Message #3483

From: Melinda Green <melinda@superliminal.com>
Subject: Re: [MC4D] New permutation puzzles in mind
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2016 17:34:16 -0700

Don Hatch has written a software solution
<http://www.plunk.org/%7Ehatch/MagicCubeNdSolve/> to ALL 2^d and 3^d
puzzles with a layered approach a little like you describe though it
uses only a couple of simple algorithms since that’s all that is needed.
His input format is especially elegant and seems to relate to your next
subject.

Regarding Menger cubes, have you seen this
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/p1r/2682673882/sizes/z/>? We talked about
it on the list when it first appeared. We wondered whether it could be a
design for a real fractal twisty puzzle but I don’t think we came to any
conclusion.

Do try Magic Tile. It is special in that it is as much a work of art as
it is a puzzle engine. I can easily become mesmerized watching it
auto-solve.
-Melinda

On 7/21/2016 2:02 PM, llamaonacid@gmail.com [4D_Cubing] wrote:
>
>
> I been wondering that a Rubik’s Cube with more than 7D would not be
> difficult but tedious to solve. If it ever gets created whether you
> see pieces or stickers I have come up with two ideas to make it more
> fun. One is to change the objective of the game and rather than trying
> to solve it users find commutators for each d-dimensional Rubik’s Cube
> in the program. It would also be nice to have something I call
> commutator bank where everyone can share their commutators and as a
> result it becomes easier to find the most efficient commutators.
> Another way to make it less tedious would be to change it to a level 1
> Merger sponge in higher dimensions. For that all you have to do is
> leave the two types of pieces with the highest colors. So in 5D all
> you work with is 4 and 5 color pieces.
>
> Another idea that I came up with is a level 1 of a 3x3x3 or even a
> level 2 Merger sponge of a 9x9x9 Rubik Cube. I wonder if the number of
> possible states would increase if you can can tw irl one 2c piece in
> the level 1 of a 3x3x3 so that you change the position of the two
> colors with each other. If the number of possible states decrease with
> this new twirling move it means the puzzle becomes easier to solve and
> that is not what I want.
>
> Anyways, those are just random thoughts I been having and I do not
> know if those ideas are good or bad. Maybe I will try Magic Tile but I
> like n-cubes the most.
>
>