The Skewb () 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. 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.
In December 2013, the Skewb was recognized as an official World Cube Association competition event.
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.World Cube Association
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.
Top 10 solvers by single solve
Rank NameWorld Cube Association Result Competition1 Vojtěch Grohmann 0.73s Głuszyca Open 20262 Carter Kucala 0.75s Going Fast in Grandview 20243 Alex Rosado Saez de Langarica 0.80s Tafalla Open 20264 Zayn Khanani 0.81s Rubik's WCA North American Championship 20225 Divij Yadav 0.83s BITS Pilani Cube Open 20256 Tomasz Pietruszka 0.84s Polish Championship 20257 Simon Kellum 0.85s Going Fast in Grandview 20248 Brayden Wroten 0.86s Oredigger Open CO 2025 Kaixi Guo (郭铠希) Guangzhou Special 202610 Szymon Brągiel 0.87s Żory Open 2025 Polish Championship 2025
Top 10 solvers by Olympic average of 5 solves
Rank NameWorld Cube Association Result Competition Times1 Ignacy Samselski 1.37s Cube Factory League Justynów 2025 1.22, 1.43, (1.16), 1.46, (2.93)2 Vojtěch Grohmann 1.40s Czech Championship 2026 1.36, (3.74), (1.14), 1.58, 1.263 Oskar Hanuszkiewicz 1.51s Cube Factory League Kalisz 2026 (1.18), 1.61, 1.22, 1.71, (2.66)4 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 Kaixi Guo (郭铠希) Xi'an Summer 2026 1.52, 1.85, (1.08), (DNF), 1.185 Dominic Redisi 1.53s Rubik’s WCA North American Championship 2024 (2.05), 1.63, 1.43, 1.52, (1.07)7 Alex Rosado Saez de Langarica 1.54s Sarriguren Open 2025 (0.95), 1.24, (2.32), 1.75, 1.648 Zayn Khanani 1.56s Pretzel Mania 2022 1.30, (1.20), 1.79, 1.60, (4.89) Dean Jacob Adamo Susskind Bay Area Speedcubin' 69 2026 1.30, (1.18), 1.82, (2.03), 1.5610 Ariel Benchetrit 1.57s Wiltshire Spring 2026 1.56, 1.56, (2.41), (1.41), 1.59
See also
Dino Cube Dogic Megaminx Pocket Cube Professor's Cube Pyraminx Duo Pyraminx Rubik's Revenge Speedcubing V-Cube 6 V-Cube 7 V-Cube 8
References
External links Birgit Nietsch's Skewb page Jaap's Skewb page Kirjava-Meep Skewb Method proposed by Thom Barlow and Kristopher De Asis. Sarah Strong's Skewb Method with variations for all skill levels. Rubik'skewb solution by Hideki Niina. Ranzha's Skewb Method by Brandon Harnish.