I was wondering how many people here can solve a rubik's cube. If most people here can, then I might look like this:  =8O.

I think I've played with one a few times in the past. I can't say I ever came close to solving it though.

Solved it... with a little help.

I've never solved one completely, but I have managed to get one side all the same color.

I haven't tried recently, only many years ago... And I did solve it, if you count peeling off the stickers and rearranging them solving :P

I haven't either, and I'd be lucky if I can even get one side the same color :)  (Well, short of breaking the thing apart and reassembling it, hehe.)

Of course, a quick search on the web should net you hundreds of ways to solve the cube, but I imagine that's not what you really mean by your question.

What I mean by solve, is: being able to solve a rubik's cube consistently without getting help while you are solving. I can actually solve a rubik's cube, which is why I asked.

I actually did it a couple of months ago...well i did get a bit of help...uh so i guess technically not...well im still proud of actually doing it anyway

I can't say I have, since I haven't had much time trying.

I only managed to mess it up. :D But my dad solved one.

Never tried, actually.

Well, actually, I solved it one time.  It was one I was seven.  It was really weird, because I just found it in all of my toys, pulled it out and starting twisting it, and then after awhile, I looked at it, and thought

"Well would you look at that...All the colors are on their own side..."

I also got out another one this year, and I got it down to all faces but two solved.  Grrr.

Did you know that solving the rubix cube is the final exam for a college course called abstract algebra?

By "all faces but two solved" do you mean that you solved a 2x2x3?

________


Does it require explaining all the logic and stuff? If not then I would probably pass the final in about 19 seconds...

I have solved a rubik's cube before, but I used a backroute (I pulled the stickers off).

ha yeah I tried that too once when i was about 8 or something, i ended up ruining the whole thing, i think i accidentally ripped a few stickers

On ours, the stickers were already starting to peel off, so no harm was done :)

Why not just take it apart instead of ruining the stickers?

Actually, I think taking it apart might be trickier than onw expects......especially if you intend to put it back together in a way that still leaves the cube usable.  ;P

There is, of course, an even more efficient cheat:  just stick/glue new stickers over the existing ones!  ;P

or just get a square tissue box and paint each side with different colours!

Taking it apart isn't very hard. Just turn any face 1/8 of a turn (45 degrees), pop out and edge, and roll the cube around between your hands. After that you should have 21 pieces (12 edges 8 corners 1 center_of_the_cube). If you have more then...ummm...you could try to fix it. :P
Putting it back together is a little harder. The way I do it (Yes, I do take my cube apart. Somtimes to clean it, but more often it is just because it exploded while I was solving it.) is:
1)Put the 4 bottom edges in.
2)Put the 4 bottom corners in.
3)Pop the middle edges in.
4)Insert 7 pieces on the top layer by starting with a corner and going around.
5)Insert the last piece by turing the top layer 1/8 of a turn and then popping it in.
If your cube doesn't have springs then you probably won't be able to take it apart. You can tell if your cube has springs by pulling on a layer. If it has springs, the whole layer should move up.
Now you know how to solve a rubik's cube. ;)

Rubik's Cubes are so irritating, you're on a roll, you're getting there, colours are matching... And suddenly? The only way to make any form of progress? Backtrack through all your hard work, all because of an isolate coloured square.

Anyone tried Rubik's magic?

Peeling of the stickers anr rearranging them was my solution too :)

I managed it tough with the help from a website.

Somehow there must be logics to solve it tough...

About two days ago I picked up my rubik's cube again for lack of ability to sleep, and started fiddling with it.  I'm done with one face and I'm working on the second row.  I have come to some conclusions while doing all of this.  Most all of them I realized fairly quickly, yet they are crucial to figuring out the cube.  Here they are:

1.If two colors are on the same block they will always be next to each other.
2.A block that is in the middle can only be in the middle.  A block that is on a corner can only be on a corner.  A block that is an edge can only be an edge.

and that's about it for now.  There are certain methods I use to to manipulate the blocks, but I need more of them, which will probably be a lot more complicated than the ones I have now, that can get me the results I want that my current methods can't yield.

I heard this very obscure song once about how a rubiks cube drove someone to ultimate insanity, I used to listen to it for a laugh, I think the lyrics were something like this:

About a month ago I got a phone call from a friend,
He said that he was desperate, could I lend a helping hand.
I was shocked to see him he was babbling like kaboo,
It's been a week inside his house alone with a rubiks cube.

Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
Is your cube from outer space?
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
I've got three sides that lost their place.
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
I'll just twist your cube all day!
You see my idea of child's play.

Being the kind of guy I was, I told him I would try,
To help him solve the secret of the cube that made him cry.
Well, that was thirty days ago and half a million moves.
My wife saw black and blue 'cause I kept dreamng she's a cube.

Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
...
You see my idea of child's play.

I think I've got the answer; all I need is a little paint,
To change the colours of the squares before I get them straight!
In fact, I think I've got the tools to force them into place,
Before the world goes crazy, I will save the human race!

Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
My knuckles have gone numb!
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
There's no skin left on my thumb!
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
What did I ever do to you?
All I need is a little clue.

Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
I can't take it anymore!
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
I think I'd rather go to war!
Mr rubik, rubik, rubik.
I'm breaking up, I think I've gone!
(screams)
All I need is a little clue (fade out)

Very wierd, and very funny.

NOTE: It may be wrong in some places, and I don't remember the words where the ... is.

heehee

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Just so you know: It actually IS possible to injure yourself with a rubik's cube. A while ago, I pulled a muscle in my thumb* because I didn't lubricate my cube and I was trying to turn it too fast. If you only turn it slowly then you shouldn't have this problem.

*It hurt a LOT.

Not sure if I mentioned this before but there was some college class where the final exam was solve the rubiks cube.  Whatever class that was I think we should all go learn it  ^_^.

I've only ever got as far as one face done; but it's been a long time since I've touched the thing.

getting one face done doesn't necissarily mean you're close to finishing though, the corners must be right as well

A hint: Solving it by faces is one of the worst ways possible. If you plan on solving it by pure intuition, think in blocks.

At the same time, I was thinking about this method a few days ago but dropped it before testing.

Get the center blocks in position.  Get the edge blocks in position.  Get the corner blocks in position and you're done.

I tried one of those stupid things awhile ago. I officially hate rubiks cubes. Those are frustrating, that is not my favorite kind of puzzle to solve. I like lem puzzles, some crossword puzzles, wordsearchs and and that's almost it. That's probably why i've made almost no progress in my Zelda files. :P

Yep, they're annoying.  I messed up three of them last year, but I got one of them back by violently bashing it against a table until it broke apart and I reassembled it.

The "cube explorer" is the best program that I know to solve rubik's cube.   It almost always give you the optimal (or close to optimal -- maybe 1 or 2 moves more than the optimal) solution.   And the solution it shows is almost always 22 or less.

Unlike the one provided in the above link, which takes 100+ moves.

In solving the cube without any help, the best I've managed is to get 3 sides.

I'm new on this lemming-forum.
I can solve it. About 20 years ago I spent weeks with the Cube, writing down all kinds of formula's. Without anyone knowing I also had the "world-speed-record-solving-the-cube" for a few days (somewhere around 1 minute). I can still solve it within 2 minutes.
I'm thinking about writing a (exact) lemming clone running under windows, including a level editor.
Technical Information very welcome!

Actually, at the moment, 0xdeadbeef is working on a Lemmings clone in Java, which is looking very promising.  Not to discourage you from making yours, but you'll probably find alot of information in that thread.

You did not discourage me :)
I read about the clone and will read it. Thanks.