I'm going to show how I solve a 3x3 Rubik’s cube because I want to.
Continue reading below the cut for a guide on how to solve a 3x3.
First you need to orientate yourself on the cube otherwise you will lose where you are and get confused, I recommend doing this with the white face. To keep yourself orientated, have the white face facing up as often as you can, this will help you from losing where you are on the cube.
I am going to solve the cube layer by layer, going from top to bottom.
Step 1 - White Cross
Start by finding a white edge piece and identify the other colour attached to it, align it with it's corresponding centre (red with red, blue with blue, green with green, and orange with orange) and rotate that face so the edge piece lines up with the white on top.
Make sure to not rotate the white face for the rest of this step.
Do the same for the other three white edge pieces until you have a white cross with all the colours lining up with the corresponding centres.
Step 2 - White Corners
The corners will be in one of three orientations when on the bottom layer, facing left, facing right, and facing down. Make sure not to rotate the top layer during this step.
Start by finding a white corner and identifying the two other colours attached to it, identify where on the top layer that corner goes without losing the corner, then, rotate the bottom layer so that the corner sits under where it belongs on the top layer.
Facing right
When looking at the cube, if the white is facing towards the right, rotate the cube so the white of the corner is facing you, keeping the white face facing up.
Rotate the bottom layer to the right, bring the left side of the cube down towards you, rotate the bottom layer back so the white corner is where it was just before, and then rotate the left side of the cube back up, the white corner in now in place. (D L D' L')
Facing left
When looking at the cube, if the white is facing towards the right, rotate the cube so the white of the corner is facing you, keeping the white face facing up.
Rotate the bottom layer to the left, bring the right side of the cube down towards you, rotate the bottom layer back so the white corner is where it was just before, and then rotate the right side of the cube back up, the white corner in now in place. (D' R' D R)
Facing down
If the white of the corner is facing down, orientate the cube so that the white corner is to the left of the front facing face and bring the left side of the cube down towards you, rotate the bottom layer twice, then bring the left side of the cube back up.
Move the white corner back under where it goes and follow one of the above two edge cases.
If a corner is in an incorrect corner position or orientated incorrectly on the top layer, use one of the first two edge cases to take the corner out before setting it to be put back in again.
Follow these instructions to get all the corners in place.
The top layer is now done, time to move onto the middle layer. This is where algorithms are going to come into play, that's what those letters in brackets were, if you are not familiar with Rubik's cube notation I recommend learning as all guides will use it, don't worry it's really easy to pick up.
I might make a short guide on Rubik's cube notation in the future in the future.
Step 3 - Getting edges into place
Start by finding an edge piece with no yellow, identify what two centres it belongs between and rotate the bottom layer so that the colour on the front facing side of the edge piece lines up with the corresponding centre. Hold the cube so that the edge piece you are trying to get in place is facing you.
If the other colour on the edge piece is to the right, follow this algorithm:
D' R' D R D F D' F
If the other colour on the edge piece is to the left, follow this algorithm:
D L D' L' D' F' D F
If an edge piece is already in the middle layer but is in the wrong place or in the wrong orientation, use one of the two above algorithms to get it out.
Continue until the middle layer is filled.
Now it is time for the final layer, this is the most complicated layer as there an many steps involved. From here there are going to be many photos of the yellow layer facing up, this is to make visualising easier, I'm still solving with the white face facing up.
I do however rotate the cube to see what's going on on the bottom layer when solving, BUT, I always orientate the cube so the white face is facing up before starting any algorithms or rotating any faces to not confuse myself.
Step 4 - Yellow cross
The bottom layer will be in one of four states, a dot, an L, a line, or a cross, we want the bottom layer to have a cross, this algorithm:
R F D F' D' R'
Will be used to move between each state for this step.
In this step we only care about the edges so you can ignore the corners for now.
Yellow Dot
If the yellow face has a dot, perform the algorithm from any face, it doesn't matter.
The L
If the yellow face has an L, have the pointing to your right shoulder so that one of the yellow edges that are facing down is towards the back of the cube and the other is to the left of the cube, perform the algorithm.
The Line
If the yellow face has a line, have the line pointing towards you so that one of the yellow edges that are facing down is towards the back of the cube and the other is opposite it, towards the front of the cube, perform the algorithm.
You should now have a yellow cross.
