minutes "memorizing" *coughRafaelAlgarincough* before donning the blindfold and then madly twisting the cube for a few seconds.
As you already mentioned, this has actually happened. Also, the Leyan Lo imposter from Letterman comes to mind (can't solve the cube, pretends to be Leyan Lo, tries to break the WR, fails, tries again????)
- Fall asleep while wearing the blindfold.
Does dosing away, waking up, seeing three unsolved cubes, solving them, then realising I was doing FMC at that moment and those unsolved cubes had the scramble performed on them count (Sweden 2007)
- In between solves while the judges aren't watching, pocket random pens, stopwatches, cube covers, and anything else that isn't bolted down.
Happened to me by accident. I found 3 stopwatches and 3 pens in my pocket after 30 minutes of judging
- Start the timer, take the cube, and start walking away as you solve.
- Run laps around the solving tables while you solve.
Erik did a mixture of these this while solving some puzzle (I think MegaMinx)
- Register for every event in the competition. Don't bring a single cube with you and insist on borrowing other people's.
Happened to Dennis (20 borrowed cubes for multi-blind among others) because he left his bag of cubes at a bar the night before (the cubes have safely returned since)
- Insist on using custom built teeny tiny cubes. Like the size of Shelley's cube earrings.
Do those actually turn?
I have seen people use mini-cubes, mini-magics, but also huge 3x3x3 and best of all, Adams H U G E 2x2x2
- Sticker your cubes with nothing but gold, silver and other shiny, glittery, metallic, holographic, etc. stickers. (side note.. holographic stickers? that could be pretty cool...)
You should look at some of the pyraminx stickers. Those are "nice"
- Lube your cube with something nasty, drippy and smelly *coughLemonPledgecough*. Make sure it leaks out of the cube and into the scrambler's hands.
The opposite has happened to me. I gave a perfectly clean an nice cube to the scramblers and they returned a greasy, sticky, sweaty cube (not nice for one-handed. Scramblers should be wearing gloves and/or not eat chocolate)
- Hand the scramblers a very stiff, almost impossible to move cube. When they finally finish scrambling it, tell them you changed your mind and wish to use a different cube. Or just disappear from the venue. Hell if you're going to solve that cube.
I have scrambled some horribly stiff cubes/pyraminxes/clocks/megaminxes, but also some puzzles (especially pyraminxes-tips) that can turn just by blowing
None of the above have resulted in penalties by the judges or disqualification of the competitor.
