FTO

Face Turning Octahedron Twisty Puzzle

FTO Simulator

This is a simulator I created in Processing (learn more about Processing here: https://processing.org/overview) for the FTO (Face-Turning Octahedron) when I had an injury and couldn't physically cube for a couple months. I created and used this simulator to stay in practice and not fall behind in FTO. This video is the fastest solve I have recorded (the fastest solve on the program at the time), and you can download the ftosim.exe file down below to try it out!

HOW IT WORKS:
To give some basic things you can try out, press the "i" key to turn the right face clockwise, the "k" key turns the right face counterclockwise, the "j" key turns the U face clockwise, the "f" key turns the U face clockwise, spacebar scrambles the puzzle, and after you have scrambled it and done a move to start the timer, the "0" key will reset the puzzle to a solved state, and give you a DNF (Did Not Finish)

Download the simulator here:

ftosim.exe
File Size:	88 kb
File Type:	exe

Download File

Algorithms!

When solving a twisty puzzle you use algorithms, a memorized sequence of moves that has a desired effect on the puzzle. Because FTO has only become popular in the last few years, there are relatively few algorithms for the puzzle. I have used programs created by others, and some created by myself to find algorithms. To help me with finding these I created a program in java to alter algorithms in different ways to make them easier and faster to execute in speedsolves. You can see some algorithms I have worked on HERE and in the video on the left.

Hardware

As FTO has only recently grown in popularity, none of the major cube companies have release an upgraded, newer FTO. This means we are stuck with hardware from 2009, which is considerably worse than the hardware we have for other events, such as the popular 3x3 event, nowadays.

FTO Highlights

Online Competitions

One of the fastest solves I got in the FTO Seasonal Showdown - Summer Edition, an online competition held for FTO (I'm on the left)

FTO Held "Officially"

Although FTO is an unrecognized event by the WCA, we were able to hold it unofficially at several official competitions. Here's a video of the fastest single solve in competition of 13.44 seconds.

"Official" FTO Rankings

Casual Solving

Here is a video of my former fastest FTO solve ever, also the world best at the time

Community

The Rising Popularity of FTO

The Face-Turning Octahedron (FTO) is a twisty puzzle that has been around since 2009, but has grown in popularity in recent years after Ben Streeter released his speedsolving method for the puzzle. Even though the FTO isn't an official event in the World Cube Association (WCA), which is the governing body of official cubing competitions, it remains a popular puzzle to speedsolve. Because it is not an official event, a lot of online competitions are held for it, the most notable being the Seasonal Showdown, which started in spring of 2021. I got 2nd place in the spring edition, and 1st in the summer edition of this competition, you can see the results HERE.

Here is the rankings sheet where a bunch of FTO solvers have submitted their personal best times.

All FTO rankings

FTO