How to solve a Rubik’s Cube

To those familiar with the ingenious design of the Rubik’s cube, it may come as no surprise that this tricky structure was invented by an architect. In 1974, a young Hungarian professor named Erno Rubik invented a model toy that was simultaneously simple and notoriously complex. In fact, it proved so difficult to solve that even its creator couldn’t do it at first!

Consisting of six sides that could be fully rotated, allowing the nine coloured squares on each face to be scrambled into hundreds of combinations, it was so clever it looked like a product of wizardry. With a similar reasoning on his mind, Rubik originally dubbed his creation the ‘Magic Cube’. But when distributed to the mass market some time later it was renamed as the Rubik’s cube, and an icon was born.

The Rubik’s cube’s novelty lies in its three-dimensional rotatability. Players are able rotate any side of any face they choose both clockwise and counter-clockwise, organising the typical 3×3 dimensional cube into any one of its several quintillion possible combinations. The goal – after scrambling – is to restore a single colour onto each face of the cube. Today, the Rubik’s cube has evolved to include 2×2, 4×4 and 5×5 variants and has even spawned a competitive sport in the form of ‘speedcubing’. This puzzle remains one of the most engaging around, and if you want to challenge your logic and patience, there’s no better tool for the test.