Demonstration Speech: How to solve the 3 x 3 Rubik’s Cube Nate Koch History In March 1970, Larry Nichols invented a 2×2×2 "Puzzle with Pieces Rotatable in Groups". Nichols's cube was held together with magnets. This was before the real Rubik’s cube came along. The Rubik’s Cube-or “Magic Cube”-came along in 1974 by a man named Erno Rubik. He improved Larry’s idea, using plastic instead of magnets, and in 1977 they were becoming known on store shelves. Initially, Larry, Erno, and many other people had disputes about this, but they all agreed on Erno’s idea. There have been many spin-offs of the Rubik’s cube, ranging from pyramid shaped to 11 x 11. How to Solve the Rubik’s Cube A Few Notes There are 7 steps: Green Cross Green Corners Middle Layers Blue Cross Upper Middle Pieces Blue corners’ placements Blue Corners Top Left Right When you are doing some of the sequences, other things you have previously done will get scrambled up a bit. Don’t worry! Finish the sequence and, if done correctly, everything will be back in place. Right C: turn right side once clockwise Right CC: turn right side once counterclockwise Front Grey areas are unaffected pieces Bottom Step 1: Finding Green Cross You want to find the green cross and at the same time get the green middle edge pieces into place with their middle piece cube color. Right Wrong There is really no sequence to this. All you need to do is flip it around until they line up. Step 2: Get the Green Corners in Correctly You want to get the green corner pieces in the right place so they line up with their colors and they are on the right side. Sequence: Right CC Bottom CC Right C Bottom C Do this several times until the corner is in the correct spot with the colors lined up. Step 3: Getting the middle pieces in correctly You want to flip the green side so it’s on the bottom now. We want the middle edge pieces to line up with their middle piece colors. Sequence: Top C Right C Top CC Right CC Top CC Front CC Top C Front C Do this to all the nonblue middle edge pieces. If a piece is in the wrong place, do the sequence again to get it out. If a piece is in the right place but the colors are wrong, do the sequence again to get it out. Step 4: Solving the Blue Cross Now you want to get the blue cross. The upper middle piece colors do not matter for now. If the Blue side looks like this… Go here Sequence: Front C Right C Top C Right CC Top CC Front CC Step 5: Fitting the Upper Edge Pieces Now you want to get the upper middle pieces lined up with their side. If two are in the correct place but two aren’t, turn to the wrong ones. Repeat the sequence on the right one. If the two wrong ones are across from each other, do the sequence to get them next to each other. Sequence: Right C Top C Right CC Top C Right C Top C Top C Right CC Step 6: Getting the Blue Corners into Position Now you want the four last corners into position. They will not be flipped, but that’s ok, that’s the last step. Sequence: Top C Right C Top CC Left CC Top C Right CC Top CC Left C Step 7: Getting the Blue Corners Now for the moment of truth: getting the blue corners in. We are going to use some previous methods and techniques. Sequence: Right CC Bottom CC Right C Bottom C You are probably going to do this several times until the corners are in. In this step, you want to stay on the red side and rotate the top CC to the next out-of-place corner. Also, the rest of the cube will get messed up badly. But keep going on the red side and you will complete this step. If you do this correctly, then… CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU HAVE SOLVED THE RUBIK’S CUBE!!!!!!