A new port of the MagicCube4D in your browser

[Kyle Cranmer]

Hello all,

I'm new to this community. I only found out about the Magic Cube website and software last weekend. 

I created a modern port of the code that runs in your browser (phone, tablet, computer). No install necessary. I also worked on what I considered to be some user interface improvements. 

Play with it here: 

https://theoryandpractice.org/cube4d/

Blog post here:

https://theoryandpractice.org/2026/07/four-dimensional-rubiks-cube/

Share on social media:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kylecranmer.bsky.social/post/3mrwyozbfgc2w

X: https://x.com/KyleCranmer/status/2083173300977422354

You should be able to load solves and replay them there. The hall of fame solves are there and most of them play fine.

Enjoy!

Kyle

[Marc Ringuette]

Thanks, Kyle, for a very cool contribution to the community.    Folks will particularly appreciate the nice github release.

I found it interesting to have a look at the docs, where Cranmer-and-Claude analyzed the legacy code and designed the port.

1.   https://github.com/cranmer/cube4d/blob/main/docs/legacy-internals.md

The code, including grips, state, twisting, and Don Hatch's old magic, analyzed.  

2.  https://github.com/cranmer/cube4d/blob/main/docs/architecture-options.md

Architecture choices, including the biggest tricky decision:  to precompute the geometry from the Java at build time.
   Pros: legacy compatibility, far easier than other options.
   Cons: ships static assets; arbitrary Schläfli symbols can't be constructed in the browser.


The result is nice for us old-timers by helping the legacy stuff to live on past the Java runtime.


Cheers
Marc


On 7/31/2026 8:26 AM, 'Kyle Cranmer' via hypercubing wrote:

I created a modern port of the code that runs in your browser (phone, tablet, computer).    ... 

https://theoryandpractice.org/cube4d/

[Jay Berkenbilt]

I obviously have a soft spot for that version, though I worked on the older C++ version. :-) One thing I notice is that the number keys behave differently. On the original code, if you press 2 or 3, you *only* get layer 2 or 3. On the new code, there's also a mouse control, and pressing 2 or 3 doesn't turn off layer 1. The only way I could see to get only one layer other than layer 1 was to use the mouse. The original version treated the number keys like modifiers. Layer 1 was the default, but it only took effect if no other keys were down. Otherwise, it's a fun project. I haven't pulled out the old puzzle for years, though I have the physical 2^4 out where I can play with it from time to time. :-)

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[Kyle Cranmer]

Thanks Jay, I’ll try to adjust that in the future.