5x5x5

5x5x5, commonly referred to as the five-by-five Rubik's cube, is a three-dimensional mechanical puzzle in the Rubik's cube family with five layers along each axis. It shares the basic turning mechanism of other Rubik’s cubes, allowing each face to rotate independently while maintaining a cubic form. The puzzle presents a larger and more complex configuration than the classic 3x3x3 cube.

In a solved state, each face shows a single color. The 5x5x5 puzzle contains 98 movable pieces: eight corner cubies, 36 edge cubies, and 54 center cubies (nine center pieces on each face). The centers can be rearranged, and the edges must be grouped into matching pairs before the puzzle can be solved as a standard 3x3x3 cube. This combination of central movement and edge pairing makes the 5x5x5 more challenging and time-consuming to solve than the 3x3x3.

Solving methods typically follow a reduction approach: first solve or align the center pieces on each face, then pair the edge pieces, and finally solve the resulting 3x3x3 configuration. While parity-like issues can arise during edge pairing, they are addressed with specific algorithms. Variants and accessories, such as magnetic cores or different materials, are common in the hobby and speedcubing communities. The 5x5x5 remains a popular development in the family of NxN twisty puzzles, offering increased piece count and longer solving times while retaining the familiar cubical geometry.