Pyraminx


The Pyraminx is a regular tetrahedron puzzle in the style of Rubik's Cube. It was made and patented by Uwe Mèffert after the original 3 layered Rubik's Cube by Ernő Rubik, and introduced by Tomy Toys of Japan in 1981.

Optimal solutions

The maximum number of twists required to solve the Pyraminx is 11. There are 933,120 different positions, a number that is sufficiently small to allow a computer search for optimal solutions. The table below summarizes the result of such a search, stating the number p of positions that require n twists to solve the Pyraminx:

Records

The world record single solve is 0.73 seconds, set by Simon Kellum of the United States at Middleton Meetup Thursday 2023. The world record average of five solves is 1.14 seconds, set by Lingkun Jiang of China at Zhengzhou Zest 2025.

Top 10 solvers by single solve

RankNameResultCompetition
1

Methods

There are many methods for solving a Pyraminx. They can be split up into two main groups.
1) V First Methods - In these methods, two or three edges are solved first, and a set of algorithms, also called LL algorithms, are used to solve the remainder of the puzzle.
2) Top First Methods- In these methods, three edges around a center piece are solved first, and the remainder of the puzzle is solved using a set of algorithms.
Common V first methods-
a) Layer by Layer - In this method, a face with all edges permuted is solved, and then the remaining puzzle is solved by a single algorithm from a set of 5.
b) Algorithmic L4E and Intuitive L4E - L4E or last 4 edges is somewhat similar to Layer by Layer. The only difference is that only two edges are solved around three centers. Both of these methods solve the last four edges in the same step, hence the name. The difference is that Intuitive L4E requires a lot of visualization and "intuition" to solve the last four edges while algorithmic L4E uses algorithms. Algorithmic L4E is generally used more at higher levels, although there are very fast Intuitive L4E users. It is also easy to transition between Intuitive L4E and Algorithmic L4E.
Common top first methods-
a) One Flip - This method uses two edges around one center solved and the third edge flipped. There are a total of six cases after this step, for which algorithms are memorized and executed. The third step involves using a common set of algorithms for all top first methods, also called Keyhole last layer, which involves 5 algorithms, four of them being the mirrors of each other.
b) Keyhole - This method uses two edges in the right place around one center, and the third edge placed elsewhere on the puzzle. The centers of the fourth color are then solved using the slot formed by the non-permuted edge. The last step is solved using Keyhole last layer algorithms.
c) OKA - In this method, one edge is oriented around two edges in the wrong place, but one of the edges that is in the wrong place belongs to the block itself. The last edge is found on the bottom layer, and a very simple algorithm is executed to get it in the right place, followed by keyhole last layer algorithms.
Some other common top first methods are WO and Nutella.
Many top Pyraminx speedsolvers only use V-first methods, as top-first methods are extremely clunky and outdated due to hardware.

Variations

There are several variations of the puzzle. The simplest, Tetraminx, is equivalent to the Pyraminx but without the tips, resembling a truncated tetrahedron. There also exist "higher-order" versions, such as the 4x Master Pyraminx and the 5x Professor's Pyraminx.
The Master Pyraminx has 4 layers and 16 triangles-per-face, and is based on the Skewb Diamond mechanism. This version has about 2.6817 × 1015 combinations. The Master Pyraminx has
  • 4 "tips"
  • 4 "middle axials"
  • 4 "centers"
  • 6 "inner edges"
  • 12 "outer edges"
In summary, the Master Pyraminx has 30 "manipulable" pieces. However, like the original, 8 of the pieces are fixed in position and can only be rotated in place. Also, the 4 centers are fixed in position and can only rotate. So there are only 18 "truly movable" pieces; since this is 10% fewer than the 20 "truly movable" pieces of the Rubik's Cube, it should be no surprise that the Master Pyraminx has about 10,000-times fewer combinations than a Rubik's Cube. The Master Pyraminx can be solved in numerous ways: one is layer by layer like the original one or reducing it to a Jing pyraminx.

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