A new North American record was set at a Rubik’s Cube tournament held on campus this past weekend.
USA contestant Drew Brads set a record for the Pyraminx, a pyramid-shaped version of the puzzle. His average time of 3.01 seconds and his best time of 1.71 seconds from Saturday’s game are both North American records. Brads is also the current North American champion in Pyraminx.
Junior Anthony Brooks organized the tournament, which was held in the Old Snackbar on Saturday, Nov. 9. This is his third time hosting such a tournament at the college, but he said more world-class competitors came to this tournament than previous ones. Brooks also competed in three events, taking fourth in the original cube event, second in 2x2x2, and first in one-handed.
Forty-six cube enthusiasts came to the tournament, including one from China, Korea, India, and two from Canada.
“There were a lot of really, really fast guys in this one,” Brooks said.
Bhanu Savan Kodam of India set a national record for average time for the Pyraminx, with a 5-solve average of 4.45 seconds.
Brooks said part of the draw was the number of events offered. The tournament included eight different events, including the original cube, 4x4x4, Pyraminx, and other Rubik’s cube-like puzzles, as well as one-handed and blindfold solving.
The youngest contestant at the tournament was 9 years old. Most were under the age of 20. The room was full of competitors moving from station to station, or sitting at tables by themselves or with friends practicing over and over.
“In order to do really well, you kind of have to be solving it all day,” Brooks said.
Competitors would be turning their own cubes as they sat down at the table to solve a cube that was waiting for them. The tournament did not actually use Rubik-brand cubes, because certain off-brand models turn faster.
Rami Sbahi, a 12-year-old contestant from Rochester Hills, Mich., has been solving cubes for 2 years and 9 months. He placed sixth in the original cube competition, third in 2x2x2 and 4x4x4, second in Pyraminx, third in an event called Square-1, fourth in one-handed solving, and third in blindfolded solving. Sbahi’s best time for the original cube was 9.47 seconds.
Sbahi said he had been solving cubes for 10 months before he learned to solve cubes blindfolded.
“It’s incredible what these little guys can do,” said sophomore Tyler Warman, who helped judge the event.
Warman said he has never solved a cube, but was impressed by the skills of all the contestants, especially those who solved cubes one-handed and blindfolded.
Blindfolded-solving contestants were given the chance to inspect their cube, then required to don a blindfold before making any changes to it. Their score was determined by their total time spent inspecting and solving the cube. Five of the nine contestants who attempted it were unable to completely solve the cube, and only one solved it on all three of his attempts.
“It was kind of crazy,” he said.
Brooks organized the event with other members of Alpha Tau Omega as a fundraiser for the Steve Gleason ALS Foundation. Brooks said they were able to raise about $400.
Brooks, who is the second-ranked cube-solver in North America said he has recently become more interested in organizing tournaments and fundraisers. He started a non-profit organization with Andy Smith, who is ranked first in North America. The organization, Cubes 4 Kids, is devoted to providing kids in children’s hospitals with cubes and showing them how to solve the puzzles.