I'll explain what this algorithm does using the image below as a reference.
Treating the pieces on the bottom as the pieces at the back of the cube and the pieces on the top as the pieces at the front of the cube when performing the algorithms.
The bottom piece doesn't move, the three other pieces are rotated counter-clockwise. The pieces on the left and right getting flipped and the piece on top stays in it's orientation.
Step 5 - Orientating the corners
In this step we only care about the corners so you can ignore the edges for now.
This is going to be a long step as there are many different edge cases and I will be going through each one, explaining how to identify them, as well as showing pictures to help visualise, explaining what angle to take them at, and which edge case they lead to. The final two edge cases that lead to the next step will be the final two I go over.
In this step we are going to orientate the corners so the yellow is facing down.
There are two algorithms that will be used in this step, they are essentially the same algorithm, just flipped to the other side of the cube, I'll be referring to them as the left algorithm and the right algorithm.
The left algorithm: L D L' D L D2 L'
The right algorithm: R' D' R D' R' D2 R
Edge case - Predator Eyes
This edge case has two opposing corners orientated correctly and the other two opposing, non-orientated corners both facing towards one of the correctly orientated corners.
Both algorithms can be used on this edge case.
Have one of the non-orientated corners facing you and the other facing to the left and perform the left algorithm, this will take you to the Right Final edge case.
Have one of the non-orientated corners facing you and the other facing to the right and perform the right algorithm, this will take you to the Left Final edge case.
Edge case - Double Headlights
This edge case has two sets of headlights, two corners facing the same direction on the same face. All corners are non-orientated, two corners face the same direction on the same face while the other two face the other direction on the opposing face.
Both algorithms can be used on this edge case.
Have the headlights face your left and right, none of the headlights should be facing you or away from you, perform the left algorithm, this will take you to the Left Final edge case.
Have the headlights face your left and right, none of the headlights should be facing you or away from you, perform the right algorithm, this will take you to the Right Final edge case.
Edge case - Prey Caught In Headlights
This edge case has one set of headlights, two corners facing the same direction on the same face. All corners are non-orientated, two corners face the same direction on the same face. The opposing corners face away from each other, sitting on the faces to the left and right of the headlights.
Both algorithms can be used on this edge case.
Have the headlights facing towards the right with one of the other corners facing towards you, and the other facing away from you. Perform the left algorithm, this will take you to the Left Final edge case.
Have the headlights facing towards the left with one of the other corners facing towards you, and the other facing away from you. Perform the right algorithm, this will take you to the Right Final edge case.
Edge case - Single Headlights
This edge case has a single set of headlights, two corners facing the same direction on the same face, the other two corners are orientated correctly.
Both algorithms can be used on this edge case.
Have the headlights facing you, perform the left algorithm, this will take you to the Right Final edge case.
Have the headlights facing you, perform the right algorithm, this will take you to the Left Final edge case.
Edge case - Prey Eyes
This edge case has two corners next to each other correctly orientated, the other two corners are facing opposite directions from each other on opposite faces.
Both algorithms can be used on this edge case.
Have the correctly orientated corners on the left side of the cube with the non-oriented corners on the right side of the cube, one of the non-orientated corners should be facing you while the other should be facing away from you. Perform the left algorithm, this will take you to the Right Final edge case.
Have the correctly orientated corners on the right side of the cube with the non-oriented corners on the left side of the cube, one of the non-orientated corners should be facing you while the other should be facing away from you. Perform the right algorithm, this will take you to the Left Final edge case.
Edge case - Left Final
This edge case has one corner correctly orientated, the other three all face towards the right when looking at them.
Have the orientated corner to the right of the cube on the face facing you, on the left of the cube on the face facing you, should be a corner facing you, there should be a corner facing left in the same position on the left face as the one on the front face, and a corner facing away from you in the same position but on the back face, there should be no corners facing the right face. Perform left algorithm, this will take you to the Corners Orientated edge case.
Edge case - Right Final
This edge case has one corner correctly orientated, the other three all face towards the left when looking at them.
Have the orientated corner to the left of the cube on the face facing you, on the right of the cube on the face facing you, should be a corner facing you, there should be a corner facing right in the same position on the right face as the one on the front face, and a corner facing away from you in the same position but on the back face, there should be no corners facing the left face. Perform right algorithm, this will take you to the Corners Orientated edge case.
