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The Cube: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Bestselling Puzzle - Secrets, Stories, Solutions
Just in time to satisfy the kids of all ages who received Rubik's Cubes as gifts, here is the book to ensure that the gift won't go unused (or unsolved) and will help with logic, brain dexterity, and memory.
Puzzle Masters Jerry Slocum, David Singmaster, Dieter Gebhardt, Wei-Hwa Huang, and Geert Hellings, share their expertise on the greatest puzzle ever created. Not only does The Cube provide dozens of strategies for competitive cubing, including speed cubing, it also shows you how to solve every kind of cube that the "Mini Cube" 2x2x2; the "Classic" 3x3x3; the "Rubik's Revenge" 4x4x4; the "Professor's Cube" 5x5x5; and the largest cubes available, the "V-Cube 6" 6x6x6 and the "V-Cube 7" 7x7x7. The book even includes modular instructions for cubes of any potential size! All solutions are fully illustrated with all-new, easy-to-follow instructions created specially for this book.
This unique book also includes a fascinating history of the Rubik's Cube from its invention in 1974 by Ernöbik to the '80s craze to its resurgence today, including dozens of rare photographs of vintage cubes, ephemera, and more!
Packed with color photos from Jerry Slocum's extensive and unique collection of mechanical puzzles, The Cube is a must-have companion to the ultimate brainteaser.
Puzzle Masters Jerry Slocum, David Singmaster, Dieter Gebhardt, Wei-Hwa Huang, and Geert Hellings, share their expertise on the greatest puzzle ever created. Not only does The Cube provide dozens of strategies for competitive cubing, including speed cubing, it also shows you how to solve every kind of cube that the "Mini Cube" 2x2x2; the "Classic" 3x3x3; the "Rubik's Revenge" 4x4x4; the "Professor's Cube" 5x5x5; and the largest cubes available, the "V-Cube 6" 6x6x6 and the "V-Cube 7" 7x7x7. The book even includes modular instructions for cubes of any potential size! All solutions are fully illustrated with all-new, easy-to-follow instructions created specially for this book.
This unique book also includes a fascinating history of the Rubik's Cube from its invention in 1974 by Ernöbik to the '80s craze to its resurgence today, including dozens of rare photographs of vintage cubes, ephemera, and more!
Packed with color photos from Jerry Slocum's extensive and unique collection of mechanical puzzles, The Cube is a must-have companion to the ultimate brainteaser.
142 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2018
This is one of those wee little books one tends to read (and then re-shelve) at the bookstore or library. It's basically 4 even smaller books slammed together (titles mine):
* Pre-Cube Puzzles by Jerry Slocum
* Rubik's Cube History by David Singmaster
* Other wacky Rubik's-inspired Cubes by Geert Hellings
* How to Solve the Cube by Wei-Hwa Huang and Dieter Gebhardt
Mr. Rubik himself penned an extremely academic and self-congratulatory introduction to get you warmed up.
Like many picture-heavy books, the pictures were often more interesting than the accompanying text. Having said that, this makes a perfectly fine short history of the Cube. The authors are clearly knowledgeable about the subject. Singmaster's portion, in particular, was nice because he included his own recollections to add some personality to the subject.
The photos from Geert Hellings' collection of Cube-like puzzles may be the highlight of the book and I spent a lot of time enjoying the variety along with his descriptions.
The "how to solve the Cube" section was fine, though terribly dry and lacking in helpful insights. I used the method successfully, but prefer the other beginner's method I've already memorized. I did, however, get a 2x2x2 cube while this book was at home and managed to use the instructions to learn how to solve it (most of the 3x3x3 algorithms apply) and added a corner-swapping technique to my repertoire.
No other solving methods other than the single one presented were discussed and that's a shame as I would have liked to have at least learned about other methods.
This book appears to have been published during the middle of a boom as the Cube really started to experience its 21st century revival. For that reason, I was very disappointed that it did not cover the "current" era of Cube solving with its emphasis on very fast speed solving (and the huge variety related methods) and the Internet's role (YouTube in particular) in spreading the recent popularity. Perhaps it's with unfair hindsight (10 years later) that I find that to be a glaring omission.
* Pre-Cube Puzzles by Jerry Slocum
* Rubik's Cube History by David Singmaster
* Other wacky Rubik's-inspired Cubes by Geert Hellings
* How to Solve the Cube by Wei-Hwa Huang and Dieter Gebhardt
Mr. Rubik himself penned an extremely academic and self-congratulatory introduction to get you warmed up.
Like many picture-heavy books, the pictures were often more interesting than the accompanying text. Having said that, this makes a perfectly fine short history of the Cube. The authors are clearly knowledgeable about the subject. Singmaster's portion, in particular, was nice because he included his own recollections to add some personality to the subject.
The photos from Geert Hellings' collection of Cube-like puzzles may be the highlight of the book and I spent a lot of time enjoying the variety along with his descriptions.
The "how to solve the Cube" section was fine, though terribly dry and lacking in helpful insights. I used the method successfully, but prefer the other beginner's method I've already memorized. I did, however, get a 2x2x2 cube while this book was at home and managed to use the instructions to learn how to solve it (most of the 3x3x3 algorithms apply) and added a corner-swapping technique to my repertoire.
No other solving methods other than the single one presented were discussed and that's a shame as I would have liked to have at least learned about other methods.
This book appears to have been published during the middle of a boom as the Cube really started to experience its 21st century revival. For that reason, I was very disappointed that it did not cover the "current" era of Cube solving with its emphasis on very fast speed solving (and the huge variety related methods) and the Internet's role (YouTube in particular) in spreading the recent popularity. Perhaps it's with unfair hindsight (10 years later) that I find that to be a glaring omission.
