Virtual Megaminx, 3D Solver

Virtual Megaminx by Jiuzhao Hua

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Got a scrambled megaminx and desperately want to solve it? Well relax. Just paint the virtual Megaminx such that it has the same color configuration as your megaminx, then select "Solve" under "Tools", the Virtual Megaminx will show you how to unscramble your megmainx step by step in about 270 moves.

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How to play Virtual Megaminx

A move or twist can be triggered by a mouse click or a mouse drag.

Clicking a center cube with the LEFT mouse button will trigger an ANTI-CLOCKWISE turn of 72 degree.
Clicking a center cube with the RIGHT mouse button will trigger a CLOCKWISE turn of 72 degree.
Dragging a non-center cube to its adjacent non-center cubes will also trigger a turn of 72 degree along the dragging direction only if the mouse moves on the same face.

The megaminx can be viewed from different angles by rotating the whole megaminx. To rotate the whole megaminx, just drag on any center cube or drag the mouse on the background area (the area that is not covered by the megaminx).

Some useful buttons under Configure:

Megaminx Size -- adjust the size of the megaminx
Face Label -- turn the face label on or off
Rotating Speed -- adjust rotating speed

Some useful buttons under Tools:

Play -- play the megaminx by clicking or dragging the mouse
Paint -- paint the megaminx with colors to match the colors on your megaminx.
Scramble -- scramble the megaminx using randomly generated sequences
Restore -- restore the megaminx to its solved positition (each face has a solid color).
Solve -- solve the megaminx using selected method, animated solution can then be viewed with the navigation buttons, targeted cubies will be hightlighted, the next move will be shown at the bottom left corner of the megaminx panel.

To execute a sequence, first type in your sequence in the text field below the cube panel, then press the "Enter" key. The sequence entered must conform the convention stated below.

Name Convention

A single turn means a face / layer being rotated by 72 degree around its center. Each face has been given a label (N, S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, where N means north and S menas south). Face labels are fixed, however face colors can be changed through painting. A move or twist can be represented using face characters and turn symbols (', 1, 2, -1, -2) according to the following rules:

A single face character represents a single turn clockwise of that face.
A single face character followed by 2 represents a double turn clockwise of that face.
A single face character followed by ' or -1 represents a single turn anti-clockwise of that face.
A single face character followed by '' or -2 represents a double turn anti-clockwise of that face.

How to paint Virtual Megaminx

Select 'Paint' under 'Tools' to enter painting model. It is a good practice to start painting on a solved megaminx. The first thing you need to do is to adjust center colors. Right click a color button below the tree panel to open the color chooser. Select a color that matches the corresponding center color on your megaminx. Once you are happy with all center colors, then you can start to paint edges and corners. Left click a color button to select the color as the active painting color, a small pentagon filled with that color will be drawn on the bottom left corner of the megaminx panel. Click a face on any edge cube or corner cube to paint that face with the active color. Note that you cannot paint a center face using this method. The center color can only be changed by right clicking the corresponding color button. Once you finish painting all cubes, you can select 'Solve' under 'Tools' to ask the simulator to solve it. If the color configuration is invalid, it will return to painting model immediately. Double check each face, and make sure all colors match the corresponding colors on your megaminx. To exit the painting model at any time, select "Play", "Scramble", "Restore" or "Solve" under "Tools".

Jeff's solution to Megaminx

This is the simplest method as far as I know. It solves the megaminx in 270 moves on average. The Megaminx is solved according to the following order:

Fix south pole edges
Fix four south pole corners, leaving the fifth as a key hole
Fix four southern equatorial edges using the key hole
Fix the last south pole corner
Fix the last southern equatorial edge
Fix southern equatorial corners
Fix middle equatorial edges
Fix four pairs of northern equatorial corners and edges, leaving the fifth pair as key holes
Fix north pole edges and the last northern equatorial edge
Place north pole corners and the last northern equatorial corner (ignore orientations at the moment)
Fix orientations of north pole corners and the last northern equatorial corner

Links:
Dan's Cube Station
Chris Hardwick's Rubik's Cube Page
Jaap's Puzzle page
Jessica Fridrich's speed cubing page
David Byrden's Twisty Puzzles
Michael Reid's Rubik's cube page
Rubik's Official Online Site

Contact

Virtual Megaminx is developed by Jiuzhao Hua. To request an update, send an email to virtual_rubiks_cube@hotmail.com, you must include your full name and your ebay login name which are the sole proof that you owned a valid licence.

Last updated on 15 March 2006.