In the spring of 2017 we organized a content writing competition to promote Rubik's Cubing and twisty puzzling. In the first round, Write and Win Twisty Puzzles, cubers from all around the world sent us their stories about how they met the cube, why they started cubing, their favorite puzzles and cubers, and the author of the best article won a $100 twisty puzzle bundle. The competition has ended; here is what it was all about.
The competition was originally announced on cube3x3.com. You can still see the original announcement in the Web Archive.
The Rules
These were the rules of the first round, word by word:
Round1: Write and Win Twisty Puzzles – Ruwix Competition
Categories
- How I met the Cube
- Why I started cubing
- A funny story about the Cube
- My favorite puzzle (not necessarily the 3×3)
- My favourite cuber
Send us an article before 10 May 2017 in the categories above to enter the competition and win a 100$ Rubik's Cube and other twisty puzzle bundle of your choice! Please read the requirements below before you submit your work:
- Articles must be written in English, containing at least 300 words.
- You can increase your chances by submitting more essays in different categories.
- The winner will be announced once we've analyzed and published all works on our website.
- The author of the best article will be contacted and asked to send us his shipping address and a 100$ wish list from a puzzle webshop of his choice: TheCubicle.us, SpeedCubeShop or Lightake.
The 100$ budget needs to cover shipping costs too.
If this is not feasible (because the webshop doesn't ship to the winner's country or other reasons) then the 100$ will be sent to a PayPal account named by the winner. - Please send plain text in the email or formatted content in HTML or MS Word.
- Please indicate if you don't wish your name and age to be displayed along your article on our website.
- Articles with very bad grammar or similar errors will be disqualified.
- By entering the competition you agree to send us a picture of you and your new puzzles to be published on the website if you win the prize.
The Entries
We received and published 118 articles from cubers all around the world, from the USA to India, Malaysia, Slovenia and the Philippines:
- How I met the cube – 45 articles
- Why I started cubing – 28 articles
- A funny story about the cube – 18 articles
- My favorite puzzle – 14 articles
- My favourite cuber – 13 articles
You can browse all entries in the Web Archive.
We received many funny stories, like the one about a cube fallen into the toilet. Most of you shared the memory of how you met the cube and why you started cubing. Others wrote about their favorite puzzle, the most popular being the 3×3, while some of you prefer the Megaminx, the 2×2, the Pyraminx, the Ghost Cube etc. proving the variety of twisty puzzles and that each and every one of them offers a different challenge. Reading about your favorite cubers confirmed that speedcubers like Feliks Zemdegs can have a huge impact on young cubers' lives and they can motivate others to start speedsolving.
We'd like to say thank you and congratulate all who took the time and effort to enter our competition. Everyone who completed this task would deserve a prize, especially those who submitted more than one article, but unfortunately we could only award one of you.
The Winner: Benjamin Voller-Brown
After reading all the entries multiple times we decided to pick Benjamin Voller-Brown (15, USA) to be the winner of the $100 puzzle bundle. He has a unique writing style, submitted an entry for all categories and he put a huge effort in all his works: How I met the cube, The Race That Changed Everything, The Power of the Cube, an article in which he named his best friend, Roshan, to be his favorite speedcuber, and the winning article about his favorite Rubik's Cube.
My Favorite Rubik’s Cube
Benjamin Voller-Brown (15, USA)
During the spring of 2016 when I was only 15 years old, I got my first Rubik’s Cube. It was a Rubik’s brand Cube, but that did not matter to me. The only thing that mattered was that I was finally able to try to solve the infamous Rubik’s Cube. I treated this cube like my child, lubing and tensioning it, and keeping it healthy. Most new parents read parenting books; I read and memorized algorithms. It took me about a week to first learn how to solve it, and after memorizing all the beginners’ algorithms, I decided to time myself. I still remember my time to this day: 2:53. It was one of my proudest moments. I had finally solved the unsolvable. I ran to my mom and asked her to scramble it, the excitement flowing throughout my body. Finally, after thorough scrambling, she handed it to me with a doubtful look in her eye. As soon as I got the cube, I started solving. The White cross, done; white edges, done. I could see my mom’s mouth get wider with every step done. The first two layers were finally completed and my mom said, “you’re not going to finish it, the Rubik’s cube is impossible!” After finally permuting the last layer, my mom’s eyes got wide. For the first time in her life, she was completely speechless.
After that amazing endeavor, I started showing my friends the power of the cube. After showing my best friend, Roshan, he wanted to try it out. He had been struggling with his classes and free time because he was taking 3 AP classes during his sophomore year. While seeing him solve, I noticed a smile on his face for the first time in weeks. He was finally able to forget about schoolwork and have fun. I knew what I had to do. He had the same reaction I had that first day of solving. I showed him the basic beginner’s method. After 10 minutes of messing with the cube, he knew he had to give it back. I made sure that he had something that made him happy, and that was a Rubik’s Cube. I decided to pass on my Rubik’s brand Rubik’s cube and spent the entire day teaching him how to solve the infamous, unsolvable Rubik’s Cube. After months of solving, and occasionally borrowing my speed cube, my friend has now gotten to under one minute. His love for solving continues to this day.
Now the magic of this cube kept going for months. This cube was passed on from friend to friend and bringing the happiness and knowledge with it. Others may say that their precious 40 dollar cube is their favorite cube because they got a new personal best with it, however, the life story about one cube that brought happiness to many people is more important. Teaching, happiness, and connecting with people are more important than competition. My favorite cube, a basic beginners cube, does that, making the world a happier place. I still try to do this, passing on the knowledge of solving a cube to this day. The Rubik’s Cube brings triumph to whoever is using it, and the only true thing to do with a cube is to pass that happiness to others. My favorite puzzle has passed happiness off to many kids allowing one to make conversation and break down barriers, creating a multicolored rainbow of happiness.
Benjamin Received His Prize
Congratulations to Ben for his well deserved victory! This is what he replied after his puzzles arrived:
I received my new cubes yesterday and I absolutely love them! I have already started working on the second round, and cannot wait to finish. Thank you for an amazing first experience with the webshop. Because of this experience, I have already reordered. Attached is the picture of me with my new cubes. Thank you for the thoughtful mentions about my article.
Benjamin has received his shopping list.
Those who didn't win had another chance in the second round of the competition, The Big Summer Challenge.