# Group solving blind "cube"



## Mylesnye (Jun 12, 2008)

Hello! I am a new user who found this forum after watching the very entertaining film "Piece by Piece" by West Side Filmworks. I am not a cuber (yet) and I hope this thread isn't off-topic; I do not wish to be disrespectful.

I am posting to pool the brain trust of speedcubers. I am looking to create a game for a "Survivor" style challenge inspired by blindfolded cubing, but for novices.

The idea I'm currently working on is this: one member only of each team can see, the others are all blindfolded. The seeing member hollers directions at the other members of the team. Their challenge is to arrange a 2x2 stack of large blocks (think like big shipping boxes) so that one side (the side facing the caller) is all the same color. It's obviously an immensely reduced version of a Rubik's cube, one where each square can rotate independently in 360 degrees rather than being on a plane with 2 others. It may be there's an additional catch, such as there is 1 cube that doesn't have a red face and 1 that doesn't have a yellow, for instance, so if the caller tries to get them all red or yellow he cannot succeed and would have to start again with a new set of directions to get them all to be some other color.

The challenge has to be good TV too, so maybe there are 2 identical sets of these 4 blocks, and after they complete the first one they have to go do the second one, still blindfolded, giving the second place team a chance to catch up and overtake them.

Can you improve on this idea? I know you can. The qualities of this challenge I'm looking to capitalize on are:

- one seeing member having to rely on communication and listening skills to get the others to perform the challenge
- blindfolded people manipulating big squares, lots of opportunity for clumsiness and goofs
- colored faces of squares are very readable to the viewers at home, they can tell when a team has it right or is not close
- it's a puzzle without interlocking pieces

What variations on this game might you give to a group of malnourished, sleep deprived, non-cube pros for your entertainment? I don't know if there are reality TV haters out there but I'm sure we can all agree to talk in a civil manner about games, solving, etc. 

Many thanks for your responses!

By the way, any Krypton Factor viewers out there?


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## CharlieCooper (Jun 12, 2008)

i <3 krypton factor


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## AvGalen (Jun 12, 2008)

I would like to see that show/episode, but hopefully you realize that some speedcubers have already done this with 1 caller + 1 blindfolded solver in < 1 minute? And that many speedcubers have already gotten sighted teamsolves way < 1 minute?

I realize that you wouldn't have speedcubers in your show, but if you wanted to I might be able to help you out. Just give me directions to the island and give me immuntity and a cube so I won't get bored. I am serious here, I would come!


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## Mylesnye (Jun 12, 2008)

On the contrary, this is exactly the kind of thing I did not know. So let me ask you this, what's the next big challenge? When you say "teamsolving," how many people are manipulating the cube? What's the "Double Dare"/Krypton Factor style game everyone will be playing at the next tournament? What hasn't been tried before? Silly is good... -M.


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## AvGalen (Jun 12, 2008)

I have participated in team solves where about 10 people were solving a 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5. It works by doing 1 move on the cube, passing along the cube to the next person, etc. You are not allowed to communicate with each other. Check out this video for a very fast example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocvKEzb7OaE

Doing this with 2 people can be extremely fast. Doing it with many people and several cubes at once happens mostly after a competition during dinner.

I don't know anything about "Double Dare"/Krypton Factor style game, but if you want to know what people have already done with a cube, this list might help: http://speedcubing.com/records/, especially http://speedcubing.com/records/recs_fun.html and http://speedcubing.com/records/recs_crazy.html

Could you tell a bit more about yourself? You sound like a tv-"producer", but it would be nice to know something more about your reason for posting and if you are actually a cuber yourself

I just thought of something in the car that hasn't been done (AFAIK): Make fire using puzzle-parts. I guess it might be possible with some Magic (wires/strings), the tiles of a megaminx for friction and the tip of a mefferts megaminx in the grooves of a magic tile 

Also, people have made very large mosaics (> 1000 cubes)


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