The popular 80s craze has made a huge comeback as an international competition saw hundreds of young people descend on Bolton to master the Rubik's cube in record time.
Bolton School was the venue for Speedcubing Competition 2023, in which competitors aim to solve Rubik's cube type puzzles against the clock.
The inaugural Bolton Spring Speedcubing Competition 2023 is an official UK Cubing Association (UKCA) event being overseen by delegates of the World Cubing Association (WCA).
The event attracted both experienced cubers and novices alike, including competitors from the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Poland and Taiwan.
Bolton School pupils were also at the event including Luke Burns and Ewan McCairn.
Some were as young as nine-years-old attempting to solve the Rubik puzzles in record breaking time.
Luke from Bolton is 15-years-old.
He said: “It’s been a social experience,it’s not just about getting good times but meeting friends and socialising.
“It was in 2022 when I got my first podium and people started to know me.
“I found out that the school could be a great place for having the events and it’s been a great way to contribute to the community.”
Luke placed second place in two categories, the Square-1 and the 3x3x3 Cube.
His mum, Kim Burns, who organised the event at Bolton School said: “One of the reasons I wanted to organise it here was because there is a demand for it, and I didn’t have to drive miles somewhere else.
“We’ve had so many people come here today from the North West for the first time.
“Luke started four years ago and is very logical so we solved one together, and from there he just started watching videos on how to do them faster.”
Ewan, 12, from Heaton was at his first cube event.
He said: “I looked at a tutorial and I forgot it, but I kept trying to remember because I wanted to do it so I carried on trying.
“I started a website called cuberism.com where I post tutorials and show people what you can do with a Rubik’s cube.”
It was Lincolnshire’s 13-year-old Daniel Partridge that topped scoreboards in six categories, even achieving a national best.
The event was Bolton’s second cubing tournament as last year, one was held in Farnworth.
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