Edge case - Corners Orientated
The corners are now orientated correctly and we can move on to the next step.
I'll explain what these algorithms do using the image below as a reference.
Treating the pieces on the bottom as the pieces at the back of the cube and the pieces on the top as the pieces at the front of the cube when performing the algorithms.
The left algorithm moves all the corners to the space diagonal from their current position. The corner in the top right keeps its orientation while the other three are reorientated in a clockwise direction.
The right algorithm moves all the corners to the space diagonal from their current position. The corner in the top left keeps its orientation while the other three are reorientated in a counter-clockwise direction.
Step 6 - Positioning the corners
In this step we only care about the corners so you can ignore the edges for now.
This will thankfully be a much shorter step as there are only three edge cases, one being the one that moves us to the final step.
For this step there is only one algorithm: L' F L' B2 L F' L' B2 L2
For this step we are looking for coloured headlights on one of the faces, if there are three or four sets of coloured headlights then you can skip over this step and continue onto step 7, if there are no coloured headlights that is good as well, keep following this step.
If there are no coloured headlights, perform the algorithm. There should now be a single pair of coloured headlights.
Have the headlights face away from you and perform the algorithm.
The cube is now ready for the final step.
I'll explain what this algorithm does using the image below as a reference.
Treating the pieces on the bottom as the pieces at the back of the cube and the pieces on the top as the pieces at the front of the cube when performing the algorithms.
The top right piece doesn't move, the top left, and bottom two piece are rotated clockwise. The top left moving to the bottom right, the bottom right moving to the bottom left, and the bottom left moving to the top left.
Step 7 - Positioning the edges
The final step, this step has three edge cases, then the cube is solved.
There are two algorithms that will be used in this step, they are essentially the same algorithm, just flipped to the other side of the cube, I'll be referring to them as the left algorithm and the right algorithm.
The left algorithm: F2 D L' R F2 L R' D F2
The right algorithm: F2 D' L' R F2 L R' D' F2
The first edge case is four coloured headlights, the headlights will have the opposing faces edge between the headlights.
Perform either of the algorithms.
The next two edge cases look very similar, essentially there will be three sets of headlights and one bar, have the bar facing away from you, identify the colour of the centre on the face facing you.
If the edge matching that colour is on the left, perform the left algorithm.
If the edge matching that colour is on the right, perform the right algorithm.
I'll explain what these algorithms do using the image below as a reference.
Treating the pieces on the bottom as the pieces at the back of the cube and the pieces on the top as the pieces at the front of the cube when performing the algorithms.
The left algorithm rotates the top, right, and left edge pieces clockwise. The top edge piece moving to the right, the right edge piece moving to the left, and the left edge piece moving to the top.
The right algorithm rotates the top, left, and right edge pieces counter-clockwise. The top edge piece moving to the left, the left edge piece moving to the right, and the right edge piece moving to the top.
Your Rubik's cube is now solved.
Thank you for reading through my guide, I hope I was able to help you solve your 3x3 <3
My main 3x3x3 has been the 11 M Pro for almost 3 years now, and I still feel that it can get me all the way. I still want to try some newer releases, since I have a lot to catch up on after missing a whole year worth of advancements. Any recommendations?
For the love of god, when you get a Rubik’s Cube tattoo, scramble up a real one and copy the colors. There’s a logic to Rubik’s cubes: the red and orange centers are opposite to each other, so are white and yellow, blue and green. Also, every piece is only on the cube once. Examples of what not to do:
The blue and green centers aren’t next to each other, what even is this.
The blue|red centerpiece is on there twice. All pieces are only in there once. Also incorrect.
Red and orange centers next to each other, yet again... (if that’s even red? I think there’s 2 orange centers in this one??) The blue|green centerpiece is on there, but since those colors are opposites on the cube, a piece with both of those colors doesn’t exist.
Blue and green centers, do I even have to say it anymore? And then there’s the white|yellow|blue cornerpiece. White and yellow are opposites, so just like with the former centerpiece, they cannot be on the same cornerpiece either. (There are ‘impossible’ cornerpieces in nearly every one of these examples)
If you just pick random colors there’s a big chance that you’ll have something that isn’t even possible irl tattooed on your skin forever. Please people, just scramble a real one for refence.
