This content is a step-by-step tutorial on how to solve a Rubik's Cube using a specific method, aiming to guide beginners from not knowing how to solve it to achieving consistent sub-minute times.
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in a recent episode of almost impossible
I looked at the limits of speed cubing
an event in which people compete to
solve a Rubik's Cube as fast as they
possibly can and in the course of
reporting that piece I actually learn to
solve a Rubik's Cube myself with help
from Tyson mouse co-founder of the world
cube Association in a little under two
weeks using the method now taught me I
went from not being able to solve a cube
at all to being able to solve it
consistently in just under a minute now
some of you asked us to post a
step-by-step tutorial on how to solve
the cube and maybe you've also heard it
said the true mastery of a subject is
achieved by teaching it to somebody else
so in the spirit of that Maxim I'm going
to show you the method that I used when
learning to solve the cube in this video
you're going to learn the fundamentals
of cubing how to hold and manipulate the
cube how to read cube notation and how
to solve the cube in eight steps all you
need to follow along is a scrambled cube
now if this is your first time solving
one I would budget about an hour plus or
minus fifteen minutes to your first
solve I know that's a long time but the
more time you spend practicing the
quicker those times will come down and
they do come down pretty fast at least
in my experience finally there are many
ways to solve a cube this is just one of
them it's not the fastest it's not the
best it's not the easiest by any stretch
it's just the method that was taught to
me by a co-founder of the world cube
Association and the method that I use to
bring my times down to under a minute
ready let's begin
so before you move anything here are
some concepts to keep in mind that will
make solving the cube easier the more
you practice number one when solving the
cube try to bear in mind that you're
solving four pieces not stickers what do
I mean by that most pieces on the cube
actually have more than one sticker on
them so if you try to solve a cube by
only solving four stickers you'll
quickly find that while you might be
able to solve for one face the other
faces won't match and that's because not
all pieces on the cube are alike there
are three types edge pieces like this
one have two stickers they look like
this corner pieces like this one have
three stickers and they look like this
and center pieces at the middle of each
3x3 face have one sticker
these centerpieces are attached to an
axle inside the puzzle so they never
actually move on this cube for example
the white center is always opposite the
yellow center the orange center is
always opposite the red center and the
blue center is always opposite the green
center and that's an important thing to
keep in mind because the fact that these
centers don't move meaning that they
actually dictate where all of the other
pieces need to go now this concept was a
little confusing to me the first time I
heard it but I promise the more time you
spend with the cube the clearer and more
helpful this idea will become finally
many people think of the cube is being
comprised of six phases but another way
to think about it is that it's comprised
of three layers a top a middle and a
bottom today we're gonna focus on
solving the cube one layer at a time
if you've already forgotten everything I
just said that's totally fine you can
just go back and re-watch it for now
it's enough to have these ideas floating
around in the back of your head so with
all of that stuff in mind let's get
started the first step in solving the
first layer of the cube is to make what
cubers call a daisy it's called making
the Daisy because when you're finished
you should have something that looks
like this a yellow Center surrounded by
four white edge pieces so how do we get
from here to here well you start by
finding the yellow center the goal of
this step is to surround this yellow
center with four edge pieces of the
opposite color which in this case is
white if you've never solved the cube
before it is very tempting to just start
turning faces at random in hopes of
placing an edge piece where you want it
to go but I want you to resist that
impulse I'm gonna give you two tips that
will help me position those edge pieces
logically the first tip is that there
are only four white edge pieces that's
it remember you're moving pieces not
stickers and there are only four edge
pieces on this cube with white sides to
find them all you have to do is inspect
the cube in your hand once you find one
pause think about the turns that you'll
need to move to place it beside the
yellow Center for example here's a white
edge piece to place it beside the yellow
Center all I have to do is this turn
that right face 90 degrees here's
another one to get it beside the yellow
Center I need to turn it here and then
up trust me the first few times I solved
the cube this process was not intuitive
to me at all but making the Daisy becomes
becomes
second nature very quickly the more you
practice the second tip is that once you
have a pedal to the Daisy in place you
actually won't have to remove it from
beside the yellow center to put any of
the remaining pedals in place that's
what I'm going to do now
and you should do the same when you're
done your yellow Center will be
surrounded on all four sides with white
edge pieces like a daisy don't worry if
you have a white corner piece as well
we'll get to that in a second the second
step to solving the first layer is to
create the white cross when you're
finished with this step you'll have a
face with what looks like a white cross
or a plus sign sort of depending on how
you look at it start by looking at your
Daisy if you've got white on any of your
corners remember just ignore them for
now we're gonna focus on the four petals
that reside on the edge pieces each of
these four edge pieces has two stickers
one and two by rotating the top face of
