In this blog entry, we will go over solving my favorite puzzle, the 2×2, and then my second favorite the Pyraminx!

The 2×2 is unique since it is the only standard cubic puzzle without any center pieces; it is composed of 8 corner blocks! Now, we will scramble the cube!

Normally, the first step of a cube is to solve the center cross, but since the puzzle is all centers we simply have to orientate the centers in one layer, and then flip the puzzle upside dow. When starting with the white face, the puzzle should look as follows:

Next, we make the face that is opposite from the layer that we started a solid color. Since we started on the white face, we now solve the opposite yellow side:

Finally, the last step is to orientate the last two corners that are out of position with a single algorithm, which finishes the 2×2!

The pieces on the Pyraminx will be referred to as follows:

Now, let’s scramble the puzzle!

First, we rotate the outer pieces of the pyramid to match all the pieces it is adjacent to; this is extremely simple to do, as rotating these pieces does not move any other pieces.

Next, we choose a color and rotate all of the inner pieces of that color onto one face; in this case, we use the green pieces.

Now, we slot in the edge pieces of the chosen color to finish the side and put the completed side at the bottom.

After that layer is completed, we have to solve the upper half using a single algorithm to rotate the edge pieces, and then the Pyraminx is solved!

The reason that these two are my favorite puzzles is because of how quick and simple they are to solve! For example, using the methods that I describe here, I can solve each of them in under 10 seconds pretty consistently. Also, because there are so few pieces in each, you can often get lucky and skip steps, which can lead to some impressive times, such as my record of 0.69 seconds on the 2×2! In the next and (final?) entry we will go over my most difficult puzzle, the shapeshifting Ghost Cube!