# How many...



## Mr. E (Jul 14, 2008)

Did not give in and learned how to solve 3x3x3 to 5x5x5 all by themselves? At first i could not even come close to solving the 3x3x3 but with a little bit of time and a little online help i was able to and have my time down to about 40 seconds using the LBL method and a little F2L too (  ). The other ones i learned how to do both of them LBL untill the last layer and then had to make up another trillion Algorithms to finish them (especially the 4x4 F&^*%^G parody's). But i felt so happy and proud that i accomplished something that challenging without any help.

P.S. The 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 took me both about a week to a week and a half to finish, but i now can salve them about 10 to 15 min each.


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## Hadley4000 (Jul 14, 2008)

I figured out all my puzzles on my own. 2-5, megaminx, pyraminx, square-1, magic etc...

My method I used, is I figure it out myself. Once I figure it out, I then find a tutorial so i can do it every time.

3x3x3 took me a week. Long week. I was pretty much running into walls.


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## Mr. E (Jul 14, 2008)

Yea same here. I had the hardest time trying to picture what i was doing and how to get one piece where I wanted it without totally ruining what i had already worked on. I really want to get the other cubes especially a 7x7x7 and at least one crazy puzzle like one of yours


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## fanwuq (Jul 14, 2008)

3-5 Cubes--guide

Self--

2x2, anyother sized cubes, pyraminx, megaminx, gigaminx, other weird things on gelatinbrain...


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## Mr. E (Jul 14, 2008)

yea i feel pretty confident in being able to solve most other cubes now that i got over the big hurdle of the 4x4x4 and the 5x5x5 (especially 4x4) so i think i will try to look around on ebay of other sites for weird shaped puzzles.


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## Feanaro (Jul 14, 2008)

Yep, I learned the 4x4 and 5x5 by myself. Took me 5 minutes after first opening my 4x4 to solve it, and 7 minutes to solve my 5x5.


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## Hadley4000 (Jul 14, 2008)

Mr. E said:


> Yea same here. I had the hardest time trying to picture what i was doing and how to get one piece where I wanted it without totally ruining what i had already worked on. I really want to get the other cubes especially a 7x7x7 and at least one crazy puzzle like one of yours




Once you can solve the 4x4x4, 5-anything can be solved.


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## SkateTracker (Jul 14, 2008)

fanwuq said:


> 3-5 Cubes--guide
> 
> Self--
> 
> 2x2, anyother sized cubes, pyraminx, megaminx, gigaminx, other weird things on gelatinbrain...



Same here, I would of been able to solve the 5x5 on my own if I had learned 4x4 first, but I learned 5x5 first, and had problems with the 4x4 because of parity.


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## Mike Hughey (Jul 14, 2008)

Funny - I did 3x3x3 and 4x4x4 myself, but not 5x5x5, because I got impatient with the 5x5x5 and couldn't wait to figure it out. It seems silly now that I did that.


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## badmephisto (Jul 14, 2008)

How did you figure out OLL parity alg for the 4x4?


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## hawkmp4 (Jul 14, 2008)

I figured out 4x4 on my own. If I got either parity I did the (Rr) U2 x5 alg and resolved the edges and hoped i didn't get the parity again.


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## Dene (Jul 14, 2008)

I only did the 5x5x5 by myself (lol). I hardly think that it counts.


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## Uberdad (Jul 14, 2008)

I first solved the 3x3x3 back in the early 80's, a couple of months after they were available in the shops ( I was 12 or 13 at the time ). My method seems so clusmy compared to today's method. I remember my Dad selling my solving services whilst I was on holiday. This one guy gave me a £5 if I could solve it in under 5 minutes ( lol, easy money ).

Needless to say, I got the 4x4x4 soon after release for Christmas or Birthday ( can't remember which ). Jeez, was that cube hard to solve but I did it with a LBL method which seemed to avoid parity 50% of the time. I now do classic centre's first which seems so obvious a method. I wish I used it back 20 years ago.

I didn't get a 5x5x5 until a few months ago. I could do a 4x4x4, so the 5x5x5 was no real problem.


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## Mike Hughey (Jul 14, 2008)

I honestly don't remember the way I solved parity on 4x4x4. But I didn't have such a thing as OLL parity specifically. Back then I solved corners first (which is how I figured out 3x3x3 - I'd solve the first face, then the rest of the corners, then all of the edges using R U R U R U R' U' R' U' R2 - I remember that much). So I would end up on 4x4x4 with a single dedge flipped. I just can't remember how I handled that, but I know it involved messing up the cube to large extent and resolving. But I'm pretty sure I had a deterministic fix, so that if I did it correctly, I'd never have to do it again (I wasn't just hoping to get lucky the second time). This was many years ago (in the 80's), which is why I don't remember the method.

Edit: I realize now this was basically just an OLL parity fix. I don't remember having a PLL parity fix. Maybe I never found one. It was too long ago.


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## bodom (Jul 15, 2008)

I figured all my puzzles on my own first. Some of that residue exists in me today. When I first did a 3x3x3 many years ago, I did a layer by layer method. Then I switched to a corners first, middle layer, top layer, then bottom layer method. I figured out two algorithms to permute corners and to orient corners. Turns out that the move I use to orient corners is now know as a Sune. I've been doing that for many years. I still need to learn OLL and PLL, but it's tough on me right now to memorize so many moves. I still do bottom layer with max 1 permute corners, max 2 "sunes" and I use some edge algorithms after that. I only need to know five algorithms. Inefficient? Yes. Easier to remember? Yes.

