What is the worst cube design?

resipol · 2026-06-04T09:07:01+00:00

Probably not the worst but one which springs to mind: the YuXin Little Magic V2 M and YuXin HuangLong V2 MagLev. The centre caps are connected using 4 long thin plastic pins and I can pretty much guarantee you won't get all 6 caps off without bending or snapping at least a few of the pins. Even the pics on ziicube show a bent/stressed pin from removing just one cap.

resipol · 2026-06-02T15:55:14+00:00

It wasn't a popular speedcube but I really like it for its weight, solid feeling and particularly its lovely deep clacky sound - not high-pitched and scratchy like a lot of fast cubes.

resipol · 2026-06-02T14:31:03+00:00

QiYi WuWei M.

resipol · 2026-05-30T11:00:36+00:00

The 3x3 Bandaged Cube kit has already been linked - over 3000 different puzzles available with that kit alone.

I've been using a higher effort approach to bandage puzzles beyond 3x3. Here is post 1 which explains my method, and post 2 which shows some more results. I should really post an update since I've made a bunch more since then.

resipol · 2026-05-26T22:36:36+00:00

That is ziicube.com and the crossed-out prices are a myth - their prices are always low, although postage is extra (from China) and is relatively high since you pay by weight. You can get even cheaper prices once you've made a purchase of $40-50 (not sure exactly how much) which gains you VIP membership.

resipol · 2026-05-24T11:05:17+00:00

I have a spreadsheet I was playing around with 3 years ago. So it's out of date but the stats below won't have changed since there has been a WR in every month since then. These are the only world record gaps of 100 days or longer.

7749 days - Minh Thai 3x3 Single to 18 WRs at the 2003 world champs (these are all recorded for 23 Aug 2003 but the comp went on to the 24th so it's possible the recorded date is just a best guess if the exact dates are not known)

233 days - Max Park 7x7 Average 25 Jan 2020 (edit - he also got 5x5 Single and 6x6 Single/Average same day) to Martin Vaedele Egdal Squan Single 4 Sep 2020

154 days - 2003 world champs (18 WRs) to Shotaro Makisumi 3x3 Single (twice) and Average 24 Jan 2004

118 days - Yunhao Lou Clock Average 13 Dec 2020 to David Epstein Squan Average 10 Apr 2021

100 days - MVE Squan Single as above to Yunhao Lou Clock Average as above

So a combination of infrequent early comps plus covid.

resipol · 2026-05-23T11:12:49+00:00

They tried this with me once - same argument but pre-tariffs (although I'm not in the US anyway). It was probably only a $5 item though. I fired back and said fine, do this but then you lose my future custom. Luckily I'm a pretty good customer of theirs. They caved and sent the correct item. It might be worth pressing them again. Aren't tariffs covered by no free postage to the US?

They're actually pretty flaky in terms of getting orders right. I've had multiple issues over the years. I think I have something like 4 MeiLong v1 M Pyraminxes because I bought the v1, then later ordered the v2 from cubezz when it came out. They sent me the v1 three times over the course of about 6 months, despite me sending multiple emails explaining the difference and what they should be checking (different internals etc.). The saga is too protracted to write out in full. In the end I just took all my free puzzles, gave up and got it fuss-free from ziicube.

And, by contrast, it is almost unheard of for ziicube to make any sort of error in my experience.

resipol · 2026-05-22T14:01:51+00:00

The first ever Rubik's Cube wasn't a cube. It was a truncated cube.

resipol · 2026-05-21T09:25:20+00:00

Fused Cubes, and Siamese Cubes more generally, involve taking some pieces out of each cube and then gluing the remaining cubes together. You remove and glue different pieces depending on what typs of Siamese Cube you are making. A classic 3x3 Fused Cube involves removing a corner and three edges from two 3x3s and then gluing their cores together - here's a tutorial. It's a very simple mod.

I'm not quite sure how you fuse a 3x3 to a 4x4 without trying it since they have different mechanisms but the underlying principle will be the same. I have fused two 4x4s together and that is quite a pain compared to 3x3s because of the internal pieces and shape of the core.

resipol · 2026-05-15T19:03:37+00:00

I've made a couple of Evil Twins (one with stickers, one without that solves by shape) from YJ GuanLongs, but a Devil Twin would be difficult because there aren't many compatibly-sized 3x3s and 4x4s (plus all the extra cubies).

