The most popular method isn’t always the best one. Many puzzles have super advanced methods that not many people know about. Are these hidden methods any good? Well, Some of them are, and some of them aren’t. Keep reading this article to find out. This video was inspired by Cube Master’s Most advanced method for every WCA event Video.
Basic Events
If the first layer is in a y-perm state, we would use EG-2 to solve the rest of the cube
This section will briefly overview all the common advanced techniques for some puzzles. Puzzles with more complex methods will have an entire paragraph dedicated to them. First, 2×2. The most advanced 2×2 method is full-EG. This method involves solving a face intuitively and then the rest in 1 alg. Pyraminx has a similar method called the v-first method which is solving a V at the bottom and then solving the rest in one alg. Most of the easy WCA puzzles are solved by solving some sort of layer, or pseudo-layer, and then solving the rest in 1 alg. The same goes for skewb. In skewb, top skewbers use L2L which also involves solving a layer (or pseudo-layer) and then solving the rest in 1 alg.
3×3
A simple psuedo-f2l case
There’s not really a more advanced method of doing 3×3 besides CFOP. However, there are many optimizations like extended crosses, pseudo-f2l, and zbll that can be learned and applied to make solves much faster. Many top cubers like Tymon and Max use these tricks to improve their solves.
Clock
Clock doesn’t have many methods but the most advanced is definitely the Lou or no-flip method. This is just an extension of the standard way to solve clock that involves predicting and memorizing the solution to one side during inspection, which makes it so that you don’t have to rotate during the solve. All current clock world records are set using this method.
4×4
4×4 Yau consists of solving 3 cross edges, then the centers, then the remaining cross edge
The most advanced method for 4×4 is less of a method and more of a technique. It’s called Oll Parity Avoidance, or OPA. This method is EXTREMELY advanced, so I suggest looking up a tutorial if you really want to learn it. But in short, it involves tracing the edge pieces in inspection to figure out whether the cube will require an even or odd number of turns to solve. Making sure the cube is in an “even” state before getting to the OLL stage of the solve is helpful because that means you can force no OLL parity. However, due to its complex nature, the method is only used by the very top 4×4 solvers.
5×5 – 7×7
5×5, 6×6, and 7×7 all use the Yau method. This method is so popular on big cubes, largely because of its efficiency, and the way you make centers and F3E. Since turning big cubes can be quite heavy and slow, efficiency really matters. A lot of cubers also use 3-slice during edge pairing instead of the standard Yau way because it can be more efficient.
3, 4, and 5 BLD
Standard letter scheme diagram for piece memorization in 3BLD
Although the methods used in these three are all a little different, they all have the same idea. For 3BLD, 3-style is the most advanced method. It involves solving the cube by cycling around 3 pieces at a time, hence the name. This method is pretty advanced in the sense that it has over 400 algs, and requires a lot of recognition skills. 4×4 and 5×5 blindfolded also use the idea of cycling pieces around, just in slightly different ways.
FMC
FMC is one of the most advanced events in itself because it revolves around finding efficient ways to solve the cube in 1 hour. There is no defined method for FMC, but rather a bunch of different strategies like rNISS, skeleton, and insertions to make each part of the solution as efficient as possible. Basically, the more techniques you know, the more likely you are to find an efficient solution.
Megaminx
Megamix notation as found on the cubeskills.com “Intermediate megaminx tutorial” pdf
Since megamix is not very popular and it’s pretty difficult already, there are no advanced methods for this puzzle. Finding pieces is already super difficult because the puzzle has so many sides, which is why complex methods don’t really make sense.
Square-1
This image shows some of the many CSP algs from CubeRoot
Square-1 is a pretty popular event, so it does have a few advanced methods. The most advanced is probably CSP, which is an advanced version of Vanderburg. This method has great potential because it may allow 2-looking a solve which is great because it reduces pauses. However, the difficulty of the method lies in the total alg count, which is over 1430 algs! This is why not many people know it. But keep in mind that this could be the future of square-1. You can also add a lot more advanced techniques to the solve like parity control and advanced cubeshape to make it faster.
Summary
For easier puzzles like 2×2, skewb, and pyraminx, the most advanced methods usually consist of making a layer or pseudo-layer and solving the rest in one alg. For the more advanced methods, we start to see more variation in techniques and less of completely different methods, and more of how to apply certain aspects of the solve in advanced and efficient ways.
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