Skewb

The Skewb (/ˈskjuːb/) is a combination puzzle and a mechanical puzzle in the style of the Rubik's Cube. It was invented by Tony Durham and marketed by Uwe Mèffert.[1] 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 of the cube. As a result, it is a deep-cut puzzle in which each twist affects all six faces.

The Skewb in solved state
The four turning planes of the Skewb bisect it as shown in this figure.

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 catchier name Skewb was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in his Metamagical Themas 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.[2]

Higher-order Skewbs, named Master Skewb and Elite Skewb, have also been made.[3][4]

In December 2013, Skewb was recognized as an official World Cube Association competition event.[5]

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 Skewb-alike puzzle where the center orientation is visible (such as the Skewb Diamond or Skewb 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, Canada.[6]

This Skewb features concave sides for improved grip when turning.

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.[6]

Top 5 solvers by single solve[7]
SolverFastest solveCompetition
Zayn Khanani0.81sRubik's WCA North American Championship 2022
Andrew Huang0.93sWCA World Championship 2019
Leo Min-Bedford0.97sSelangor Cube Open 2019
Carter Kucala1.02sMinnesota Cube Days 2020
Carlos Méndez García-Barroso1.03sLazarillo Open 2022

Top 5 solvers by average of 5 solves[8]
NameFastest averageCompetitionTimes
Zayn Khanani1.73sRubik's WCA North American Championship 20222.04, (4.47), 1.41, (1.38), 1.73
Carter Kucala1.86sCubetcha A 20212.02, (1.32), 1.83, (3.29), 1.73
Łukasz Burliga2.03sCFL Santa Claus Cube Race 20172.48, 1.91, 1.71, (1.39), (4.98)
Michał Rzewuski2.13sIII Masovian Open 20192.02, 2.33, (1.96), 2.05, (3.51)
Anthony Lafourcade2.14sDontrien Open 2022(2.91), 2.16, 2.05, 2.21, (1.91)

See also

References
  1. "Tony Durham Mechanical Puzzles". The Metagrobologist. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  2. "Jaap's Puzzle Page, Skewb Page". Jaap's Puzzle Page.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Master Skewb
  4. Elite Skewb
  5. "Add Skewb. Resolves issue #102. · thewca/wca-regulations@66d6da9". GitHub. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  6. World Cube Association Official Results - Skewb
  7. World Cube Association Official Skewb Ranking Single
  8. World Cube Association Official Skewb Ranking Average
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