By: Willie Marie Robertson, Student Outlook Advisory Board Member

Published January 26th, 1982 – Student Outlook Advisory Board Member Student, Manual Arts High School

What is the average teen-ager spending his time on, amidst the hustle and bustle of city life? A lot of extra time is being spent on a new and exciting game designed by a teacher in Hungary. It’s called Rubik’s Cube. The Cube has become a sport among the young. Even in class, while the teacher is teaching. What do you think the students are doing? Yes, almost everyone is trying to solve the Cube. Why are young people so involved with it? Is it just a fad indicative of the ever changing lifestyle of today’s teenager?

Many young people regard the Cube as fun; a challenging game that tests their wits. I personally enjoy it because it’s so mind-boggling. Some students like the Cube because it gives them a chance to show off their ability to master it. One guy in my class can do it within two minutes and when solving it, all the other students look at him in amazement. Other students like the Rubik’s Cube because it gives them something to do with their time, while still others like it because everyone else is doing it.

What is a Rubik’s Cube and who is the ingenious man who invented it? The Rubik’s Cube is a mind-baffling puzzle, made up of 27 smaller cubes of six different colors, created by Erno Rubik, an architect and teacher in Budapest, Hungary. It was first manufactured in Hungary and became available in Europe in 1978.

Since 1977, an estimated 15 million Cubes have been sold in some 30 countries. It has been available in the United States since 1980, and has just recently gained great popularity. In the United States, almost every major store is advertising the Cube. The Rubik’s Cube sells for as little as $1.29 and as much as $12.00.

How does the Rubik’s Cube work? The object of the game is to get all the faces of each side to show the same color by twisting and turning the parts of the Cube. As a result of the Cube’s complexity, books have been written on the solution to the puzzle. One book, if read carefully, “The Simple Solution to Rubik’s Cube” by James G. Nourse, published by Bantam Book Company, allows anyone to solve the Cube without being a mathematician. The book also describes various games that can be played with the Rubik’s Cube. One such game, “Speed Cubing,” is challenging; the object being the restoration of the Cube to solid colors in the fastest time. A person who can do it in 20 minutes is labeled a whiz; a person who can restore the Cube in 10 minutes is labeled a speed demon; a person who can do it in five minutes is labeled an expert; while the person who can complete it in three minutes is labeled the master of the Cube and he certainly is a super whiz!

Another game is called the “Competition” where one person or a group of people race with each other – whoever achieves the lowest total completion time in minutes wins. The Rubik’s Cube can also be made in a facsimile of a shooting star or a checkerboard, by applying a simple solution given in Nourse’s solution book. It even has its own alphabet from A to Z. By using the Rubik’s Cube alphabet, most three-letter words and many four-letter words can be done on the Cube by twisting and turning the Cube until each side of the Cube contains a letter.

Because of the growing interest in the Cube, many other stimulating and visually attractive games have been developed. A key chain, a miniature replica of a Rubik’s Cube, has been designed. There are now cubes with bananas, flowers and skates on the faces. There are also circular and triangular puzzles available, all similar to the Rubik’s Cube. Other puzzles available and similar to the Cube are the Wonderblock and Tower.

Years ago young people were interested in games such as “Monopoly” and “Life” but today the Rubik’s Cube is a hit. What fun and challenging game will be next?