Also, I'm just not the greatest with notation. I just make up stuff, see the effects, and save it away. With a dodecahedron such as a Megaminx, there's just no way I will pick up on the notation. 

I have only two puzzles that I was/am unable to solve on my own. Took me awhile to sludge through the notation. One is the Ultimate Skewb. I followed the instructions, solved it, and never played with it again. With only four turning axes and everything being a double move, it's really hard to invent quality algorithms for it. The other one is the Square-1. I never followed through all the instructions. I got it back square, but never did solve it and I've since misplaced that puzzle. It's similar to an Ultimate Skewb with the double turns.


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## Leviticus (Jul 15, 2008)

I figured out 5x5, 2x2 and pyraminx.


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## rachmaninovian (Jul 15, 2008)

well it took me 9 months now to develop my 5x5 method which i currently use. I'm still searching and trying to discover commutators to this day. well i guess we all cheated a bit. most of us would just learn 3x3 and 4x4  ha ha.


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## ThePizzaGuy92 (Jul 17, 2008)

The only puzzle I haven't figured out was pyraminx, and that's because I've never played with one.


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## Ton (Jul 18, 2008)

Well I had to do them myself back in 1980 I had no internet I was not aware of any solution, the 3x3 cost me a week about 10 hours , it took so long because I did not own a cube, the 4x4 took me about 16 hours , the 5x5 0 hours. I have a collection of more than 600 , there is only one I did not solve ...


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## ShadenSmith (Jul 18, 2008)

Ton said:


> Well I had to do them myself back in 1980 I had no internet I was not aware of any solution, the 3x3 cost me a week about 10 hours , it took so long because I did not own a cube, the 4x4 took me about 16 hours , the 5x5 0 hours. I have a collection of more than 600 , there is only one I did not solve ...




600...cubes?


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## Kian (Jul 18, 2008)

whats the one you haven't solved, ton?


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## pcharles93 (Jul 18, 2008)

He probably underestimated the ferocity of the 2x2.


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## MTGjumper (Jul 20, 2008)

I used guides to solve the 3x3x3 and 4x4x4, but for the 5x5x5 (and bigger cubes that I had to work out commutators for) I did by myself. I'm pretty sure me edge pairing method still sucks for the 5x5x5, since I've still not consulted a guide.


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## Ton (Jul 20, 2008)

Kian said:


> whats the one you haven't solved, ton?



It is called "Great Gears" from Tomy , it is from 1984.

Most puzzle I see a useful move within the hour,this is a tricky puzzle.


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## DAE_JA_VOO (Jul 20, 2008)

I used a guide for 3x3x3, but i've solved everything else (2x2x2, 4x4x4, 5x5x5) intuitively. I've got a square-1 that's driving me nuts though...


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## TMOY (Jul 24, 2008)

I got my first 3^3 for Christmas 1980, when I was 10; with no help at all (nobody I knew was able to solve it), it took me six months to figure out a solution. I didn't try that hard during that period, though; I really started to enjoy cubing only when I was finally able to solve it.
I got my first 4^3 in 1982, and things went faster (took me only one afternoon to solve it). Finally, last March my first 5^3 was solved in about half an hour, still without any help.


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## MistArts (Jul 24, 2008)

TMOY said:


> I got my first 3^3 for Christmas 1980, when I was 10; with no help at all (nobody I knew was able to solve it), it took me six months to figure out a solution. I didn't try that hard during that period, though; I really started to enjoy cubing only when I was finally able to solve it.
> I got my first 4^3 in 1982, and things went faster (took me only one afternoon to solve it). Finally, last March my first 5^3 was solved in about half an hour, still without any help.



Erm...I think you mean 4x4 and 5x5. 4x3(x3?) and 5x3(x3?) is a custom puzzle.


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## Johannes91 (Jul 24, 2008)

N^3 = NxNxN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponentiation


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## Brett (Jul 29, 2008)

I could solve just the corners alone or just the F2L alone on my 3x3x3. Couldn't put those 2 skills together to get a full solve though. 4x4x4 I did on my own and 5x5x5-9x9x9 I've done on gabbasoft (no tutorials)


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## kickinwing2112 (Aug 7, 2008)

I did the 3x3 with the steps but not the algorithms and the 4x4 with neither and if i got an oll parity i scrambled it till i didn't and im waiting on my 5x5. i also can solve a 2x2 and i still haven't looked at a guide.


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## AvGalen (Aug 7, 2008)

Figured out the 3x3x3 (and many other puzzles like Pyraminx, Babylon Tower, Nintendo Barrel, Magic, Master Magic, Clock, Square-1, Skewb, etc) myself about 20 years ago. Most of my methods were very basic and not full-proof (In case of problems, scramble (partly) and try again)

I learned better (but still sucky) methods for 3x3x3 later.

I got a 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 about 3 years ago and just solved them layer by layer. In case of parity on 4x4x4 I just "moved centers 1 spot" which basically meant starting over again. 5x5x5 give me no problems.

Finding a better way to fix parity on 4x4x4 is how I found out about the cubing community.


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## Kian (Aug 7, 2008)

hmm, i'll have to check out the "great gears" puzzle. if its that tough it must be worth a good deal of time


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## shadowpartner (Aug 10, 2008)

i get the basic concepts of solving and i modify from there to suit my style


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## Mr. E (Aug 25, 2008)

well these are some crazy results! I didn't expect them to be as much across the board as they are now!


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## Tim_Likes_Cubing (Aug 26, 2008)

I had to learn 3x3 and 5x5. I could do Megmainx thougih.


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