CHICAGO, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Following two full days of fast-moving, hand-twisting competition with the iconic puzzle, Ryan Patricio, 18 of Temecula, California was named the national champion at the RUBIK'S^® CUBE U.S. Open yesterday. Patricio defeated nearly 80 other players from the U.S. and abroad in the final round of the traditional 3x3x3 RUBIK'S^® CUBE competition with an average cube solving time of an amazing 14.92 seconds. With the win, Patricio receives an all-expenses paid trip to the 2007 RUBIK'S^® CUBE World Championship in Budapest, Hungary on October 7.

"All of the finalists were very skilled, and it was anyone's competition to win," said Patricio. "I'm excited that I had the fastest solving time and look forward to the RUBIK'S^® CUBE world competition this fall."

The participants, most of the top "speed cubers" in the world, first squared off on Saturday, June 16 in preliminary rounds, with the 12 fastest people advancing to Sunday's finals, held in Chicago during the city's Art of Play summer festivities. Patricio out-solved second place finisher Toby Mao of Hillsborough, Calif. by a mere .24 seconds and third place finisher Jason Baum of Bethel Park, PA by .33 seconds.

"It's been another great year for the RUBIK'S^® CUBE and the cubing community," said Philip E. Orbanes, President of Winning Moves Games. "The tournament brought together the most talented speed cubers in the nation, and made for one of the most exciting RUBIK'S^® CUBE contests yet."

In addition to the classic 3x3x3 cube contest, the championship featured other races involving 2x2x2, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 versions of the traditional cube. Each cube variation offers competitions in speed, blindfolded and one-handed cubing. For all finalists' names and results, or to learn how to solve the cube, visit http://www.rubiks.com.

About the Rubik's^® Cube

The RUBIK'S^® CUBE may seem effortless, but the original 3x3x3 puzzle encompasses an impressive 43 quintillion (43,252,003,274,489,856,000) different configurations. Each of its six sides contains nine squares and displays a different color - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and white. The object is to twist and turn the cube, scramble the colors and subsequently restore it to its original state, with each side again a single color. Various mathematical algorithms have uncovered 22 moves as the fewest required to solve a completely mixed up cube.

The cube was originally invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a professor at the Hungarian Academy of Crafts and Design as a way to explain the idea of parts moving around a center axis. In 1980, the RUBIK'S^® CUBE made its way to the United States and quickly became a must-have, household toy. Since 1980, over 300 million RUBIK'S^® CUBES have been sold and more than 60 RUBIK'S^® strategy books have been published.

About Winning Moves Games

Winning Moves Games creates original and classic board games and puzzles for all ages. For more classic, retro, cool fun, visit http://www.winning-moves.com.

About Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro (NYSE: HAS - News) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high- tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

About Techno Source

One of the fastest growing companies in the toy business, Techno Source is a privately held, toy company based in Hong Kong and New York. The company is committed to delivering high-quality electronic toys, games and learning aids featuring top-tier licensed brands at aggressive price points.

About the City of Chicago's Art of Play

Art of Play: Chicago 2007 is a collection of over 150 events featuring toys, games and the spirit of play from June 1 through September 30, 2007. For more information visit http://www.artofplaychicago.com.

RUBIK^®, and RUBIK'S^® are trademarks of Seven Towns ltd., used under license.

All rights reserved.

SOURCE Winning Moves Games
CONTACT: Courtney Curzi of 360 Public Relations, +1-617-585-5784,
ccurzi@360publicrelations.com