A top Rubik’s Cube solver is right here in Baton Rouge

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Dylan Miller can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than 10 seconds. He can also solve it one-handed. One more thing: He’s 11.

Dylan and his family travel around the country for Rubik’s solving competitions: the two-by-two cube, the three-by-three cube and the one-handed competitions. Dylan regularly places in the top five at such events, even competing against experienced adults, says his dad, Marshall Miller.

Dylan’s biggest desire is to share the sport and for more people to really enjoy it, Marshall says. The Baton Rouge Lutheran School student—who is ranked in the top 300 Rubik’s Cube solvers worldwide—discussed his start, his practice routine and his goals with us.

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How did you get involved in Rubik’s Cube solving?
Two years ago, my school had a garage sale, and I got a cube. After a month or two of it just collecting dust, I decided I wanted to learn how to solve it.

How many Rubik’s Cubes do you have?
I have a lot … like about 40.

When was your most recent competition and what did you place?
It was sometime this past August. I placed second in the two-by-two and third for one-handed.

How often do you practice?
On a school night, probably two to three hours after I finish all of my homework … and probably 30 minutes or so before school or on the way to school.

How do you practice?
Normally I would go to a website that generates scrambles, and I’ll do those scrambles to the cube, cover it, and then uncover and solve like I’m in a competition. Sometimes I learn new algorithms to help instead of mindlessly solving. Sometimes I play loud music to simulate the noise at a competition.

How does a competition work?
After you sign up, you wait until they call your event. Someone scrambles your cube for you and puts a cover over it so you can’t see it. Then they uncover it and you get 15 seconds to examine it before you solve.

What do you do during those 15 seconds?
I try to plan out my first six to 12 moves, depending on the scramble.

How do you prepare for a competition?
Usually I just try to practice like I’m in a competition. Instead of always solving one right after another, I’ll space them out over time like they would be in a real competition.

What are your current national and world rankings?
I’m 56th in the country in the two-by-two and 264th in the world. In the three-by-three, I’m 183rd nationally.

What’s your personal record, and what is your goal time?
My best is 6.47 seconds and my goal is to be able to make my average time less than 10 seconds. I just hope to keep increasing my rankings.