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Let's face it, if you can solve the Rubik's cube, you look like a genius. Even today after the cube being out for about 30 years, people still think you're a a genius if you can solve that darn cube in a couple of minutes. Think back to the first time you saw the cube and you saw some kid solve the thing in just a few minutes. You were blown away. I know I was. The first time I saw it solved was in the early 80's, and it was a Chinese exchange student name Mike Davies. He would charge a quarter to solve your cube. It was worth it just to watch him do it.

Imagine taking that to the next step and solving it blindfolded! That would have even impressed Mike Davies. Well that's exactly what you learn from Mark Elsdon's Rubik Remembered. Trust me on this: the blindfold part of this is the easy part. It's learning the cube that is the hard part. Basically this DVD is teaching you to solve the cube. Once you learn to solve the cube, he briefly covers the blindfold portion of the effect. I've been a cube solver for years (best time: 40.17 seconds). I know how to do it "blindfolded," and I've always wanted to add it to my act, but I just haven't done so yet. Currently in my act, I do solve the cube, but not blindfolded.

After seeing the reaction Mark got performing this live, it's time to move forward and put this in my act. The beauty of this is that it can be done in a strolling situation because there is nothing to reset. You just carry the cube and the blindfold around (neither are included with the DVD), and you're good. You solve the cube at each table, therefore you're ready to go at the next table.

It also works really well on stage, platform, house party, etc... it's the perfect effect. The catch is you've got to learn the cube and learn it well. There are tons of techniques to solve the cube, some faster than others, some more easily learned than others, etc. The technique Mark teaches is a combination of two different techniques that I was already familiar with.

The system he teaches is pretty easily learned, but you'll definitely need to be doing a lot of rewinding to make sure you get it. If you learn this technique and put in the practice time, you will be able to solve the cube in about 2 to 3 minutes. That seems quick, but when you're asking an audience to stare at you for three minutes, it can feel much longer. The technique I use would shave about a minute off of that time. I average about 1 minute each time.

I don't say this to brag; I say this to let you know that in order for this effect to really play, you've got to master the cube, and it will take some serious practice. I've, literally, solved the cube thousands and thousand and thousands of times. I'm sure Mark has as well. You don't get good without the practice. This isn't a packet-trick-that-I-can-put-in-my-gig-tonight-30-minutes-after-I-open-it.

That, my friends, is the best part of this all. It will force you to practice. This is the kind of effect that if you don't practice, you'll look like a complete idiot. There are no 'outs' for a screw up on this. Too many magi these days think they can buy a trick and perform it without practicing. This is a solid cure for a horrible disease. The best part is that, although it takes a ton of practice, it's within the grasp of just about any performer.

As for the quality of the product... superb, nicely shot, good camera angles, lighting, sound, etc. The only thing that sort of bugged me a little bit is that Mark never looked up at the camera. Most of the shots were close-ups on his hands, but the few that were wide shots, showed him looking down at the cube. It looked like his eyes were closed the whole time... minor point, I know, but I'm thorough darn it!

If I were to add anything to this product, I would have had a section for advanced techniques to improve your speed. I really think that speed is the key. Remember, the effect is this: You look at a scrambled cube. You memorize the order. You solve it blindfolded. That's a kick-butt effect no matter how long it takes. However, making the audience stare at you for an hour would, obviously be silly. So there is a time limit to make this effect hit hard. I'd say about 2 minutes is the limit.

With a few additional pointers (not included on the DVD), you could shave about a minute off of the time it takes using the technique Mark teaches. One last point: I've taught several students over the years how to solve the cube. It's pretty easy to teach them when you are sitting right next to them showing them and looking at their cube in real time. Doing it over a DVD with no student is very tough, and Mark nailed it. I think he did a great job teaching a tough subject through an even tougher medium.

Additionally, he just seems like a super cool nice guy as an added bonus. If you ever wanted to learn to solve the cube, this is a great way to learn it. If you want to add the cube to your act, blindfolded or not, get this DVD. Highly recommended.

Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM!

3 Comments

  • Rubix says:

    What a great review, I wish I’d read it before I bought the product because as someone who could already solve the cube I felt a little ripped off, not because it’s expensive, but because nearly all the DVD is taken up with teaching how to solve the cube with a method that is much slower than how I could already do it. You certainly need to practice solving the cube a lot before you go and perform this as a trick, I did it too soon and took about 4 mins in a performance because I kept messing up under pressure. Since then I’ve made some changes to the act by increasing the blindfold to the one where you tape coins to yours eyes, then tape a blindfold over the top. It gets a lot of laughs when you have to peel the blindfold off. It’s worth buying if you’re a novice with the cube but I’d leave it if you can already solve it and then spend your money on Corinda to learn how blindfolds work.

    • Jeff Stone says:

      @Rubix – Thanks for the comment. I, of course, love your screen name. Thanks for the comments about the review. I agree, if you already know how to solve the cube, this product isn’t that helpful. As for the cube itself, the statistics I posted in that review are so old now. Currently my average is about 33 seconds (half what it was when I wrote the review), and my best time is 24.56 seconds (almost half what it was when I wrote this review).

      I actually abandoned the method that I used to use (mostly a method of my own creation), and switched to the Fridrich method for speed solving. I still haven’t mastered all of the OLL algorithms, so I still have to do two-look sometimes, but I’m getting closer. It just takes a ton of work.

      The reason I switched is actually due to a reason I mentioned in the review. I felt the solve time was too much time to expect the audience to stare at me, so I wanted to speed it up.

  • Dan Rye says:

    I recently bought this and think it is a good place to start learning the solve (I bought it for this not the blindfold part) BUT I would say to have a pen and paper to hand and write down each of the steps whilst watching it. Would have really benefited from a PDF with the steps outlined.

    I like the teaching and his moves (or algorithms) but I made a mistake later on and then realised I could’t remember the steps and now i am rewinding and rewinding to find the right place.

    I am going to rewatch from beginning and take notes so I can create my own PDF!

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