For most people, the challenge of solving a Rubik's Cube often ends in failure, and more often frustration.
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But for around 100 people in Canberra this weekend, solving the colourful puzzle cube was achieved in a matter of seconds.
The Vikings Lanyon Club is playing host to the Canberra Speed Cubing competition, with competitors battling it out to be crowned the fastest solver.
Fingers were flying throughout the day, as the speed cubers tackled not only the famous 3x cube, but the larger 4x4 and 6x6 cubes, with some even attempting to solve them one-handed or even blindfolded.
Among the competitors taking part was two-time world champion Feliks Zemdegs, who also holds the world record for the fastest average solving time in a single round, at 5.80 seconds.
Mr Zemdegs, 21, first learned to solve a Rubik's Cube nine-years-ago, and has been hooked on the puzzle ever since.
"I kind of stumbled across it on YouTube one day and saw videos of people solving them quickly," he said.
"I had played with one before, but I hadn't got anywhere near solving it, and I wanted to know how to do it."
After attending his first speed-cubing event in 2009, Mr Zemdegs has gone on to compete at four world champions, winning twice.
Despite the 43 quintillion possible combinations of a Rubik's Cube, Mr Zemdegs said he still uses just the one technique to solve them.
"Even though it's different every time, the big picture is always the same," he said.
"Most of my practice consists of doling a series of different solves and trying to do it as fast as I can."
As part of the competition, competitors are given 5 attempts to solve the cube, with their final score being an average of their times, removing their best and worst times.
A dedicated team of scramblers are also on deck throughout the day, to make sure each solver has the same combination for each round.
Among the competitors was Canberra's own Jayden McNeill, 19, whose fastest time to solve a cube is 5.91 seconds, the fourth fastest in the world.
He's also the reigning world champion at the square-1 cube, a puzzle similar to a Rubik's Cube, which shifts shape depending on the way it's orientated.
He said Canberra's speed cubing community is growing steadily, with tournaments being held regularly.
"I've lived in Canberra my whole life, but when I first started competing, I had to travel interstate, until we started to organise them ourselves," he said.
As well as being a world champion, Mr McNeill can also solve the cubes blindfolded.
He said when it comes to solving Rubik's Cubes quickly, speed isn't the only factor at play.
"A lot of it is muscle memory," he said.
"It's also about managing the nerves and the pressure."
The Canberra Speed Cubing competition continues on Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
