TheSkewb (/ˈskjuːb/) is acombination puzzle and amechanical puzzle similar to theRubik's Cube. It was invented by Tony Durham and marketed byUwe Mèffert.[1] Although it is cubical, it differs from the typicalcubes' construction; its axes of rotation pass through the corners of the cube, rather than the centers of the faces. There are four axes, one for eachspace diagonal of the cube. As a result, it is adeep-cut puzzle in which each twist affects all six faces.
Mèffert's original name for this puzzle was thePyraminx Cube, to emphasize that it was part of a series including his first tetrahedral puzzle, thePyraminx. The name Skewb was coined byDouglas Hofstadter in hisMetamagical Themas column. Mèffert liked the new name enough to apply it to the Pyraminx Cube, and he also named some of his other puzzles after it, such as theSkewb Diamond.[2]
In December 2013, the Skewb was recognized as an officialWorld Cube Association competition event.[3]
The Skewb's pieces are divided into subgroups and have several constraints. The eight corners are split into two group. The four corners attached to the central four-armed spider and the four "floating" corners that can be removed from the mechanism easily. These corners cannot be interchanged i.e. in a single group of four corners, their relative positions are unchanged. A floating corner can be distinguished by squishing down when applying pressure to the corner. The centers only have two possible orientations, seen by scrambling a Skewb-like puzzle where the center orientation is visible (such as theSkewb Diamond orSkewb Ultimate), or by disassembling the puzzle.
The world record single solve is 0.75 seconds, set by Carter Kucala of theUnited States at Going Fast in Grandview 2024.[4]
The world record average of 5 (excluding fastest and slowest) is 1.52 seconds, set by Carter Kucala of theUnited States at CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024, with times of 1.65, 1.45, (2.57), (1.37), and 1.45 seconds.[4]
| Name[5] | Fastest solve | Competition |
|---|---|---|
 Carter Kucala | 0.75s | Going Fast in Grandview 2024 |
| Zayn Khanani | 0.81s |  Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022 |
| Simon Kellum | 0.85s | Going Fast in Grandview 2024 |
| Brayden Wroten | 0.86s | Oredigger Open CO 2025 |
 Szymon Brągiel | 0.87s | Żory Open 2025 |
| Name[6] | Fastest average | Competition | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Kucala | 1.52s | CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024 | 1.65, 1.45, (2.57), (1.37), 1.45 |
| Dominic Redisi | 1.53s | Rubik’s WCA North American Championship 2024 | (2.05), 1.63, 1.43, 1.52, (1.07) |
| Zayn Khanani | 1.56s | Pretzel Mania 2022 | 1.30, (1.20), 1.79, 1.60, (4.89) |
 Kaixi Guo | 1.63s | Xi'an New Year 2025 | 1.61, 1.60, 1.69, (1.43), (2.97) |
| Tomasz Pietruszka | 1.69s | Silesian Cubing Mysłowice 2025 | 1.65, (2.85), 1.72, 1.71, (1.52) |