Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: First coat
• Method 2 of 4: Middle layer
• Method 3 of 4: Final coat
• Method 4 of 4: Notations
• Tips

The Rubik's Cube can be very frustrating, and returning it to its original state can seem almost impossible. But once you know a few algorithms, it is very easy to solve. The method described in this article is the layer method: we first solve one side of the cube (first layer), then the middle layer, and finally the last layer.

To step

Method 1 of 4: First coat

1. Familiarize yourself with the notations at the bottom of the page.
2. Pick a side to start with. In the following examples, the color of the first layer is white. In the examples that follow, the color of the first layer is white. It's important to note that starting with a color other than white can be confusing if you're just starting out. This is because you have to imagine different colors instead of the one in this article.
3. Solve the cross. Put the four white squares on the edge in place. (You can do this yourself without needing any algorithms.) All four border boxes can be set in up to eight moves (usually five or six).
   • There are some algorithms if you can't do it intuitively yet. Try to turn the cube so that the white is facing up again, and see which direction the corner is pointing. If it points to the right, you can do R'D'R. If it is facing you, you can do D ’R’ D R. If it points down, you can do F L D2 L "F".
   • Another common method of solving a corner is to place it above the slot where it should go in and repeat R U R "U" until it is resolved.
   • At the end of this step, the first layer should be complete, with a solid color (white in this case) on the bottom.
4. Solve the four corners of the first layer one by one. You should be able to solve the angles without needing algorithms. To get you started, here's an example of how a corner is solved:
   • There are some algorithms if you can't do it intuitively yet. Try to turn the cube so that the white is facing up again, and see which direction the corner is pointing. If it points to the right, you can do R'D'R. If it is facing you, you can do D ’R’ D R. If it points down, you can do F L D2 L "F".
   • Another common method of solving a corner is to place it above the slot where it should go in and repeat R U R "U" until it is resolved.
   • At the end of this step, the first coat should be complete, with a single color (white in this case) on the bottom.
5. Make sure your first coat is correct. The first layer should now be complete and look like this (from the bottom):
   

Method 2 of 4: Middle layer

1. Put the four edges of the middle layer in place. Those border boxes are the ones that don't contain yellow in our example. You only need to know one algorithm to solve the middle layer. The second algorithm is symmetrical with the first.
   • If the border box is in the last layer:

     									(1.a)
     									(1.b) symmetrical with (1.a)

   • If the edge box is in the middle layer but in the wrong place or to the wrong side, just use the same algorithm to move another edge box into place. Your border box will then be in the last layer, and you just need to use the algorithm again to place it properly in the middle layer.
2. Check for correct placement. Your cube should now have the first two layers complete, and look like this (from the bottom):

Method 3 of 4: Final coat

1. Switch the angles. In this step, our goal is to position the corners of the last layer in their correct position, regardless of how they are positioned.
   • Find two corners next to each other that have the same color, except for the color of the top layer (not yellow in our case).
   • Turn the top layer until these two corners are on the correct color side, facing you. For example, if the two adjacent corners both contain red, rotate the top layer until those two corners are on the red side of the cube. Note that on the other side, the two corners of the top layer will both also have the color of that side (orange in our example).
     
     
   • Check that the two corners of the front are in their correct position and switch them if necessary. In our example, the right side is green, and the left side is blue. Therefore, the front corner on the right should contain green and the front corner on the left should be blue. If not, you need to swap those two angles with the following algorithm:

     Swap 1 and 2:

     (2.a)

   • Do the same with the two back corners. Turn the cube around to place the other side (orange) in front of you. Swap the two front corners if necessary.
   • Alternatively, if you find that both the front pair and the back pair of corners need to be swapped, you can do it with just one algorithm (note the major similarities to the previous algorithm):

     Swap 1 and 2, swap 3 and 4:

     (2.b)

2. Turn the corners. Find each box with the top color in the corners (yellow in our case). You only need to know one algorithm to turn the corners:

   (3.a)

   • The algorithm will flip three corners at once (from the side to the top). The blue arrows show which three corners you turn, and in which direction (clockwise). Once the yellow stickers are as shown in the images and you run the algorithm once, you end up with the four yellow stickers at the top:
     
   • It is also useful to use the symmetric algorithm (here the red arrows are counterclockwise rotations):

     (3.b) Symmetric with (3.a)

   • Note that running one of these algorithms twice is the same as running the other. In some cases you have to run the algorithm more than once:
   • Two correctly turned corners:

     	=		=		+
     	=		=		+
     	=		=		+

   • No correctly turned angle:

     	=		=		+
     	=		=		+

   • In general, you apply (3.a) in those cases:
     

     Two correctly turned corners:
     Not correctly turned corners:

3. Swap the edges. You only need to know one algorithm for this step. Check whether one or more edges are already in the right place (it doesn't matter which way they face).
   • When all edges are in their correct positions, you are done with this step.
   • When only one edge is in the right place, use the following algorithm:

     (4.a)

   • Or the symmetrical:

     (4.b) Symmetric with (4.a)

     
     Note that running one of these algorithms twice is the same as running the other.
   • If all four edges are incorrectly positioned, run one of the two algorithms from one side. Then you have only placed one edge correctly.
4. Turn the edges. You need to know two algorithms for that last step:

   		Dedmore 'H' pattern
   									(5)
   		Dedmore 'Fish' pattern
   											(6)

   • Note the DOWN, LEFT, UP, RIGHT series of most of the Dedmore "H" and "Fish" algorithms. You really only need to remember one algorithm because:

     (6)=

     + (5) +

   • When all four edges are swapped, you run the "H" pattern algorithm from one side, and you have to run that algorithm one more time to solve the cube.
5. Congratulations! Your cube should now be solved.

