Play Google Rubik’s Cube
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Click the Rubik’s Cube Doodle and watch it open into a 3D puzzle you can try to solve.
- Creator
- Launched
- 2014-05-19
- Status
- Restored
(Discontinued by Google)
Try the Easter Egg
The Original Easter Egg
How It Started
On May 19, 2014, Google turned its homepage logo into an interactive Rubik’s Cube to celebrate the puzzle’s 40th birthday. Google also wrote on its blog that the Doodle was part of a bigger Rubik’s Cube celebration, along with Chrome Cube Lab and the Beyond Rubik’s Cube exhibition.
What It Did
At first, you saw the letters of Google printed on a spinning cube. Clicking it opened a full 3D puzzle, with a move counter, a help screen, keyboard controls, and a certificate when you solved it.
You could drag in the empty space around the cube to turn it around, drag one side to twist it, and keep going until every side matched again. It was a real puzzle you could solve right in your browser.
Impact and Reach
WIRED covered both the Doodle’s technical implementation and the choice of date. May 19, written 5/19, refers to approximately 519 quintillion ways to assemble a cube’s pieces after taking it apart. That is distinct from the smaller number of states reachable by turning an intact cube.
The Doodle also connected to Chrome Cube Lab, a collection of experiments based on the interactive cube.
Its Discontinuation
The Doodle was on the homepage for one day. Google later kept a copy of the interactive version in its archive, but that copy disappeared around mid-August 2021.
The Restored Experience
What’s Different Here
Click the rotating Google logo to open the 3D cube, turn its faces, and track your moves. The original help display and keyboard controls are here too, along with the certificate when you solve it.
We added Restart and a Solver menu in place of the original share control, which no longer worked. Choose Auto Solve to finish the cube, or enable Single Step to work through the solution with Next Step and Back Step.
The Easter Egg Experience
Click the button above, then click the spinning cube logo to open the puzzle. Drag in the empty space around the cube to change your view, and drag a face to twist it. You can also use the keyboard once the puzzle is ready.
For help, open Solver. Auto Solve finishes the cube for you; turning on Single Step lets you advance with Next Step or return to the previous position with Back Step. Solve the cube to reach the original certificate screen.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to load the restored Rubik’s Cube Doodle.
- Click the spinning cube logo to open the full 3D puzzle.
- Drag in the empty space around the cube to change your view.
- Drag a face to twist it, or use the keyboard once the puzzle is ready.
- If you want help, open Solver and choose Auto Solve, or enable Single Step to use Next Step and Back Step.
- Solve the cube to see the certificate.
The solve helpers retrace the cube’s earlier turns, including its starting scramble. With Single Step enabled, you can move forward and back through that sequence and watch how each turn changes the faces.
Final Thoughts
From the first spinning logo to the final certificate, this restored Doodle lets you click, twist, and solve the 2014 cube all over again.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What was the Google Rubik’s Cube Doodle?
It was an interactive Google homepage Doodle released on May 19, 2014, for the 40th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube.
At first, the logo appeared as a spinning cube with Google’s colors and letters. Clicking it opened a full 3D Rubik’s Cube that you could twist right in your browser.
The Doodle offered a solvable 3D puzzle in the browser. It was part of the cube’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, alongside Chrome Cube Lab and the Beyond Rubik’s Cube exhibition.
How do you play this restored Rubik’s Cube?
Click the button above, then click the cube logo. Drag in the empty space around the cube to change your view, and drag a face to twist it. Once the puzzle is ready, you can also use the original keyboard controls.
Use Restart for a fresh scramble, or open Solver for help. Auto Solve retraces the cube’s turns to finish it. For one move at a time, enable Single Step and use Next Step; Back Step reverses the last solver step so you can look at it again.
