Skewb
Puzzle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Skewb (/ˈskjuːb/) is a combination puzzle and a mechanical puzzle similar to the Rubik's Cube. It was invented by Tony Durham and marketed by Uwe Mèffert.[1] Although it is cubical, it differs from the typical cubes' construction; its axes of rotation pass through the corners of the cube, rather than the centers of the faces. There are four axes, one for each space diagonal of the cube. As a result, it is a deep-cut puzzle in which each twist affects all six faces.
Mèffert's original name for this puzzle was the Pyraminx Cube, to emphasize that it was part of a series including his first tetrahedral puzzle, the Pyraminx. The name Skewb was coined by Douglas Hofstadter in his Metamagical Themas column. Mèffert liked the new name enough to apply it to the Pyraminx Cube, and he also named some of his other puzzles after it, such as the Skewb Diamond.[2]
In December 2013, the Skewb was recognized as an official World Cube Association competition event.[3]
Mechanism
The Skewb's pieces are divided into subgroups and have several constraints. The eight corners are split into two groups—the four corners attached to the central four-armed spider and the four "floating" corners that can be removed from the mechanism easily. These corners cannot be interchanged i.e. in a single group of four corners, their relative positions are unchanged. A floating corner can be distinguished by squishing down when applying pressure to the corner. The centers only have two possible orientations, seen by scrambling a Skewb-like puzzle where the center orientation is visible (such as the Skewb Diamond or Skewb Ultimate), or by disassembling the puzzle.
Records
The world record for single solve is 0.73 seconds, set by Vojtěch Grohmann of the Czech Republic at Głuszyca Open 2026.[4]
The world record for average of 5 solves (excluding fastest and slowest) is 1.37 seconds, set by Ignacy Samselski of Poland at Cube Factory League Justynów 2025, with times of 1.22, 1.43, (1.16), 1.46, and (2.93) seconds.[4]
Top 10 solvers by single solve
| Rank | Name[5] | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vojtěch Grohmann | 0.73s |  Głuszyca Open 2026 |
| 2 |  Carter Kucala | 0.75s | Going Fast in Grandview 2024 |
| 3 |  Pratik Khanna | 0.76s | BITS Pilani Cube Open 2025 |
| 4 | Zayn Khanani | 0.81s |  Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022 |
| 5 | Divij Yadav | 0.83s | BITS Pilani Cube Open 2025 |
| 6 | Tomasz Pietruszka | 0.84s | Polish Championship 2025 |
| 7 | Simon Kellum | 0.85s | Going Fast in Grandview 2024 |
| 8 | Brayden Wroten | 0.86s | Oredigger Open CO 2025 |
| 9 | Szymon Brągiel | 0.87s | Żory Open 2025 |
| 10 | Antoni Stojek | 0.88s | Cube Factory Brzeziny 2024 |
 Manuel Prieto de Antón | Baztan Open 2023 |
Top 10 solvers by Olympic average of 5 solves
| Rank | Name[6] | Result | Competition | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ignacy Samselski | 1.37s | Cube Factory League Justynów 2025 | 1.22, 1.43, (1.16), 1.46, (2.93) |
| 2 | Carter Kucala | 1.52s | CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024 | 1.65, 1.45, (2.57), (1.37), 1.45 |
| Machesney Park Spring 2026 | 1.75, 1.32, (2.59), (1.28), 1.50 | |||
| 3 | Dominic Redisi | 1.53s | Rubik’s WCA North American Championship 2024 | (2.05), 1.63, 1.43, 1.52, (1.07) |
 Kaixi Guo (郭铠希) | Hefei Open 2025 | 1.66, 1.61, (1.29), (2.32), 1.31 | ||
| 5 | Alex Rosado Saez de Langarica | 1.54s | Sarriguren Open 2025 | (0.95), 1.24, (2.32), 1.75, 1.64 |
| 6 | Zayn Khanani | 1.56s | Pretzel Mania 2022 | 1.30, (1.20), 1.79, 1.60, (4.89) |
| 7 |  Ariel Benchetrit | 1.57s | Wiltshire Spring 2026 | 1.56, 1.56, (2.41), (1.41), 1.59 |
| 8 | Vojtěch Grohmann | 1.61s | Głuszyca Open 2026 | (3.25), 1.57, 1.70, (0.73), 1.56 |
| 9 | Oskar Hanuszkiewicz | 1.64s | Beskidy Cubing Day 2025 | 1.62, 1.64, (1.46), (2.14), 1.65 |
| 10 | Tomasz Pietruszka | 1.69s | Silesian Cubing Mysłowice 2025 | 1.65, (2.85), 1.72, 1.71, (1.52) |