The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 in Budapest by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architecture lecturer. At first it was called the "Magic Cube" (Bűvös kocka). It went on sale in Hungary at the end of 1977, then reached the rest of the world in 1980 under the name Rubik's Cube. Around 500 million cubes have been sold so far, and the world record for solving a 3x3 is 2.76 seconds (as of 28 September 2026).
Here is the story of the six-coloured cube, from a model made for a classroom to a mind sport with hundreds of thousands of competitors.
Ernő Rubik and the first idea
Ernő Rubik was born on 13 July 1944 in Budapest. In 1974 he was a lecturer at the Budapest College of Applied Arts (Iparművészeti Főiskola). According to Wikipedia, he built the cube as a classroom tool while looking for a good puzzle for his students, to help them picture ideas about three-dimensional space (Wikipedia – Ernő Rubik).
Here is the fun part: Rubik could not solve it straight away either. After scrambling his first model, it took him about a month to get it back to its starting state (Wikipedia – Ernő Rubik).
From a Hungarian patent to a worldwide craze
- 30 January 1975: Rubik applied for a Hungarian patent for the "Magic Cube". Patent HU170062 was granted later that year (Wikipedia).
- Late 1977: the first cubes appeared in toy shops in Budapest.
- September 1979: the Ideal Toy Corp signed a deal to bring the cube to the international market.
- January and February 1980: the Rubik's Cube made its international debut at toy fairs in London, Paris, Nuremberg and New York. Also in 1980 it was renamed after its inventor, because Ideal wanted a name that was easy to recognise and could be registered as a trademark (Wikipedia).
- Late 1980: the Rubik's Cube won a special award at Germany's Game of the Year prize, along with similar best toy awards in the UK, France and the US.
!A 3x3 Rubik's Cube with the six standard colours Image: [Booyabazooka / Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubik%27s_cube.svg), CC BY-SA 3.0
According to Wikipedia, by January 2024 around 500 million Rubik's Cubes had been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling puzzle game and the best-selling toy in the world (Wikipedia).
Four moves.
One at a time.
Tap each symbol and follow one piece. This is an exercise in watching the movement.
The numbers that made the Rubik's Cube a legend
43 quintillion positions
A standard 3x3 has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different positions, which is about 43 quintillion (Wikipedia). If you just turn it at random, you have almost no chance of solving it. That is why people need a method.
"God's Number" is 20
The question "what is the smallest number of moves that can solve any position?" was answered in July 2010. Tomas Rokicki, Herbert Kociemba, Morley Davidson and John Dethridge proved that every position of the Rubik's Cube can be solved in 20 moves or fewer. This number is called "God's Number". The work used about 35 years of CPU time donated by Google (cube20.org).
The history of speedcubing
The first World Championship, 1982
In June 1982, the first Rubik's Cube World Championship took place in Budapest. 19 people took part, and Minh Thai from the USA won with a time of 22.95 seconds (Wikipedia – Speedcubing). It was the only officially recognised championship until the championships were brought back in 2003 (Wikipedia).
The World Cube Association (WCA)
In 2004, the World Cube Association (WCA) was founded to organise and run international Rubik's Cube competitions. The number of competitions grew from 12 in 2004 to more than 1,150 in 2018 (Wikipedia – Speedcubing). Today, WCA competitions are held in more than 100 countries.
!Competitors at the Tartu Open 2017 speedcubing competition Photo: [Ivo Kruusamägi / Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tartu_Open_2017_speedcubing_competition.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0
The 3x3 world records today
According to the WCA's record data, as of 28 September 2026:
- 3x3 – single: 2.76 seconds – Teodor Zajder (Poland), at GLS Big Cubes Gdańsk 2026.
- 3x3 – average (average of 5): 3.51 seconds – Yiheng Wang (China), at Hefei Cubing League 3x3 III 2026.
Sources: WCA Records, WCA API, Wikipedia – List of world records in speedcubing.
The 2.76-second record was set on 8 February 2026 in Gdańsk, Poland. Teodor Zajder was the first person to break the 3-second barrier, beating the previous record of 3.05 seconds (Guinness World Records). Compared with Minh Thai's 22.95 seconds in 1982, the fastest solve is now more than 8 times quicker.
For an "average", each competitor solves 5 times; the best and worst times are dropped, and the average of the 3 remaining times is taken (Wikipedia).
Video of the 2.76-second record
Start your own cube journey
You do not need to solve it in 3 seconds to enjoy the Rubik's Cube. Most people start with the 7-step layer-by-layer method and only later move on to CFOP. The EasyRubic app helps you take that first step: scan your real cube with the camera, see the solution step by step on a 3D cube, and follow the layer-by-layer method in short, simple guides.
Get EasyRubic and start solving your Rubik's Cube.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the Rubik's Cube, and when?
The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 in Budapest by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architecture lecturer.
How many positions does a 3x3 Rubik's Cube have?
43,252,003,274,489,856,000 positions, which is about 43 quintillion. Even so, every position can be solved in 20 moves or fewer.
What is the 3x3 Rubik's Cube world record?
As of 28 September 2026, the single record is 2.76 seconds by Teodor Zajder (Poland) and the average record is 3.51 seconds by Yiheng Wang (China), according to WCA data.
What was the Rubik's Cube's original name?
Its original Hungarian name is Bűvös kocka, which means "Magic Cube". The name Rubik's Cube has been used since 1980.
This information is based on competition results owned and maintained by the World Cube Association, published at worldcubeassociation.org/results as of 28.09.2026.
Cover photo: Babak Mansouri / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain