Tips
What we wish we’d known
The advice experienced cubers give to beginners.
Choosing a cube
- An entry-level magnetic speedcube ($15–25) is plenty until you’re under 15 seconds.
- Avoid “classic” supermarket cubes: they’re stiff, lock up and pop.
- A second identical cube isn’t useful at first. A good timer (this app) and consistency are.
Maintenance
- Lube it when the cube gets noisy or scratchy: 1 or 2 drops of silicone lube in the core, then turn.
- Adjust the tension if the cube pops (too loose) or locks up (too tight).
- Never wash a magnetic cube with water.
Finger tricks
- R and R': your right wrist, not your fingers. U: right index pushes the back corner. U': left index.
- F: right thumb or right index depending on your grip. D: left ring finger.
- Hold the cube with your thumbs in front and other fingers behind, without squeezing.
Lookahead and flow
- Slow down until you stop pausing completely: you’ll end up faster than by forcing it.
- While you insert a pair, your eyes are already looking for the next one.
- Try the metronome: one move per beat, then raise the tempo week after week.
Learning algorithms
- 2 or 3 new ones a day at most, and review the old ones first (Review tab).
- Learn to recognize the case first, then the moves. An algorithm you know but can’t recognize is useless.
- Split it into triggers: “R U R' U'” sticks as a single chunk.
Motivation and consistency
- 20 to 30 minutes every day beats 3 hours on Sunday.
- Watch your ao12, not your best single: an isolated PB is often luck.
- Milestones (1:00, 45 s, 30 s, 20 s) take weeks. Plateaus are normal.
Common mistakes
- Doing the cross on top, then flipping the cube: get used to cross on bottom as soon as you can.
- Learning full OLL before your F2L is fluent: F2L is more than half your solve time.
- Rotating the whole cube for every pair: use U to bring the pieces to you.
At competitions (WCA)
- 15 s of inspection: over that, +2; over 17 s, DNF.
- Every event is an ao5: the best and worst times are dropped, and the other 3 are averaged.
- Scrambles are official and the same for everyone. Competitions are open to all levels: check out the WCA website.