Blindfolded (BLD)
Solving a cube blindfolded (3BLD) is the ultimate party trick. It looks like magic, but it’s actually just a memory palace and specific algorithms.
How it works
You don’t memorize “move right, move left”. You memorize where pieces need to go.
- Memorization Phase: You look at the cube and create a story.
- Example: The White/Red edge belongs in the “A” spot, and the Blue/Orange edge belongs in the “F” spot.
- Story: “Ants eating Fries.”
- Blindfold Phase: You put on the blindfold and execute algorithms to swap those specific pieces without messing up the rest of the cube.
The Buffer & Target Concept
Imagine you have a “Buffer” spot (like a loading dock).
- You look at the piece currently sitting in the Buffer.
- You shoot it to its “Target” home using a setup move and an algorithm (like the T-Perm or Y-Perm).
- Now a new piece is in the Buffer. Repeat.
Old Pochmann Method (OP)
This is the beginner BLD method.
- Edges: Use T-Perm (
R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F') to swap pieces. - Corners: Use Y-Perm to swap corners.
Is it hard?
- Solving: Surprisingly easy. It’s just repeating 2 algorithms.
- Memorizing: This is the hard part. You need to memorize a sequence of about 20 letters.
Don’t Peek!
If you lift the blindfold, it’s a DNF. Even if you just wanted to check if the cat was judging you. (The cat is always judging you).