Sorry, Monopoly. No offense, Barbie. Apologies, Mr. Potato Head.

Rubik's Cube (Getty Images)

The world's best-selling toy isn't a game, a doll or a sp d! it's a h mble arrangement of "# $ bes, in%ented by a H ngarian ar$hite$t re professor ba$& in '()*. +n the ,) years sin$e -rno . bi& first $reated his famo s $ be, it's sold o%er ,/0 million nits, ma&ing the man himself a ho sehold name and propelling his $ boid $on ndr m into the history boo&s. Altho gh its three-dimensional nat re ma&es it a tri$&y prospe$t for beginners, pros $an sol%e it well nder a min te. The world re$ord1 A mere /.## se$onds. Hard as that may be to belie%e, mathemati$ians ha%e pro%ed it's always possible to sol%e absol tely any $ be arrangement, no matter how s$rambled, in "0 mo%es or less. 2e$iding whi$h "0 is the hard bit -- b t we're here to help. Squaring up to the Cube +t's nat ral to thin& of the $ be as ha%ing si3 fa$es, ea$h with nine $ bes. B t don't. +nstead, thin& of it as "# $ blets, gro ped into three $ategories! $enters, edges, and $orners. 4enters ha%e one $olored side, and are fi3ed together by the $ be's internal spindle. They $an mo%e aro nd b t $an't swap pla$es, and there are si3 of them, one per fa$e. 5et in the habit of thin&ing of these as fi3ed points that indi$ate the proper $olor for ea$h fa$e. The twel%e edge $ bes ha%e two sides and $an be fo nd in the middle of a fa$e. 4orners, meanwhile, ha%e three sides, and there are eight of them -- fo r on the top, fo r on the bottom. Start at the beginning There are lots of good methods for sol%ing a . bi&'s 4 be, b t some are easier than others. Most of the beginner-appropriate ones start the same way! sol%e the top fa$e.

How1 Pi$& a $olor 6any $olor7, and find the $orresponding $enter $ blet. Then mo%e o t the $ blets that don't fit, and mo%e in the ones that do. +f yo get one in the right pla$e b t with the wrong orientation, mo%e it o t and $ome ba$& to it later. 8n$e yo 're done, yo 'll ha%e not only the top fa$e one niform $olor, b t the top three $ blets on ea$h side fa$e will also mat$h9 if not, yo ha%e an edge or $orner in the wrong pla$e. Go "through the keyhole" Ha%ing sol%ed one fa$e, yo 're probably pretty rel $tant to ndo yo r good wor&. B t sometimes yo need to step ba$&wards to mo%e forwards, and that's the prin$iple behind this handy tip. After sol%ing the top fa$e, the standard ne3t step is to ta$&le the bottom, opposite fa$e. 8ne good way to do that is to deliberately mo%e an edge pie$e o t from the already finished top, ma&ing a :&eyhole.: As yo mane %er pie$es to sol%e the bottom fa$e, yo 'll find that if yo mo%e them thro gh the &eyhole ea$h time, yo won't dist rb the rest of the top. 8n$e yo 're done with the bottom, it's a simple matter to mo%e the &eyhole pie$e ba$& into pla$e. Develop your intuition St $&1 That's not s rprising. 8n$e yo '%e got the top and bottom fa$es down, matters get more diffi$ lt. ;e s ggest stopping there, res$rambling the $ be, and starting o%er. 8n$e yo '%e gone from a $omplete $ bes$ramble to a $o ple of finished sides, yo 'll ha%e absorbed most of the prin$iples and methods yo 'll need to finish p that el si%e middle layer. B t if yo 're still st $&, there are some great, step-by-step t torials on the ;eb -- b t be prepared to memori<e some pretty $omple3 mo%e se= en$es. +f yo $an hone yo r own int ition witho t detailed g ides, yo 'll be a better sol%er. Don't forget: lube your Cube Are yo r twists > st not as smooth as yo thin& they sho ld be1 Maybe yo r $ be is r nning dry. Twist the top fa$e thro gh */ degrees, and se a flat-bladed s$rewdri%er to gently pry o t one of the edge pie$es. Spray a small amo nt of sili$on-based l bri$ant -- a%ailable from yo r lo$al home impro%ement store -- into the gap. .epla$e the edge pie$e, and gi%e yo r $ be a good s$rambling. ?o sho ld find it m $h smoother, and yo r sol%ing times sho ld pl mmet.