🧩

How to Solve a Rubik's Cube

7 steps. Let's go.

Getting Started

Meet Your Cube

6 faces, each a different colour. The centre piece on each face never moves.

Centre

1 colour. Never moves. 6 total.

Edge

2 colours. 12 total.

Corner

3 colours. 8 total.

Key idea: Centres never move. If the centre is red, that whole face needs to be red.

Getting Started

The 6 Faces

Each face is named by where it is when you hold the cube:

UP (Top)

LEFT

FRONT

RIGHT

BACK

DOWN (Bottom)

Getting Started

How to Read Moves

Each move = which face + which direction. Prime (') = opposite direction.

⬆

Right

Right face up

⬇

Right'

Right face down

⬇

Left

Left face down

⬆

Left'

Left face up

⟳

Up

Top face left to right

⟲

Up'

Top face right to left

⟳

Front

Front face clockwise

⟲

Front'

Front face counter-clockwise

⟳

Down

Bottom face clockwise

⟲

Down'

Bottom face counter-clockwise

Step 1 of 7 - White Cross

White Cross

Find the white centre. Hold it on top. Build a plus sign (+) of white edges around it. Each edge must match the side colour too.

3D view: top + front + right

No algorithm. Move white edges to the top, matching side colours.

If a white edge is on top but the side colour is wrong: do Front, Front to push it down, turn the bottom to move it aside, then try again.

Step 2 of 7 - White Corners

White Corners

Fill in the 4 corners to complete the white face. Find a white corner on the bottom layer, position it below its target spot, then repeat:

1

Right

⬆

clockwise

2

Up

⟳

clockwise

3

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

4

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

Repeat 1-5 times per corner

Corner in the wrong spot on top? Do this algorithm once to knock it to the bottom, then solve it.

Step 3 of 7 - Middle Layer

Middle Layer

Flip the cube. White on bottom, yellow on top. Keep it this way from now on.

Goal: fill in the 4 middle-layer edges. These are edges with no yellow.

Front Face Goal

Find a non-yellow edge on top. The colour facing you tells you which face it belongs to. The colour on top tells you which direction to insert it.

Step 3 of 7 - Middle Layer

Insert Edge to the RIGHT

Top colour matches the right side's centre. Line up the edge's front sticker with the front centre first.

1

Up

⟳

clockwise

2

Right

⬆

clockwise

3

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

4

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

5

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

6

Front'

⟲

counter-CW

7

Up

⟳

clockwise

8

Front

⟳

clockwise

Up, Right, Up', Right', Up', Front', Up, Front

Step 3 of 7 - Middle Layer

Insert Edge to the LEFT

Top colour matches the left side's centre. Line up the edge's front sticker with the front centre first.

1

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

2

Left'

⬆

counter-CW

3

Up

⟳

clockwise

4

Left

⬇

clockwise

5

Up

⟳

clockwise

6

Front

⟳

clockwise

7

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

8

Front'

⟲

counter-CW

Up', Left', Up, Left, Up, Front, Up', Front'

Edge stuck in the middle layer but wrong? Do either algorithm once to pop it out, then re-insert correctly.

Step 4 of 7 - Yellow Cross

Make the Yellow Cross

Make a yellow plus sign (+) on top. Ignore corners for now.

You'll see one of these:

Dot

Do algo 2 times

L-Shape

Hold L at back-left, do algo 1 time

Line

Hold line horizontal, do algo 1 time

1

Front

⟳

clockwise

2

Right

⬆

clockwise

3

Up

⟳

clockwise

4

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

5

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

6

Front'

⟲

counter-CW

Front, Right, Up, Right', Up', Front'

Step 5 of 7 - Yellow Edges

Match the Yellow Edges

The yellow cross is done, but the side colours of those edges may not match their centres.

Setup:

Turn the top layer to match as many edges to their centres as possible.
If all 4 match, skip to Step 6.
If 2 adjacent edges match, hold one matched edge at the BACK.
If 2 opposite edges match (across from each other), do the algorithm once from any position. Then you'll have 2 adjacent.
If 0 match, do the algorithm from any position. Then check again.

1

Right

⬆

clockwise

2

Up

⟳

clockwise

3

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

4

Up

⟳

clockwise

5

Right

⬆

clockwise

6

Up

⟳

clockwise

7

Up

⟳

clockwise

8

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

Right, Up, Right', Up, Right, Up, Up, Right'

Step 6 of 7 - Yellow Corners (Position)

Position Yellow Corners

Get each corner to the right spot. They may still be twisted wrong; that's fine.

Setup:

Find a corner with the right 3 colours for its position (even if twisted).
Hold that corner at front-right-top.
No correct corner? Do the algorithm once from any position, then check again.

1

Up

⟳

clockwise

2

Right

⬆

clockwise

3

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

4

Left'

⬆

counter-CW

5

Up

⟳

clockwise

6

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

7

Up'

⟲

counter-CW

8

Left

⬇

clockwise

May need to repeat!

Up, Right, Up', Left', Up, Right', Up', Left

Step 7 of 7 - Yellow Corners (Orient)

Twist the Yellow Corners

Corners are in place but some have yellow facing the wrong way. Fix them one at a time.

1

Right'

⬇

counter-CW

2

Down'

⟲

counter-CW

3

Right

⬆

clockwise

4

Down

⟳

clockwise

Repeat 2 or 4 times per corner!

Right', Down', Right, Down

The cube will look scrambled during this step. That's normal. Keep going.

Rules:

Hold an unsolved corner at front-right-top.
Repeat Right', Down', Right, Down until that corner's yellow faces up.
Turn only the top face (Up) to bring the next unsolved corner to front-right-top. Do NOT rotate the whole cube.
Repeat for each unsolved corner.
Finally, turn the top face until all sides match. Done!

🎉

You solved it!

⏱

Under 5 min
with practice

💪

Under 2 min
with lots of practice

⚡

Under 1 min
you're a speedcuber!