Cube Timer

About the cube timer

This free cube timer is made for speedcubing. Scramble your puzzle with the moves on the screen. Then hold Space (or touch and hold the timer on a phone) until the time turns green, and let go. The clock starts when you let go. Press any key, or touch the screen, to stop it.

Every solve goes into your session. The timer shows your best time, your mean, and your average of 5 (ao5) and average of 12 (ao12), worked out the same way as at a WCA competition. You can mark a solve as +2 or DNF, delete a solve, and save the whole session as a CSV file.

Everything runs in your browser. Your times stay on this device, and nothing is uploaded.

Features

• Hold-and-release start — hold Space or touch the pad, wait for green, let go to start; any key or touch stops the clock
• Scrambles for 3×3, 2×2 and 4×4 — a new random scramble after every solve, with one session for each puzzle
• WCA inspection — 15 seconds with calls at 8 and 12 seconds (beep or voice), +2 after 15 seconds and DNF after 17 seconds
• ao5 and ao12 by the WCA rule — best and worst times dropped, a DNF counts as the worst time
• Best, mean, best ao5 and best ao12 — all updated after each solve
• Change any time — +2, DNF or delete on every solve in the list
• CSV export — every time with its penalty, ao5, ao12, scramble and date, ready for a spreadsheet
• Fullscreen and a quiet mode — hide the running time, or show whole seconds only, while you solve

How the averages work (ao5 and ao12)

Cubers do not use a plain average. One lucky or unlucky solve would change it too much. So the best and the worst time are left out first.

• Ao5 (average of 5): take your last 5 solves. Drop the best and the worst. The ao5 is the mean of the 3 times in the middle.
• Ao12 (average of 12): take your last 12 solves. Drop the best and the worst. The ao12 is the mean of the 10 times in the middle.
• A DNF counts as the worst time. One DNF is dropped like any worst time. With two DNFs, the average is a DNF too.
• A +2 adds 2 seconds to that solve before anything is worked out.
• Averages are rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second. Single times are cut (not rounded) to hundredths, like on a stackmat timer.

Here are three ao5 examples, worked out the same way as the timer does it:

The mean in the stats is the plain average of all your solves that are not a DNF.

Scrambles and inspection

A scramble is a list of moves in standard notation: U (up), D (down), R (right), L (left), F (front), B (back). A letter alone means a quarter turn clockwise, ' means counter-clockwise, and 2 means a half turn. On 4×4, Rw means you turn the two right layers together.

The scrambles are random moves. The same face never turns twice in a row, and there is never a move like R L R, where the first and the last move are on the same face of one axis (that would just be a longer way to write R2 L). Official WCA scrambles use a "random state" program, so a competition scramble can look a little different, but these are fine for practice.

With Inspection set to 15 seconds (WCA), you get 15 seconds to look at the puzzle before you start, like at a competition:

You hear a call at 8 seconds and at 12 seconds — a beep (one at 8, two at 12) or a voice, if your browser has one.

Tips for faster solves

• Practise with inspection on. Plan your cross (or first block) in the 15 seconds, like you will at a competition.
• Watch your ao12, not your best single. A lucky single says little; a better ao12 means you are really getting faster.
• Use "Nothing (hide the time)" if the running clock makes you nervous. You see the time when you stop.
• Do not delete bad solves. Mark a pop or a misscramble as DNF instead, so your averages stay honest.
• Export the CSV now and then. Your browser keeps the session, but clearing site data deletes it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start and stop the timer?

Hold the Space bar until the time turns green, then let go — the clock starts. Press any key to stop. On a phone or tablet, touch and hold the big timer, let go to start, and touch anywhere to stop.

Why do I have to hold before it starts?

So that you can put both hands on the puzzle first, like on a stackmat. The time turns red while you hold and green when it is ready (after 0.3 seconds by default). Under Hold before start you can choose no wait or 0.55 seconds.

How is ao5 worked out?

Take your last 5 solves, drop the best and the worst, and take the mean of the 3 in the middle. A DNF counts as the worst time, so one DNF is dropped. Two DNFs make the ao5 a DNF.

What do +2 and DNF mean?

+2 adds 2 seconds to a solve — at a competition you get it, for example, when you start after 15 seconds of inspection. DNF means "did not finish": the solve does not count. Press +2 or DNF next to any time to set it, and press it again to take it away.

Does it work with any cube?

Yes. It works with any 3×3, 2×2 or 4×4 puzzle cube, of any brand, including a Rubik's Cube. The timer does not connect to the cube; you scramble it by hand with the moves on the screen.

Are the scrambles official WCA scrambles?

No. They are random-move scrambles with the usual rules (no face twice in a row, no move like R L R). Official scrambles come from a random-state program. For practice this makes no real difference.

Where are my times saved?

In your own browser, on this device. Each puzzle has its own session, up to 1,000 solves. Nothing is sent anywhere. Use Export CSV to keep a copy or open it in a spreadsheet.

Can I use it without a keyboard?

Yes. On a phone or tablet, the big timer is a touch pad: touch and hold, let go to start, and touch anywhere to stop.

Related tools

• Stopwatch — time anything, with laps
• Timer & Stopwatch — a countdown with an alarm
• Reaction Time Test — how fast you react to a colour change
• Multi Timer — many named timers on one page
• Typing Speed Test — another skill you can time and improve

How to use it

• Pick the puzzle: 3×3, 2×2 or 4×4
• Scramble your cube with the moves on the screen, white on top and green in front
• Set Inspection to 15 seconds if you want to practise like at a competition
• Hold Space (or touch and hold the timer) until the time turns green, then let go to start
• Solve, then press any key (or touch the screen) to stop
• Read your Best, Ao5 and Ao12; press +2, DNF or × to change a solve
• Press Export CSV to save the session as a file