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Why are big cubes round

Christopher Mowla

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Okay, this is an off-topic film scene that popped into my head when I read this question.

But the term that you want to google is "pillowed". You will find explanations much more easily using that keyword. For example,

From the wiki,
Speedsolving wiki (V-Cube page) said:
The pillowed shape is to hide the fact that the outer layers of the cube are a little larger than the inner layers; otherwise the outer layers could just fall out.
[Link]

And here's a random reddit discussion about the why. And maybe MeMyselfAndPi talks about the why of the VCube pillowed shape in his videos.
 

Waffles

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Wasn’t it a way to combat the fact that cubes like 666 and above that had equal sized layers wouldn’t just fall apart (quoting the J Perm video now) because they didn’t have bigger outer layers?

Correct me if I’m wrong and they had both but I am not someone who stays up until 4 in the morning studying rubik’s cube theory.

and of course the fact I can’t be bothered to link a video because I’m writing this on my phone
 

SH03L4C3

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The orange centerpiece from your main 3x3
Its better for holding and also helps prevent lockups and jams I'm pretty sure. However, pillowed is fading away because hardware got much better and most people now prefer smaller cube rather than pillowed because it is easier to hold and you can set it down on a table.
 
Last edited:

Tony Fisher

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It's not clear what the original question actually is and I think in the replies two different questions are being confused. Let me reword it like this-

Q1. Why aren't big cubes the same as 3x3x3s with flat sides and covered only in squares?
A. Because during mid turn the corners would over hang completely, preventing a traditional mechanism (not magnets etc) to hold them onto the puzzle. The issue can be solved with very wide outer layers or pillowed with wide outer layers.

Q2. How is the above choice made?
A. I don't know but will guess it's a combination of easier to handle, less size and weight to package, postal costs plus less plastic.
 
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