Cubic Puzzles

Rubik's Cubes

The Rubik's Cube was a mini-phenomenom when it was introduced in the early 1980's. There are numerous variants and imitations.  Below are the three primary flavors.  The 33 puzzle was the first and most popular, it was developed in 1974 by Hungarian architect Erno Rubik. Analysis of Rubik's cube involves some interesting mathematics, especially in an area called group theory. I'm sure the motivated web surfer will follow-up on this aspect.

Pocket Rubik's Cube (23) Rubik's Cube (33) Rubik's Revenge (43)
Potential positions: a paltry 3,674,160. With a bit of study, this can be solved by mere mortals. Potential positions: 43, 252, 003, 274, 489, 856. You will probably need a little help figuring out how to solve this one. Potential positions: 177, 628, 724, 197, 557, 644, 876, 978, 255, 387, 965, 784, 064, 000, 000, 000, but who's counting.