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By "solve to an arbitrary position" I mean something like I give you two scrambled cubes and you make one cube match the other.

This question and its answers confirms that it's possible, but are there any well-known human cubers who can do this repeatedly or quickly?

Note: based on feedback in the comments, I've edited the question to clarify that I'm asking about humans who can solve cubes this way

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    $\begingroup$ Everyone who can solve a Rubik's Cube, can also solve it to a specific state. The solved state simply is one of the 43 quintillion states. Whether you 'solve' a scrambled cube to the solved state or any other state doesn't make too much difference, except that it's visually more challenges and therefore will take a lot more time, and it's easier to make a mistake. $\endgroup$
    – Kevin Cruijssen
    Jul 3, 2022 at 16:39
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    $\begingroup$ I'm aware of that, what I'm really asking is, are there solvers who make a point of overcoming the added visual challenge. I know it's possible, but I've never seen anyone do it $\endgroup$
    – T Hummus
    Jul 3, 2022 at 19:47
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    $\begingroup$ An example of this could be seen in this youtube video $\endgroup$
    – Stevo
    Jul 4, 2022 at 2:58
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    $\begingroup$ @Stevo : it seems in that video the player starts from unscrambled to scrambled but OP asks for scrambled to (another) scrambled. I guess if someone can do unscrambled to scrambled he/she can do scrambled to (another) scrambled as well... $\endgroup$
    – FirstName LastName
    Jul 4, 2022 at 10:19
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    $\begingroup$ @FlorianF I am talking about humans. I've updated the question to make it clearer $\endgroup$
    – T Hummus
    Jul 4, 2022 at 14:06

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My comment wanted to be turned into an answer, so here it is.

First, as a cuber myself, I think it is quite possible to change a cube state from scrambled (lets call this 1) to another scrambled state (lets call this 2). All it takes is for the solver to get used to 1, (the state where you start the transformation into 2), and imagine 1 to be solved.

As found from this youtube video, it is clear that it is possible to go from a solved position into a scrambled position. There is no cuber that I can find that has attempted the challenge, but I have done so myself just then I completed the challenge.

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  • $\begingroup$ So, the short answer to the question based on your last statement is: "Yes, at last one: me!" $\endgroup$
    – BmyGuest
    Jul 5, 2022 at 18:19
  • $\begingroup$ @BmyGuest haha, I'll agree to your comment, however it should be noted it is harder than it looks... $\endgroup$
    – Stevo
    Jul 6, 2022 at 2:39
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Not the most efficient method but works well: solve cube 1 as usual. Solve cube 2 as usual remembering (or write down) the moves. Apply reversed moves on cube 1.

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    $\begingroup$ @FirstName LastName : both cubes first solved independently to unscrambled position. First cube orientation aligned with 2nd unscrambled. Then on first cube performed reverse of 2nd cube solution. You're right it would take e.g. 100 moves even if only one necessary, but if both cubes are more then let's say 8 moves from unscrambled and from each other it does not mattter for humans. $\endgroup$
    – z100
    Jul 4, 2022 at 21:35
  • $\begingroup$ thanks for elaborate explanation $\endgroup$
    – FirstName LastName
    Jul 5, 2022 at 1:07
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I used to do this sometimes, just for fun. I would mix up 1 cube and then try to match it. It doesn't matter if the second cube is starting from solved or some other random position, it's equally as difficult. I don't know if I ever timed myself, but I would estimate it took me about 10-15 minutes to solve to a random position. For reference, I was never that great of a cuber to begin with, with my average time to solve a mixed up cube being about 75 seconds.

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It's actually very easy to do this if you use this method of solving the cube, and it can be done reasonably fast (say a few minutes) after some practice. Fundamentally, once you understand commutators it is equally easy to get to the solved state as it is to get to any other reachable state. The only difference is that in getting to a solved state you already know what are the desired pieces and orientations, whereas in getting to a given reachable state you have to keep referring to the desired state unless you have really good memory and visualization skills.

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  • $\begingroup$ In case you're interested, I did it for the first time using the first randomly generated state I found on Google Images (courtesy of ruwix.com/puzzle-scramble-generators) and it took me only 8 min. My ordinary speed-solve using the same method takes 25 sec. Most of my time was spent figuring out what the pieces were from the unfolded diagram, so I think with an actual cube I would easily do it within 5 min even without practice, and within 3 min with practice. $\endgroup$
    – user21820
    Jul 8, 2022 at 18:54

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