Difficulty: 3/5
Solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded is not nearly as hard as you think it is. At first when I heard about solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded, I thought it would be impossible, but there are actually several methods to solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded using a clearly defined sequence of moves. You absolutely must be able to do the 3x3x3 Beginner’s Solution before you attempt the 3x3x3 Blindfolded Solution.
There are only four steps: corner orientation, edge orientation, corner permutation, and edge permutation. That’s it. These steps probably sound familiar because they were the last four steps in the 3x3x3 Beginner’s Solution. However, in the 3x3x3 Beginner’s Solution, you are only orienting and permuting the last layer of the cube. For the 3x3x3 Blindfolded Solution, you are orienting and permuting every piece on the cube, AND you are doing all of it with your eyes closed.
It sounds impossible to do, but it is actually not that difficult. The ONLY thing you ever do when solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded is move a certain piece to a certain spot, do a certain algorithm, and then move that piece back to its original spot. The only problem is, you do that about thirty times (sometimes even more) each time you solve the cube blindfolded, and you need to memorize all of thirty of them before you close your eyes.
Before we get started, I am going to explain the difference between orientation and permutation. Here’s a quick definition of each term. Orientation is the way a piece is positioned in a certain location and permutation is where a certain piece is located.
Here’s an analogy to help you further understand the difference between orientation and permutation. Let’s say you have a classroom with several desks all facing the front of the classroom. Permutation is the location of the desk, and orientation is the way the desk is facing. So for example, if you take one desk and move it all the way to the back of