Is it possible to shuffle a 3x3 Rubik's cube so that there's no more than 2 pieces of the same color in every face?
I'm not sure if this question belongs here but I see lots of Rubik Cube's questions around so here it goes:
Can I take a standard $3 \times 3$ Rubik's Cube and shuffle it so that, for every face, there are no more than $2$ pieces with the same color?
Thanks
Please answer if you have managed (or failed) to solve the question using an actual cube. No guessing here, thanks.
You mean like this?
http://ruwix.com/online-rubiks-cube-solver-program/solution.php?cube=0343515641165422615412533412316442361454656232126363525&x=1
To find the solution just click "play".
EDIT: By the way, the movements to get this setup are:
L R' F' B M' E' U B B
Anyway the question is quite interesting because I think there are not tons of solutions to this problem... so now I have two new questions...
Does anyone knows a shorter way?
How many different combinations of this setup exists?
Protip: In ruwix.com to get the M' and the E' you have to extend the panel by clicking on ">" button
Edit2: This is the shortest algorithm I can imagine...
M' S E M' R U U
The last two steps can be done with U U, D D, F F or B B...
I believe this works. Rotate diagonally opposite pairs of corners so that the front faces move to the sides. Rotate the vertical center slice by a half-turn. Interchange the four edge cubies around the equator.