The Skewb () is a
combination puzzle
A combination puzzle, also known as a sequential move puzzle, is a puzzle which consists of a set of pieces which can be manipulated into different combinations by a group of operations. Many such puzzles are mechanical puzzles of polyhedral s ...
and a
mechanical puzzle
A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC ...
in the style of the
Rubik's Cube
The Rubik's Cube is a Three-dimensional space, 3-D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974 by Hungarians, Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik t ...
. It was invented by Tony Durham and marketed by
Uwe Mèffert
Uwe Mèffert (28 November 1939–30 April 2022) was a German puzzle designer and inventor. He manufactured and sold mechanical puzzles in the style of Rubik's Cube since the Cube craze of the 1980s. His first design was the Pyraminx – which he ...
. Although it is cubical in shape, it differs from Rubik's construction in that its axes of rotation pass through the corners of the cube rather than the centres of the faces. There are four such axes, one for each
space diagonal
In geometry, a space diagonal (also interior diagonal or body diagonal) of a polyhedron is a line connecting two vertices that are not on the same face. Space diagonals contrast with '' face diagonals'', which connect vertices on the same face (bu ...
of the cube. As a result, it is a ''deep-cut'' puzzle in which each twist affects all six faces.
Mèffert's original name for this puzzle was the ''Pyraminx Cube'', to emphasize that it was part of a series including his first tetrahedral puzzle. the
Pyraminx
The Pyraminx () is a regular tetrahedron puzzle in the style of Rubik's Cube. It was made and patented by Uwe Mèffert after the original 3 layered Rubik's Cube by Ernő Rubik, and introduced by Tomy Toys of Japan (then the 3rd largest toy comp ...
. The catchier name Skewb was coined by
Douglas Hofstadter
Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, an ...
in his ''
Metamagical Themas
''Metamagical Themas'' is an eclectic collection of articles that Douglas Hofstadter wrote for the popular science magazine ''Scientific American'' during the early 1980s. The anthology was published in 1985 by Basic Books.
The volume is subst ...
'' column. Mèffert liked the new name enough to apply it to the Pyraminx Cube, and also named some of his other puzzles after it, such as the
Skewb Diamond
The Skewb Diamond is an octahedron-shaped combination puzzle similar to the Rubik's Cube. It has 14 movable pieces which can be rearranged in a total of 138,240 possible combinations. This puzzle is the dual polyhedron of the Skewb. It was inven ...
.
Higher-order Skewbs, named Master Skewb and Elite Skewb, have also been made.
In December 2013, Skewb was recognized as an official
World Cube Association
The World Cube Association (WCA) is the worldwide non-profit organization that regulates and holds competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as '' twisty puzzles'' (a subcategory of combina ...
competition event.
Mechanism
Despite a simple appearance, its pieces are actually divided into subgroups and have restrictions that are apparent upon examining the puzzle's mechanism. The eight corners are split into two groups—the four corners attached to the central four-armed spider and the four "floating" corners that can be removed from the mechanism easily. These corners cannot be interchanged i.e. in a single group of four corners, their relative positions are unchanged. They can be distinguished by applying pressure on the corner—if it squishes down a bit, it's a floating corner. The centers only have two possible orientations—this becomes apparent either by scrambling a Skeb-alike puzzle where the center orientation is visible (such as the
Skeb Diamond or
Skeb Ultimate), or by disassembling the puzzle.
Records
The world record time (single) for a Skewb is 0.81 seconds, set by Zayn Khanani of the United States on 9 July 2022 at the Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022 in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
World Cube Association
The World Cube Association (WCA) is the worldwide non-profit organization that regulates and holds competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as '' twisty puzzles'' (a subcategory of combina ...
br>Official Results - Skewb
/ref>
The world record average of 5 (excluding fastest and slowest) is 1.73 seconds, also set by Zayn Khanani on 10 July 2022 at the Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022, with the times of 2.04, 4.47, 1.41, 1.38, and 1.73 seconds.
Top 5 solvers by single solve
Top 5 solvers by average of 5 solvesWorld Cube Association
The World Cube Association (WCA) is the worldwide non-profit organization that regulates and holds competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as '' twisty puzzles'' (a subcategory of combina ...
br>Official Skewb Ranking Average
/ref>
{, class="wikitable"
! Name !! Fastest average !! Competition !! Times
, -
, Zayn Khanani , , 1.73s , , Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022 , , 2.04, (4.47), 1.41, (1.38), 1.73
, -
, Carter Kucala , , 1.86s , , Cubetcha A 2021 , , 2.02, (1.32), 1.83, (3.29), 1.73
, -
, Łukasz Burliga , , 2.03s , , CFL Santa Claus Cube Race 2017 , , 2.48, 1.91, 1.71, (1.39), (4.98)
, -
, Michał Rzewuski , , 2.13s , , III Masovian Open 2019 , , 2.02, 2.33, (1.96), 2.05, (3.51)
, -
, Anthony Lafourcade , , 2.14s , , Dontrien Open 2022 , , (2.91), 2.16, 2.05, 2.21, (1.91)
,
See also
* Dino Cube
The Dino Cube[Dino Cube (6 colours)](_blank)
- Twisty Puzzles Museum[Dogic
The Dogic () is an icosahedron-shaped puzzle like the Rubik's Cube. The 5 triangles meeting at its tips may be rotated, or 5 entire faces (including the triangles) around the tip may be rotated. It has a total of 80 movable pieces to rearrange, c ...]
* Megaminx
The Megaminx or Mégaminx (, ) is a dodecahedron-shaped puzzle similar to the Rubik's Cube. It has a total of 50 movable pieces to rearrange, compared to the 20 movable pieces of the Rubik's Cube.
History
The Megaminx, or Magic Dodecahedron, ...
* Pocket Cube
The 2x2 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Pocket Cube or Mini Cube) is a 2×2×2 version of the Rubik's Cube. The cube consists of 8 pieces, all corners.
History
In March 1970, Larry D. Nichols invented a 2×2×2 "Puzzle with Pieces Rotatable in ...
* Professor's Cube
The 5x5 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Professor's Cube) is a 5×5×5 version of the original Rubik's Cube. It has qualities in common with both the 3×3×3 Rubik's Cube and the 4×4×4 4x4 Rubik's Cube, and solution strategies for both can be a ...
* Pyraminx Duo
The Pyraminx Duo (originally known as ''Rob's Pyraminx'') is a tetrahedral twisty puzzle in the style of the Rubik's Cube. It was suggested by Rob Stegmann, invented by Oskar van Deventer, and has now been mass-produced by Meffert's.
* Pyraminx
The Pyraminx () is a regular tetrahedron puzzle in the style of Rubik's Cube. It was made and patented by Uwe Mèffert after the original 3 layered Rubik's Cube by Ernő Rubik, and introduced by Tomy Toys of Japan (then the 3rd largest toy comp ...
* Rubik's Revenge
The 4x4 Rubik's Cube (also known as the Rubik's Revenge) is a 4×4×4 version of the Rubik's Cube. It was released in 1981. Invented by Péter Sebestény, the cube was nearly called the Sebestény Cube until a somewhat last-minute decision change ...
* V-Cube 6
The V-Cube 6 is a 6×6×6 version of the original Rubik's Cube. The first mass-produced 6×6×6 was invented by Panagiotis Verdes and is produced by the Greek company Verdes Innovations SA. Other such puzzles have since been introduced by a numbe ...
* V-Cube 7
The V-Cube 7 is a combination puzzle in the form of a 7×7×7 cube. The first mass-produced 7×7×7 was invented by Panagiotis Verdes and is produced by the Greek company Verdes Innovations SA. Other such puzzles have since been introduced by a n ...
* V-Cube 8
The V-Cube 8 is an 8×8×8 version of the Rubik's Cube. Unlike the original puzzle (but like the 4×4×4 and 6×6×6 cubes), it has no fixed facets: the center facets (36 per face) are free to move to different positions. The design was cover ...
References
External links
Birgit Nietsch's Skewb page
proposed by Thom Barlow and Kristopher De Asis.
Sarah Strong's Skewb Method
with variations for all skill levels.
Rubik'skewb solution
by Hideki Niina.
Ranzha's Skewb Method
by Brandon Harnish.
{{Rubik's Cube
Logic puzzles
Mechanical puzzle cubes