Method 4 of 4: Notations

1. This is the key to the formats used.
   • The pieces that make up Rubik's cube are called cubes, and the colored stickers on the cubes are the boxes.
   • There are three types of cubes:
     • The middle (or center pieces), in the center of each side of the cube. There are six, each with one box.
     • The corners (or corner pieces), at the corners of the cube. There are eight of them, each with three spaces.
     • The edges (or edge pieces), between each pair of adjacent corners. There are 12 of them, each with 2 squares.
   • Not all cubes have the same color schemes. The colors used in these images have the blue, orange and yellow side in a clockwise direction.
     • White is opposite to yellow;
     • Blue versus green;
     • Orange versus red.
2. This article uses two different views for the cube:
   • The 3D view, which shows the three sides of the cube: the front (red), the top (yellow), and the right side (green). In step 4, the algorithm (1.b) is illustrated with an image showing the left side of the cube (blue), the front (red) and the top (yellow).
     
     
   • The top view, which only shows the top of the cube (yellow). The front is at the bottom (red).
     
     
3. For the top view, each bar shows the location of the important box. In the image, the yellow boxes from the top back corners are on the top (yellow), while the yellow boxes from the top front corners are both on the front of the cube.
   
   
4. If a box is gray, it means that its color is not important at the time.
5. The arrows (blue or red) show what the algorithm will do. For example, in the case of the algorithm (3.a), it will flip the three corners as shown. If the yellow boxes are like the picture, they will be at the end of the algorithm at the top.
   
   
   • The axis of the rotation is the large diagonal of the cube (from one corner to the corner all the way on the other side of the cube).
   • Blue arrows are used for clockwise rotations (algorithm (3.a)).
   • Red arrows are used for counterclockwise turns (algorithm (3.b), symmetric to (3.a)).
6. For the top view, the light blue boxes indicate that an edge has been rotated incorrectly. In the image, the left and right edges are both incorrectly rotated. This means that if the top is yellow, the yellow boxes for those two edges are not at the top, but on the side.
   
   
7. For the movement notations it is important to always look at the cube of the front.
   • Rotation of the front.
     
   • Rotation of one of the three vertical rows:
     
   • Rotation of one of the three horizontal rows:
     
   • A few examples of movements:
     

     START

Tips

• Know the colors of your cube. You need to know which color is opposite which, and the order of the colors on each side. For example, if white is at the top and red is at the front, you should know that blue is at the right, orange at the back, green at the left, and yellow at the bottom.
• You can start with the same color to help you understand where each color should go, or try to be efficient by choosing a color where the cross is easier to solve.
• Practice. Spend some time with your cube to learn how to move the squares. This is especially important when learning how to dissolve the first coat.
• Find all four edges and try to think about how to put them in position without actually doing it. With practice and experience, this will teach you ways to solve the cube with fewer moves. And in a competition, participants are given 15 seconds to view their cube before the time starts.
• Understand how the algorithms work. When running the algorithm, try to track important boxes to see where they end. Try to see patterns in the algorithms. For instance:
  • In the algorithms (2.a) and (2.b) that are used to swap the corners of the top layer, you perform four movements (at the end of which all the blocks from the bottom and middle layer are back in those layers ), then you rotate the top layer, doing the reverse of the first four movements. Therefore, this algorithm does not affect the first / bottom and middle layers.
  • For the algorithms (4.a) and (4.b) you see that you rotate the top layer in the same direction as the three edges.
  • For the algorithm (5), Dedmore 'H' pattern, one way to remember the algorithm is to follow the path of the inverted top right edge and the pair of corners around it during the first half of the algorithm. Then, during the other half of the algorithm, you follow the other swapped edge and pair of corners. You will find yourself doing five moves (seven moves if you count half turns as two moves), then half turn the top layer, then do those first five moves in reverse, and finally half turn the top layer again.
• Make progress. Once you know all the algorithms, you may want to find faster ways to solve Rubik's cube:
  • In one motion, solve for the corner in the first layer, along with the border in the middle layer.
  • Learn algorithms to rotate the corners of the last layer in the five cases where two (3.a / b) algorithms are needed.
  • Learn algorithms to swap the edges in the last layer, in the two cases where neither edge is placed correctly.
  • Learn the algorithm in case all edges of the last layer are swapped.
• Make even more progress. For the last layer, if you want to solve the cube quickly, you have to do the last four steps two by two.For example, swap and rotate the corners in one step, then swap and rotate the edges in one step. Or you can choose to rotate all corners and edges in one step, then swap all corners and edges in one step.
• The layering method is just one of the many methods available. For example, the Petrus method, where the cube is solved in fewer moves, consists of building a 2x2x2 block, then expanding it to 2x2x3, rotating the edges correctly, building a 2x3x3 (two layers solved), placing the remaining corners, turning those corners, and finally placing the remaining edges.
• For those interested in speedcubing, or if you just want to make the cubes easier to rotate, it's a good idea to buy a DIY kit. The speed cube pieces have rounded inner corners, and DIY kits let you adjust the tension, making it a lot easier to move the cubes. Also consider lubricating your cube with a silicone-based lubricant.