February 12, 2024
Enjoyed the sections on history and puzzles inspired by the Rubik’s Cube. Immediately pulled out some puzzles I hadn’t touched in a long time to solve, seeing them featured so beautifully in the book: Dino, Skewb, and Pyraminx. Only the easy ones to satisfy the urge, of course.
One thing that stood out for me is how well-known Rubik has become as the originator of the Cube. This story includes so many others though, many who have designed way more puzzles than Rubik himself but still are low-profile (well-respected within the puzzle community nevertheless). With the association of the name ‘Rubik’ with twisty puzzles of all types, I guess it’s inevitable any new variant only adds to his fame. He’s the OG after all.
That said, surprised to learn of Larry Nichols and his magnetic 2x2x2 that he conceived before the advent of Rubik’s Cube. Rubik’s still the GOAT of the twisty designers with his clever novel mechanism to hold 20 pieces in place yet let them move freely, but takeaway - brilliant ideas come to more than one; their reach lies in execution and circumstantial reasons.
Another thing that stood out for me is the colours. On paper or on display the cubes add life with their vibrant hues. They are the most colourful category of puzzles I’ve come across - maybe that’s one reason why others haven’t become so popular? One other factor for their allure is their wholesome shapes - spheres, tetrahedrons, dodecahedrons, etc. - very pleasing to the eye and to hold. Lastly, it’s also the juxtaposition of the apparent simplicity (it is all held together as one object) and hidden complexity (the permutations are unimaginably large in number).
The solutions at the back of the book helped to refresh my memory of solving the 2x2. Also had a few disguised 2x2s on hand to test my technique out on. They look nothing like the standard version, yet upon closer inspection they turn out to be essentially the same as the Pocket Cube. Very nice to see something in a book and then try it out immediately in real life. Fortunate and grateful.
One thing that stood out for me is how well-known Rubik has become as the originator of the Cube. This story includes so many others though, many who have designed way more puzzles than Rubik himself but still are low-profile (well-respected within the puzzle community nevertheless). With the association of the name ‘Rubik’ with twisty puzzles of all types, I guess it’s inevitable any new variant only adds to his fame. He’s the OG after all.
That said, surprised to learn of Larry Nichols and his magnetic 2x2x2 that he conceived before the advent of Rubik’s Cube. Rubik’s still the GOAT of the twisty designers with his clever novel mechanism to hold 20 pieces in place yet let them move freely, but takeaway - brilliant ideas come to more than one; their reach lies in execution and circumstantial reasons.
Another thing that stood out for me is the colours. On paper or on display the cubes add life with their vibrant hues. They are the most colourful category of puzzles I’ve come across - maybe that’s one reason why others haven’t become so popular? One other factor for their allure is their wholesome shapes - spheres, tetrahedrons, dodecahedrons, etc. - very pleasing to the eye and to hold. Lastly, it’s also the juxtaposition of the apparent simplicity (it is all held together as one object) and hidden complexity (the permutations are unimaginably large in number).
The solutions at the back of the book helped to refresh my memory of solving the 2x2. Also had a few disguised 2x2s on hand to test my technique out on. They look nothing like the standard version, yet upon closer inspection they turn out to be essentially the same as the Pocket Cube. Very nice to see something in a book and then try it out immediately in real life. Fortunate and grateful.
February 5, 2017
A great catalog and interesting resource. Beautiful and intriguing pictures of mindbending puzzles, a little somewhat interesting history, and little else.
The solve method is long, confusing, tedious, and slow. There was very little to be extracted to add to other beginner methods. It focuses on solving corners first rather than layers. The book, published in 2009, is already severely dated.
Rubik.com probably still has the clearest beginner 3x3x3 solution.
Unless you're a serious collector or cuber, this book is better browsed standing in your local library than purchased.
The solve method is long, confusing, tedious, and slow. There was very little to be extracted to add to other beginner methods. It focuses on solving corners first rather than layers. The book, published in 2009, is already severely dated.
Rubik.com probably still has the clearest beginner 3x3x3 solution.
Unless you're a serious collector or cuber, this book is better browsed standing in your local library than purchased.
March 25, 2020
Pretty good book about the history of the Rubik's Cube, how to do it, and how to do the larger variants (all the way up to 7x7x7, which I didn't even know existed). The history was somewhat interesting, although I felt like it got a lot into random oddball puzzles that I wasn't interested in. The 3x3x3 solution is pretty well-done (I'm no expert, but it helped me, although I disliked the random colors which made it hard to match to my own Cube, but I figured it out), and if you want to try the larger cubes it's probably a good resource. I'm not planning to try that, so devoting so much of the book to those was a waste for me. So, I don't know, there might be better Rubik's Cube books out there, but this one was pretty good for me.
July 5, 2020
A good history of the cube and also has tons of pictures and descriptions on variations of the cube that have been made. I've collected a couple of these now and they are so much fun. I especially love the golden cube that my boyfriend got me which, when mixed, is no longer a cube!
This also includes instructions to solve any size cube from 3x3x3 to 7x7x7 and onwards. I like my solution for the 3x3x3 better though, much quicker and easier to remember.
This also includes instructions to solve any size cube from 3x3x3 to 7x7x7 and onwards. I like my solution for the 3x3x3 better though, much quicker and easier to remember.
July 22, 2013
I was able to solve our 3x3 several times using the instructions though I still need the book to see the steps. The stories of 3D puzzles and their designers were interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews