El Rubik's Cube It was all the rage in the 80s. Everyone, both children and adults, was racking their brains to solve this challenge. A mental challenge that, even today, continues to attract millions of people. Luckily, there are now applications to solve the Rubik's Cube. To some that may be considered cheating; However, for others it means finally finding a solution to the enigma.
But to be fair, we must point out that these apps do not simply offer a solution, but rather they teach us to "think" to find the path that leads us to solving the puzzle. If you also count yourself among those who have fallen into the magnetism of the call "Magic cube", this post will interest you.
Rubik's Cube, the most popular puzzle
The truth is that it needs no introduction, but we will still remember what the Rubik's Cube is and what its origin is. It is a three-dimensional mechanical puzzle created in 1974 by a Hungarian sculptor and architect named Ernö Rubik. Indeed, the creation is named after its inventor.
The "Magic Cube" It became a toy in 1980, achieving commercial success that is as fast as it is lasting. From then until today, no less than 450 million units have been sold worldwide. A milestone that could not be equaled.
The classic design of the Rubik's Cube is fifty-four cubic pieces distributed in nine pieces of six uniform colors (yellow, blue, white, orange, red and green). Inside there is a peculiar axle mechanism that allows each face of the cube to rotate independently. The challenge is to put order in the colorful jumble, putting all the pieces of each color together on the same face.
To get an idea of the level of difficulty of the challenge, it is enough to say that it is possible to do no less than 43 trillion combinations (you read correctly: trillions). And only one of them is correct.
An entire universe has developed around this fascinating hobby with variants ranging from the simple 3 x 3 x 3 design to cubes with a 10 x 10 x 10 configuration. There are also competitions of speed cubing, in which participants must solve the cube in the shortest time possible (or with the fewest number of moves) starting from a previously selected disorder position. The WCA (World Cube Association) includes categories such as solving the cube with one hand or blindfolded. Real madness, as shown in this video:
Applications to help us solve the Rubik's Cube
The beauty of the magic cube is that it is the player himself who manages to find the solution on his own. In fact, this toy is a magnificent tool for mental gymnastics: helps improve memory, exercise the coordination of our movements and develop our calculation skills. However, we all like to take a shortcut from time to time. For that we have some apps to use:
solve
Our first proposal is solve, an app only available for iPhone and iPad. We can use it to find the solution to a classic Rubik's Cube from any position, but also to solve any other variant of the same.
The way to use the app is very simple. All you have to do is open the app and focus your phone's camera on the cube, face by face. After some time to process the recorded information, the movements we have to make will appear explained with useful and clear graphics.
3x3 Cube Solver
With five million downloads on the Play Store, 3x3 Cube Solver It is one of the best applications to solve the Rubik's Cube that exist today. The mode of use is what we have already seen in the previous example, through the mobile camera. However, The solution that the app offers us is an animation, which is much more visually attractive for the user.
It must be said that it has some limitations: it is only valid for 3-row cubes, that is, the classic design. In addition, it is only available for Android devices.
CubeX
Another of the great applications to solve the Rubik's Cube is CubeX. It is a cube solver capable of generating the shortest and fastest possible solution starting from any real initial position. This app offers us two modes of use: enter the position manually or capture it by scanning the camera.
Once the information has been entered, CubeX guides us step by step to solve the cube in a matter of a few minutes. In addition to this, it comes with a nice virtual cube game that we can use to practice and test our skills. Only valid for Android phones and tablets.
3D Magic Rubik's Cube
This is an application that we will be able to use on both the iPhone and an Android phone: 3D Magic Rubik's Cube. The most striking and original thing about this app is that it offers solutions for multiple cube designs: from the "small" 2 x 2 x 2 to the almost impossible 20 x 20 x 20.
Other strong points of this tool are the quality and realism of its 3D graphics and animations, as well as the simple way of use. Also noteworthy is the «competition factor» of this app: it offers us the possibility of recording our achievements and comparing them with those of other users through different leaderboards. Really fun.
Rubik's Cube Solver
To close the list, another app for exclusive use for Apple devices. It is a high quality application, although the user must be warned that only the resolution of the classic 3 x 3 x 3 format cube is available for free. To access the rest of the variants you have to dig deep into your pocket.
Otherwise, Rubik's Cube Solver It is one of the best tools to learn to master the diabolical puzzle. And each resolution is accompanied by very useful explanations and advice.
