💾 Archived View for jsreed5.org › log › 2023 › 202306 › 20230618-new-rubiks-4x4x4-cube.gmi captured on 2023-12-28 at 15:37:41. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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I've been interested in Rubik's Cubes and other twisty puzzles for almost twenty years, but the height of my obsession was around 2010. Most of the puzzles I own come from those days, including my two Rubik's-brand 4x4x4 puzzles.
The original mechanism in official Rubik's 4x4x4 cubes consisted of a plastic ball with grooves just offset from each perpendicular equatorial ring. The offset allowed one half of the puzzle to slide along the groove, while notches on the other side of the offset held the other half in place. As the outer layers turned, pieces would be swapped in and out of the grooves.
I have many fond memories of those cubes, but they were almost unusable for speedcubing. The cubies had sharp internal edges, and they caught very easily on the sides of the grooves, causing endless lockups. The hooks on each corner were very small and had a tendency to snap. The rail-like nature of the internal grooves meant that sanding down the pieces could easily lead to pops. As a result, most people who cared at all about competitive solving used an Eastsheen brand instead--including me.
While running errands today, I saw a Rubik's-brand 4x4x4 for sale at a local shop. It was smaller than the older 4x4x4s I have and it used colored tiles instead of paper stickers. I decided to buy it, initially for those reasons alone.
Upon opening the puzzle, I discovered that modern-day Rubik's 4x4x4 cubes use an entirely different mechanism than those of yesteryear. The puzzle now features a 5x5x5-like interior: there are spindles and hidden middle edges that anchor the visible pieces to the center. This is the same mechanism the Eastsheen and V-Cube 4x4x4s use, along with all their clones and derivatives. How exactly the Rubik's brand mechanism differs from others, I don't know.
The result is a puzzle that is far more stable and easy to turn. I haven't been able to pop a piece out yet, and while corner-cutting is still pretty lacking, the puzzle no longer locks up at the slightest misalignment.
If I didn't already have two QiYi WuQue 4x4x4s to use as speedcubes, I'd consider switching to this puzzle. And for someone who knows the history of Rubik's-brand puzzles versus dedicated speedsolving cubes, that's saying something.
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[Last updated: 2023-06-18]