There are plenty of possibilities to solve a Rubik's Cube. In this post I'm going to present the easiest way in my opinion, that doesn't require a lot of memorization. It's especially suitable for absolute beginners. Have fun!
This is the English version of my German post.
General Comprehension of the Cube
The Rubik's Cube has got 6 colors for 6 faces. Usually, the white side is up. Always the piece in the middle indicates the color of the face and is fixed.
There are also the 8 cornes. They consist of 3 colors.
In addition there are 12 edges, that consist of 2 colors each.
In each tutorial for solving a Rubik's Cube you will find a specific notation after which the individual moves are written down.
Each face has a letter assigned to it. The letter (e. g. F) means that this face is turned 90° clockwise. An apostrophe after the letter (e. g. F') means a movement counter-clockwise.
Here's a list of all faces and their letters:
| Letter | Face |
|---|---|
| F | Front |
| R | Right |
| L | Left |
| U | Up |
| D | Down |
| B | Back |
For this tutorial we only need F, R, L and U.
Top Layer
Our approach to solving is called layer-by-layer. That means we solve the cube from the top layer to the bottom layer. So let's start at the top and solve the white face first.
To make it easier, we turn the cube upside down so the yellow centerpiece is facing upwards. Now we twist the cube a bit until all 4 white edges surround the yellow centerpiece. This should be intuitively accomplished and now the cube should look like a daisy from above.
We are now turning the yellow side. If the white edge matches the centerpiece of the other color, we will turn this face 180° so that the white edge takes its correct position on the white face. After we have repeated this for all 4 edges, a white cross should appear on the bottom face.
Before we next move on to the white corners, we need to introduce two simple algorithms, which are sequences of moves:
Lefty Alg
L’ U’ L U
This algorithm swaps the two front left corners.
Righty Alg
R U R’ U'
This algorithm swaps the two front right corners.
We won't require more than these two algorithms. They are easy to remember and quickly become a routine once you perform them a few times in a row.
With the help of the Righty Alg and/or the Lefty Alg we can now swap the white corners to their correct position at the bottom. You just have to make sure the colors match. It is quite possible that the corner isn't correctly oriented yet. The solution is to perform the Righty or Lefty Alg over and over again until the white sticker is facing down. This is because the corner piece also changes its orientation with each swap.
If all 4 white corners are in their correct position and correctly oriented, we have solved the complete first layer.
Middle Layer
The yellow face is still on top. In order to solve the middle layer, we have to move all edges that don't include yellow to their correct position.
We turn the yellow face until the color of the certain edge matches the centerpiece in the middle layer.
Now we want to put the edge in its correct position. First we have to decide whether it' s on the right or on the left of the matching centerpiece.
If the wished position is on the right, we make a U move. We practically move the edge away from its actual position. Then we perform a Righty Alg. We spin the entire cube 90° clockwise around its vertical axis and then we perform a Lefty Alg. Now the edge should be in its correct position.
If the wished position is on the left, we make a U' move. We practically move the edge away from its actual position. Then we perform a Lefty Alg. We spin the entire cube 90° counter-clockwise around its vertical axis and then we perform a Righty Alg. Now the edge should be in its correct position.
If all 4 edges are in their correct position, we have solved the cube to 2/3.
Bottom Layer
Now it can come to 4 scenarios. The aim is to make a yellow cross in any case.
Yellow Cross
This is the most welcome scenario. We don't have to do anything else!
Yellow Line
To go from the yellow line to the cross, we perform F RightyAlg F'.
Yellow Angle
The moves are similar to those of the line. However, we do not only move the front-face F, but the two front layers. Written down this would look like this: f RightyAlg f'.
Yellow Dot
In this case, both the moves from the line and the angle must be performed. That is: F RightyAlg F f RightyAlg f'.
If we now have a yellow cross, we continue with the yellow corners.
The objective is to put them in the right position, but not in the right orientation yet.
We can swap two adjacent corners if they are on the right. To do this, we perform 3x the Righty Alg, spin the entire cube 90° clockwise around its vertical axis and then do 3x the Lefty Alg.
If we want to swap two corners diagonally, we have no other choice than to swap twice over adjacent corners.
When all corners are in their correct position, we flip the cube so that white faces up.
Let's now move on to the orientation of the corners. We position the cube so that the corner to be adjusted is at the bottom right. Now we repeat the Righty Alg until the yellow sticker of the corner faces down. Then we only turn the bottom layer (!) until a new corner is down right, and we perform the same thing again.
Don't be surprised if it messes up the entire cube! If all corners are properly adjusted, it should look like almost done.
Everything should be solved now, except the yellow edges. There are two scenarios: Either one yellow edge is already correct or none.
When we have one correct edge, we position the cube so that yellow is on top and the correct edge points forwards to us. Now we perform 1x the Righty Alg, 1x the Lefty Alg, 5x the Righty Alg and 5x the Lefty Alg. Either the cube is solved now or we have to do the same thing again!
If none of the edges is right, it doesn't matter which side is facing forwards. We also have to do 1x the Righty Alg, 1x the Lefty Alg, 5x the Righty Alg and 5x the Lefty Alg. After that an edge should be solved and we can jump to scenario 1.
Congratulations, you solved the Rubik's Cube! A reason to celebrate!
If you get stuck at any point, you can just write me a comment and I will try to help. Otherwise good luck!
Sources
- https://how-to-solve-a-rubix-cube.com
- https://thecubicle.us/3x3Tutorial.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik's_Cube
Image sources: Rubik's Cube
All other photos are shot by myself!
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