Hand Scramble:
As you turn the arbitrary faces of your 3x3 cube until there are no cohesive color blocks, you have accomplished a hand-scramble.
Hand-scrambles can vary in difficulty because there is a varied number of turns and sometimes we turn the same sides as each persons motor skills prefer certain turns over others.
Hand scrambling is indeed a great way to mix up the cube as you learn the ropes of solving the cube.
Computer Generated Scrambles:
A computer-generated Rubik's Cube scramble is a predetermined number of moves randomly generated by a computer program. Executing these moves thoroughly mixes the cube. This is called a random move scramble and you typically need at least 25 moves to mix up the cube properly.
The alternate way a computer generates a scramble is to set a random state for the cube and then solve the cube and generate the inverse of the solution. This is called a random-state scramble and is required by WCA regulations for speedcubing competitions.
Computer generated scrambles are intentionally designed to be unpredictable, eliminating any potential bias or patterns that could favor the solver.
In speedcubing competitions, computer-generated scrambles are utilized to ensure fairness. Each competitor receives the same scramble for every round of the competition.
The scramble is represented by a series of letters or symbols (notation) denoting different moves on the cube. After performing the scramble, the resulting configuration should match the picture provided alongside it.
How to hold the cube?
Hold your 3x3 Rubik's cube with the White face on top and the Green face in front (facing you) when performing the scramble.
The picture below shows an example of a scramble
R F L B2 U2 D' R U2 R2 U2 F D2 R2 B L2 D2 L2 F2 U2
When to start using Computer Generated Scrambles?
It is highly recommended to use computer generated scrambles when you start timing your solves. This means the scrambles are completely random and you can't get a "lucky" by just turning a small number of times. The solve time will be respected as you have not given yourself an easy "hand scramble".
Where do I find Computer Generated Scrambles:
Cube Timing websites and applications have computer generated scrambles. Below shows an image of CSTimer, which is one of the most popular timing apps.
Smart-Cubes and Smart-cube apps also have computer generated scrambles.
The World Cube Association uses a program called noodle to generate WCA scrambles used in speedcubing competitions. This program is publicly accessible.
You can also find scrambles used in past competitions from the competition page on the WCA Website.
in https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/competitions/DontInverlochUp2024/scrambles?event=333
