Advice and Tips for a Beginner to Speedcubing
It can always be tricky to know where to start with Speed Cubes when you are a beginner as there are so many choices that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and hopefully, this article will help clear this confusion and guide you to the right choice. They can be categorised and grouped together into levels of difficulty depending on their characteristics so once you have mastered one level you can move upwards onto the next.
Starting with the original 3x3 Rubik's Cube would seem to make sense as it is the most well known but this can sometimes be too challenging for newcomers who don't have the fundamentals of speedcubing so it would make sense to start with a form of the puzzle that is a bit simpler. There are some Speed Cubes that are so simple that they are not really worth your time as they will not help you to develop your level for more difficult ones and are only really of use as fidget toys such examples of these are 2x1 or 3x1 cubes which only have level or depth to them and very few individual pieces. If you are an absolute beginner then it would be best to start with the simplest forms of the puzzle you can find as these will have only a few sides and individual pieces but that will offer you the right speedcubing experience as a newbie. Examples of the simplest or starter-level Speed Cubes you can get that offer you the correct speedcubing experience are the 2x2 Cylinder and the 2x2 Cube which are quite easy to solve but will give you the basic knowledge and skills to go forward and try more difficult ones with more confidence.
There are simple forms of the puzzle that you can get with unusual patterns on them that can be transformed into weird shapes, that will give you a slightly different or extra challenge from the standard ones, which can be more attractive to look at and fun to play with whilst helping to improve you cubing level. There are ones that are all one colour like a Ghost Cube or a Silver Cube in which the objective is to restore the puzzle back to the original shape or the unique pattern once you have scrambled the puzzle up with these kinds of puzzles allowing you to focus on these specific tasks rather than restoring solid colour sides so can be simpler and easier for beginners. Ghost cubes are all white in colour with unusual patterns on them that can be transformed or disfigured into many different and unique shapes and can be turned at unusual angles that come like most Speed Cubes in many different sizes, patterns and numbers of pieces. A Silver or Gold Cube is as the name describes all silver or gold but with the individual pieces being different sizes and shapes which gives the puzzle its challenge instead of the different colours you would find with a Rubik's Cube and there are numerous forms of this type of cube with there being different shapes, sizes, patterns and number of individual pieces for all levels of ability.
These simple forms of the puzzle will allow you to practice pattern spotting and memorising sequences at a very simple level that will not overwhelm you and with practice will get easier and easier to resolve. The simpler ones are also good for practising the physical manoeuvring of the puzzle or in other words twisting and turning the different parts of the cube and with different shapes there are different twisting points and manoeuvres that you can perform which will help to improve furthermore your understanding of speedcubing and your twisting efficiency. However, if you feel these are too simple and look almost childish then you could try beginning at a more advanced level whilst still being at a relative beginner level with the 3x3 Pyraminx (the LSMY version is reviewed here) or the original Rubik's Cube that is also 3x3 which are probably two of the most recognisable speed cubes in the entire collection. Even though these can look fairly simple at first glance they are going to be for beginners still quite challenging so would only recommend these as a starting point if you are feeling quite confident in your ability.
If you are really struggling to solve even these basic ones then there are plenty of resources you can search out and use that will show you how to solve them step by step with the best resource being youtube as it will give you visual instructions as well as there being plenty of videos so you can find the right one that will best explain it or will show you how to solve your particular Speed Cube. There are websites also that are good resources as they have clear written instruction manuals that will show you the fundamentals of speedcubing that should make the task of solving them less daunting and achievable. Another resource is taking a course developed specifically to help speedcubing newcomers and the course will have been created by an expert in speedcubing so will have all the know-how and hints to help you.
To claim you have mastered a Speed Cube means you have memorised the sequence of turns that will solve it and can do it automatically without any wrong turns in the quickest time possible then you can move on to the next one. Once you have mastered this level of Speed Cube then I would say you have moved past the beginner stage of speedcubing and you can move on to more difficult ones at a medium level that will have more sides and individual pieces as well as the more unusual shapes out there that can be distorted into some very confusing shapes. The most important message when starting out speedcubing is to start at one that you feel comfortable with that will not be too challenging that it won't be fun and spoil your enthusiasm for them as this is what they are supposed to be fun.
