Clock notation

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The Clock puzzle has an official WCA notation used for scrambles that can also be used in recons with some extra notation.

Notation

In the clock structure, there are 4 dials (also called "wheels" or "gears") and 4 pins that can be up or down. 1 move in the clock is counted when at least 1 dial is turned while the pins are in a specific up/down configuration. These are the pin configurations used in WCA notation for scrambles:

  • UR = Only UR pin is up (up right pin)
  • DR = Only DR pin is up (down right pin)
  • DL = Only DL pin is up (down left pin)
  • UL = Only UL pin is up (up left pin)
  • U = Only UL and UR pins are up
  • R = Only UR and DR pins are up
  • D = Only DR and DL pins are up
  • L = Only DL and UL pins are up
  • ALL = All pins are up

Outside WCA scramble notation, some others pin configs can be set:

  • ur = Only UR pin is down
  • dr = Only DR pin is down
  • dl = Only DL pin is down
  • ul = Only UL pin is down
  • all = All pins are down

Diagonals:

  • / = Only UR and DL pins are up
  • \ = Only UL and DR pins are up

Generally, each pin is associated to it's closest dial, for example, the UR pin is associated to UR dial, DR pin is associated with DR dial and so on.
Note that each dial do a distinct move depending on the pin config, for example, if only one pin is up, turning its dial will turn only the 4 mini clocks around this pin, but turning any other dial will only turn the corners next to the pins down.
If 2 pins are up, then turning any of their dials will turn only the mini clocks that are around these pins, and turning any other dial will turn the 2 corners next to the pins down.
If 3 pins are up, turning any of their dials will turn all mini clocks except the corner next the pin up, which will only move if its dial got turned.
If all pins are up, turning any dial will also turn all 9 mini clocks, but if all pins are down, only the corners will get turned. All these rules work for both sides, which also means turning a dial with its pin down is equivalent of turning it with the pin up in the back face.

Turns

For notating the exact dial turns, a system of 12 whole numbers (from 5- to 6+) is used alongside the pin config (similar to Square-1 notation). It works just like a real clock/watch where each unity represents 1 hour. Examples:

  • D1+ means the bottom pins are up (DR and DL) and one of their dials is turned clockwise in 1 hour.
  • UL5+ means only UL pin is up and its dial is turned clockwise in 5 hours.
  • DR2- means only DR pin is up and its dial is turned counterclockwise in 2 hours.
  • /4- means only UR and DL pins are up and one of their dials is turned counterclockwise in 4 hours.
  • ur6+ means all pins are up except UR and a non UR dial is turned 180° (6 hours is the same clockwise and counterclockwise).
  • ALL3+ means all pins are up and just any dial is turned clockwise in 3 hours.
  • U0+ means no moves are done since advancing 0 hours means not advancing at all.

The clock is solved when all of their mini clocks is pointing to 12 o'clock (in both faces).

There's also some possible rotations to do in clock which is similar to NxNxN notation:

  • y2 means the clock is flipped 180° in the y-axis.
  • x2 means the clock is flipped 180° in the x-axis.
  • z means the clock is rotated 90° clockwise in the z-axis.
  • z' means the clock is rotated 90° counterclockwise in the z-axis.
  • z2 means the clock is rotated 180° in the z-axis.

Simul moves

A move that is made with both hands turning different dials of both up and down pins is called a "simul" move (short for "simultaneous") and they're generally used for solving the front and back side of clock at the same time. Unlike simple moves, simul moves notation require 2 numbers in their notation for the same pin config. The numbers appear inside a parenthesis "()" right after the letter(s) whose the first number is done with left hand and second number is done with right hand. This notation considers that left dials turns are always made with left hand and right dials turns always with right hand, prioritizing the top dials. In the case where one of the hands has to turn one of the bottom dials (like in U or D pin config), the notation considers the right hand to turn. Examples:

  • In R(1-,4+) left hand does 1- in the UL dial and right hand does 4+ in UR dial.
  • In UL(3+,2+) left hand does 3+ in the UL dial and right hand does 2+ in UR dial.
  • In D(2-,6+) left hand does 2- in the UL dial and right hand does 6+ in DR dial.
  • In dl(5-,1+) left hand does 5- in the DL dial and right hand does 2+ in UR dial.
  • In \(3-,1-) left hand does 3- in the UL dial and right hand does 1- in UR dial.
  • In DR(4+,3-) left hand does 4+ in the UL dial and right hand does 3- in DR dial.

For each pin config, the first move in the parenthesis is done with its:

  • Dial pin up: DL, UL, U, L, ur, dr, \
  • Dial pin down: UR, DR, R, D, dl, ul, /

This notation is also used for simple moves where only the the dials of the pins down are turned. This is done by placing 0+ in the pins up turn. Examples:

  • L(0+,2-) means L pins are up but only UR dial is turned (by 2-).
  • UR(6+,0+) means UR pin in up but only UL dial is turned (by 6+).
  • /(4-,0+) means UR and DL pins are up but only UL dial is turned (by 4-).
  • dr(0,3+) means UR, DL and UL pins are up but only DR dial is turned (by 3+).

Simul moves are normally used in advanced methods since they solve more at once, although, it's considered hard to master the simul moves execution, beginners might do both turns one by one at first or do slowly to progressively get used to them.

Scramble

In WCA scramble notation, the scramble should start with the 12 o'clock pointing up and all hands at 12 o'clock (solved) (when all hands point to 12 o'clock in both faces), it doesn't matter which side to start scrambling. After this setup, the scramble follows this fixed pin order:

  • UR, DR, DL, UL, U, R, D, L, ALL, y2, U, R, D, L, ALL

Scramble example: UR2- DR5- DL0+ UL1+ U2+ R0+ D3+ L5- ALL5- y2 U4- R3- D1+ L2- ALL3+

After doing the scramble, the clock hands should be pointing to a random direction each. In this specific scramble above, they should be matching these hours:
2 6 3
10 7 9
9 11 8
(Front side)

9 3 10
8 1 5
4 0 3
(Back side)

See also

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