A new version of the Regulations and Guidelines is going into effect April 18th, 2016.

The current Regulations are always available from https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/

For an exact list of all changes from 2015 to 2016, view the differences on GitHub.

Summary of changes:

• The penalty for putting the puzzle outside the mat after the inspection phase and before starting the timer was defined as +2. (#343 | 347)

• Scramble sequences should be used in a maximum time frame of 2 hours. (#295 | 342)

• It has been clarified that cumulative time limits can be defined for a combination of events. (#296 | 334)

• Generation 4 Pro Timers may be used for time measurement. (no issue | 333)

• Clock pins must not be identifiable from any other pin on the same side and the solved state of Clock is not affected by pin caps missing after the solve. (#189 | 329)

• It was explicitly clarified that judges in Fewest Moves are allowed to compete. (#165 | 329)

• It was clarified that every part of the body may be used during solves (except in Feet and One-Handed Solving). (#300 | 324)

• The minimum size of a mat was defined as 30 cm (left to right) by 25 cm (front to back). (#304 | 335)

• It is now recommended that extra attempts should be done right after the attempt they replace. (no issue | 341)

• The maximum number of rounds in an event is now defined by the number of competitors in every round (instead of the number of competitors in the event). (#314 | 346)

• All types of stickers are allowed in Fewest Moves (the word "coloured" was removed). (#68 | 329)

• The tab used for alignment of the layers in Square-1 may be removed during the attempt if the competitor forgot to remove it in the inspection phase. (#315 | 323)

• It has been clarified that the number of competitors may be limited per competition and not only per event. (#311 and #325 | #327)

• A clarification for Fewest Moves solutions that are similar to the inverse of the scramble sequence has been added. (#344 | 348)

• In case of a cumulative time limit, the result of each remaining attempt in the round is recorded as DNS after a competitor reaches the time limit. (#303 | 353)