Nipun Kasari: Speed-cubing During a Pandemic

The image is a screenshot of the website cubingtime.com, which is an online Rubik’s Cube Timer my friends and I used during the pandemic to solve Rubik’s Cubes remotely because of the closure of official tournaments.

It shows the tool that I have been using to experience the same exciting events I used to attend before the world went into lockdown: official Rubik’s Cube competitions.

This image relates to the theme of being a teenager during an extraordinary time because the Coronavirus has caused the closure of many in-person Rubik’s Cube events around the world.

Many teenagers like me are unable to socialize with friends and have fun at competitions in person.

Rubik’s Cube competitions never get old. I usually go to five to six competitions a year, and each one consists of several different types of puzzle events. The experience of competing with friends and setting personal records is thrilling.

After we went into lockdown, I was upset that there is no solution to the problem of hosting competitions during a pandemic.

People from different regions attend the same competitions, so if they reopen during the pandemic the virus can easily spread.

At first, I was really concerned about what this means for the future of competitions. I was worried that this would last for a very long time.

However, I still practice solving Rubik’s Cubes every now and then. I zoomed with my friends who I usually see at competitions and practiced with them as well.

I realized that although we’re not in person, I still had fun and the experience wasn’t bad at all. Although I couldn’t set personal records in official competitions, I could still set personal bests at home and race my friends to improve my solves.

That’s when we found the Cubing Time Rubik’s Cube Timer. The website was perfect for practicing in group sessions and racing one another.

We used the website almost every time we called each other remotely, and we came up with our own games to play every week.

The timer allowed me to connect with my friends and my favorite hobby during a dark time.