A rowdy Rubiks cube race
The Rubik’s Cube Club on campus hosted a tournament this week in Morris Hall. Club President Bekdoolot Urustemov said this event was for people who wanted to “further their abilities in fitness club, improve their score, and also make new friends.”
Urustemov created the club because he knew he was good at solving Rubik’s Cubes and wanted a club on campus to share that passion.
“Two years ago, I was taking part in a competition, and I was like the school’s champion three years in a row. And I was thinking, why not open a club on campus?” said Urustemov. “I thought it would be really fun to find new friends, and some guys are also interested in this assembly.”
Urustemov said the Rubik’s Cube competition was intense, and everyone tried their best to be the fastest.
“In this competition, not only the time of you’re solving matters but also your time in general. When you start, you have to touch the table and then the phone, and then your timer starts,” said Urustemov. “When you solve it, you have to touch the phone screen as soon as possible because it also takes time. You can lose for half a second if you’re not fast enough.”
Two people competed head-to-head in each round until there was a final winner, and each round was best out of three. Each person would solve it as fast as possible, and they stopped the clock once they solved the cube. They ended up having only one round. There was someone keeping track of the times so the competitors could focus on solving the cube.
Jordan Mendoza was among the competitors. He said he was there because he likes Rubik’s Cubes, which are fun to solve. He said he has made many friends while being in this club.
“I did terrible competing today but had a lot of fun. I usually use Rubik’s Cube as a fidget for my hands, so when you can just make friends doing that, that’s pretty cool,” said Mendoza. “I like that not everyone knows how to solve it. So it makes me feel special.”
Mendoza said that for those who want to start being good at solving a Rubik’s Cube, it is to “be patient.”
Brandon Tucker was at the event but was not competing; he observed and supported his friend, Urustemov. He said he’s tried learning but hasn’t had much success.
“I find it interesting how people can solve them. I can’t even grasp how they handle the geometrics and symmetry,” said Tucker. “It seems like it’ll take a lot of time to learn for me, but that’d be cool to learn. I feel like I have to unlock something in my brain in order to do that, and I haven’t yet.”
Urustemov said for those who want to start solving Rubik’s Cubes but don’t know how, he recommends people “find a good person who can teach you clearly step by step slowly.”
“When I first was solving the Rubik’s Cubes, it took me one month because I couldn’t find someone who could really explain to me clearly how to solve it in each step,” said Urustemov. “After one month, I found one guy on YouTube who was pretty good and could explain how to solve it.”
Write to Lauren Viska at lauren.viska@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: The Rubiks Cube Club is formed around solving the Rubik’s Cube, a 3D combination puzzle originally invented in 1974. (Alexis Darkow/The Reporter)