Rubik’s Cube Challenge
A scrambled 3D cube and a limit on your moves. Turn the faces and solve it before the moves run out. Choose Easy, Medium, Hard or Near impossible, or play the challenge of the day.
Easy challenge
Look straight at a face by tapping its letter, or drag the cube to turn it around.
Turn a face. Clockwise, as you look straight at the face:
Anticlockwise (the apostrophe means anticlockwise):
Half turn (counts as one move):
Choose a challenge
Your record at this level
Challenge number
Every puzzle has a number. Two people who use the same level and the same number get exactly the same scramble, so you can set a friend a puzzle.
How the Rubik’s Cube Challenge works
Each puzzle is a 3D cube scrambled with a known number of turns. That number is the par, so a solution of that length always exists. You have a limit on how many moves you may use, and every turn you make counts as one move, including half turns. Solve the cube before the moves run out to win. Three stars mean you finished within par, two mean you finished within the lower half of the extra moves, and one means you solved it inside the limit.
The levels
- Easy: scrambled with 3 turns, 6 moves allowed, and Undo is free.
- Medium: scrambled with 5 turns, 8 moves allowed, and Undo is free.
- Hard: scrambled with 8 turns including half turns, 10 moves allowed, and Undo costs a move.
- Near impossible: scrambled with 11 turns, 11 moves allowed, the exact par, and Undo costs a move.
- Challenge of the day: one puzzle for everyone each day, with 8 moves allowed.
Questions about the challenge
Can I share a puzzle with a friend?
Yes. Every puzzle has a number. Two people who choose the same level and the same number get exactly the same scramble. Use the Copy a link button to send the puzzle.
What is the best way to solve a puzzle?
Work backwards. The scramble was a list of turns, and the way back is to undo the last turn first and then the one before it. Practise that skill in the Rubik’s Cube Trainer, and learn the turn letters in Rubik’s Cube notation explained.
What happens if I use a hint?
A hint shows the next turn on the shortest route that the game knows. It takes a star off your result and the puzzle does not count towards your fewest moves record.