Hi everyone, I had a cool idea: basically, I enjoy solving puzzles, and I'm relatively good at it. However, collectors who have huge numbers of puzzles might not enjoy solving them at all, and so if someone scrambles one of their puzzles it could be several hours of work before they get it back again. For those of you with jobs, or those of you who are working on making new puzzles, that lost time can be worth a lot to you.

So here's my offer to anyone out there. If you send me an unsolved puzzle, I will solve it and send it back, and all that I ask is that you pay for the shipping/insurance both ways. This offer will last until I edit this post to say the offer is over (or until I am rendered permanently incapable of editing my posts, if that happens). If you want to take me up on this offer and your puzzle has any unusual/non-obvious turn restrictions or is especially delicate or hard to turn, please let me know beforehand (although I'll be careful with the puzzle even if you don't tell me this).

If you're worried about stealing puzzles, you should know that I'm active in the speedcubing community, so if you don't get your puzzle back and you haven't heard from me for several weeks (and it hasn't been lost in the mail), feel free to make a post here and on the speedsolving forum saying that I've stolen your puzzle. So I'm using my reputation and real-life cubing friends as collateral.

Anyway, if this seems like a silly offer that's fine and I completely understand, but if you are ever in a situation where you really, really don't want to solve a puzzle you own... you might want to consider it again

To avoid postage costs and risk of loss, you could have a webcam link and speak your solution to the other person who would carry out your sequence.

Well I think the point of this was sort of so that you didn't have to spend the time doing it. If you sit there listening to a solution, you're still spending the time doing that. Now I think for puzzle for which a notation exist (or for which one is easily definable), sending pictures or a short video to him and a solution sent back may not be a bad idea. But that would also be harder to solve as you'd have to be able to figure out where pieces would wind up after many moves.

The only issue with this idea is most collectors I know (myself included) find a lot of pleasure in spending the time to solve the puzzles.

Unless someone sneaks into Georges' house and scrambles all his puzzles.

Interesting idea tho.

Team blindfold teraminx! (I don't even want to imagine how long that'd take...)

aaaargh!!
My brother used to do this. The first time I didn't notice. I was angry because he hadn't asked.
He went on scrambling my cubes every time he paid me a visit (luckily not to often).
Always when I wasn't looking.

When I really cant solve a puzzle, I rather take it apart and assemble it Then I can take a look at the mechanism

Your brother doesn't visit you often (luckily) ?

Per

Georges, I'll loan you my daughter for a week. If you have any cubes left unscrambled you can send her back I'll know she's learned to control herself. If they are all mucked up at the end of that time, would you please keep her until she has been trained to either solve them herself or leave them alone?

To qqwref's original post, I think this is a great way to play with puzzles you don't have. I wish I would have thought of that years ago when postage was cheaper. I might not have spent so much to build my collection. So if anyone is feeling nice enough to send me money to play with their cubes, I'm game too. Bear in mind though, it might not come back solved!

I have a devious friend who likes to call himself "The Scrambler." If I ever leave him in my room for long enough alone, I'll come back to find every last one of my puzzles scrambled (luckily I don't have nearly as many as you do Georges).

He claims that one day he'll come back with a cape and make like a real super villain.

"The Scrambler strikes again!"

If I make another 2x3x4 and somebody scrambles it...I hope that I have you on speeddial .

Too bad if I can't solve most of my puzzles I can easily disassemble it and "solve" it that way.

Good luck if somebody sends you a hexaminx

professorcube5x5: Cuboids are toooo easy, you just need some practice on computer cubes

Connor: It's just a shape mod, right? How hard can it be?

Some shape mods are ... this one definitely is.

dang it qqwref, great idea! Wish I'd thought of it first...

Lord have mercy.

It can't be THAT hard. All it requires is a little shape recognition and center orientation...

I wouldn't know how hard it is, I've never had a chance to play with one... I do know how to solve a super megaminx though, so I think I'd be able to do it reasonably quickly.

Incidentally if you ever meet me in real life I'll be glad to solve any and all twisty puzzles on the spot for free

I agreed with this theory until it came to practising it.
Maybe my visual thinking isn't as good as yours though when it comes to real life solving.

I guess the only way to test that would be for you to send me yours for a while!

Sorry , but I don't send to 'Somewhere Else' for the moment being.

Garrett: I wrote a solution to the 2x3x4 that includes if it were jumbled. Unfortunately, it was through PMs and I no longer have it, but I'd be glad to type up a new one and post it for you if you would like.



In regards to the Hexaminx, I've never had any problems with shape modifications and piece recognition. I don't really think it would pose much of an issue for Gelatin Brain solvers such as Michael and myself. We've solved many shape transformations, and I think the fact that now having a tangible puzzle will make up for the shape changing properties.

Thanks Noah. I no longer have a 2x3x4 but if I make another one I will definitely ask you

Anybody have a scrambled Teraminx for him?

Are you willing to put in the time?

I know its probably easy for you, but next time my gigaminx 1.5 gets scrambled I'm definitely sending it to you. I just hate solving it, a) because it locks up a lot and b) because it takes me like 3 hours. I hate looking at it scrambled too.