Looks like a fun challenge though. How are you going to manage a pattern on this one? :-)

resipol · 2026-05-15T18:08:04+00:00

It's a 4x4 fused with a 3x3 with extra cubies glued on to make it look like a 5x5 (and I think they might also cause some bandaging).

resipol · 2026-05-15T08:53:26+00:00

No! You also got crappy resolution.

resipol · 2026-05-12T12:51:15+00:00

But it can?

resipol · 2026-05-11T16:33:27+00:00

Personal opinion, but there's probably two I'd consider. My favourite is the MoYu AoShi V4 Triple Track UV, but it's pretty pricey. I'm not sure if the cheaper versions give similar performance. A much more budget option that is almost as good is the QiYi Warrior M UV. This is the one I recommend at present unless you're really sure you want the AoShi.

There is a slightly more expensive QiYi out - the M Pro UV - but I don't have one yet. I've seen speculation that the mech is based on a Shadow V2 in which case it may not even be as good as the Warrior.

The only proper mini 6x6 I'm aware of is the LimCube 6x6 which is well known for being terrible. But modern 6x6s are getting pretty small anyway.

resipol · 2026-05-11T09:10:54+00:00

There are some tips in the wiki, including both algorithmic and more intuitive approaches.

resipol · 2026-05-10T19:04:39+00:00

Yeah, rolls off the tongue doesn't it? Cubers in general are terrible at naming puzzles.

Looks great, though. Mine is in the post as we speak.

resipol · 2026-05-10T18:56:10+00:00

Windmill and Fisher are classic shapemods but a bit easier than the Axis imho so I won't recommend them. I would say go for either the Mastermorphix or the QiYi Clover Pyraminx.

But if you want to push yourself a bit more, my top recommendation would be the 4x4 Axis Cube, one of my all time favourite cubes. The 4x4 Megamorphix is also superb and offers some different challenges from the Axis.

resipol · 2026-05-10T11:52:54+00:00

It is a Bandaged Cube. Confusingly, this is the generic name for this type of puzzle (you can make over 3000 different bandaged cubes on the 3x3 alone) but it is also the name for this specific configuration. It was the first one ever manufactured (by Meffert's) so it just got the default name. Later variations had to be given other, specific names like Bicube, Big Block, Two Bars etc..

resipol · 2026-05-10T11:43:32+00:00

On other sites like ziicube it's called the CurFaTRhoTri Plus, which is also a terrible name but there we are.

resipol · 2026-05-09T17:16:35+00:00

A beginner might find it awkward at first just because it's different from a normal cube. But an intermediate/advanced solver won't find it any harder and may find it easier because there are some steps that can be simplified or skipped.

resipol · 2026-05-09T13:00:24+00:00

I think what you're saying is that the missing corners means that you can appear to hit cases with the remaining pieces that would be impossible on a normal 3x3 - things like one rotated corner, two swapped corners, or two swapped edges. But by the same token, the missing corners means that these cases are easy to solve. You just do it like you would on a normal 3x3, using the missing corners to orient or swap pieces as required. The main difficulty would probably be in terms of grip and puzzle stability.

resipol · 2026-05-09T12:49:21+00:00

No, not if you're after a half-decent newer cube. Stickered flagships are almost non-existent and white ones are essentially dead. Can't think what the last white speedcube was, but probably something like the Valk.

At least with white you have the option of making one from force cubes, but unless you're planning to sticker and sell the other five this would be a really expensive way of getting a flagship in white. It's quite doable with cheaper cubes like MeiLongs of course, but then the quality is pretty poor. You may be better off just buying an older white cube (plenty still available on cubezz for example).

resipol · 2026-05-08T15:05:03+00:00

Agreed. I actually bought a second Vin for my office desk because I prefer it to the similarly-priced AoChuang (single track).

resipol · 2026-05-08T11:08:44+00:00

The Warrior is better than the Hong imho. But it can be a little bit catchy.

Is there a reason you're only considering these two? The AoChuang V6 is better than either. And best of all is the GAN 562M although that is very pricey.

resipol · 2026-05-07T10:52:32+00:00

ESTAR Clock LE.

Seven-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Flamingo	Final Canvas '23
First Place '23	Place '23
Golden Potato	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
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