the cube match the non-white sticker
from each of those edge pieces to the
center piece of the same color so for
example the non-white sticker on this
edge piece is orange I'm gonna turn the
top face until the orange sticker is
aligned over the orange center like so
once you've matched the sticker to the
same color Center rotate the face with
the matching Center two times moving a
white daisy petal from the top face of
the cube to the bottom I'm now going to
repeat this step three more times once
for each of the remaining Daisy petals
so I've got the red center I'm gonna
match that with this red edge piece here
turn it twice I've got this green edge
piece I'm gonna match it with the Green
Center and turn it twice and I've got
this blue edge piece that I'm gonna
match with the blue Center and turn it
twice when you're finished you're gonna
have a white cross on the bottom of your
cube like I said before don't worry if
you've got white corners as well for now
you're just looking for this
configuration right here one more tip to
keep in mind that white cross is gonna
stay pointing down for the entire
remainder of the solve we are finally
ready to solve the very bottom layer of
the cube when we're finished with this
step the bottom layer of the cube will
be solved and as a bonus the bottom face
will be solved as well but before we
start let's pause for a quick lesson on
organ onyx that's how to hold and
manipulate the cube with
the white face pointing down place your
left thumb over these four squares and
your middle and ring fingers over the
four squares on the opposing face now
position the middle and ring fingers of
your right hand on these two stickers up
here and your right thumb on the
underside holding the cube this way
allows you to do two things first it
lets you rotate the right face freely
and easily conversely swapping the
position of your hands allows you to
rotate the left face as well and second
it lets you use your index fingers to
rotate the top face when you string
these rotations together you get two of
the most fundamental moves in cubing the
first sequence is called the right
trigger it looks like this using your
right hand rotate the right face ninety
degrees away from you use your right
index finger to pull the top face
towards you by 90 degrees then use your
right hand to rotate the right face
ninety degrees back towards you with
your left hand it looks like this use
your left hand to turn the left face
away from you by 90 degrees use your
left index finger to pull the top face
towards you by 90 degrees then use your
left hand to turn the left face back 90
degrees towards you now calls this three
move sequence the left trigger the right
and left triggers are the most
fundamental moves in cubing the more you
practice them the faster you'll get
we're also going to use these triggers a
lot for the remainder of the solve
starting right here in step three
remember the goal of this step is to
solve the bottom most layer of the cue
and to do it we're gonna search for
white stickers on the top layer that are
facing outward we want to solve the
parts of the first layer that aren't
already solved which are the corners
that have white stickers so we'll be
looking for those and placing them one
at a time now you might find that the
cube you're holding has a white sticker
on the top face of your cube in fact we
actually see that here on this one you
also might have a white sticker in this
bottom layer if you see either of those
things don't worry about it we'll get to
those in a second for now just focus on
white stickers on the sides of your top
layer so you have a white sticker
it's on a corner piece corners have
three stickers ignore the top one
instead identify the color to the side
of your white sticker in my case that
sticker is green and it is diagonally
matched to a red Center what I want you
to do now is rotate the top face until
the color beside your white sticker
which in this case is green diagonally
matches to the center of the same color
if your corner sticker is oriented to
the left of your Center sticker you're
going to use your left hand to perform
the left trigger by rotating the left
face away from you pulling the top face
towards you with your left index finger
and then rotating the left face towards
you if the corner sticker is oriented to
the right of the center sticker you're
going to use your right hand to perform
the three move sequence by rotating the
right face away from you pulling the top
face towards you with your right index
finger then rotating the right face
towards you you're gonna perform this
move again search the top layer for
outward facing white stickers like this
one identify the color next to it align
that color until it is diagonally
matched to the center of the same color
and perform the appropriate right or
left-handed trigger move here it's to
the left of the center sticker so I'll
use the left trigger same thing here
left same thing here now there are a
couple unusual situations that can arise
during the third step and they didn't
actually happen on the cube I was using
to solve so I'm gonna use a demo cube to
show them to you here the first is an
outward facing white sticker on the
bottom layer instead of the top if you
run into this situation simply find the
sticker and determine whether it's on
the right or left side of the face
you're looking at if it's on the right
side perform the right trigger by
turning the right side 90 degrees away
from you pulling the top 90 degrees
towards you and then rotating the right
face back 90 degrees towards you this
reposition is the white sticker from the
outside of the bottom layer to the top
of the first layer which is actually
edge case number two if you find a white
sticker on the top face rotate that top
face until the white sticker is directly
above that is to say opposite a non
white sticker on the bottom face of the
cube to help you see what that looks
like this is what I mean this white
sticker on the top face of the cube is
currently directly opposite
another white sticker on the bottom face
of the cube you don't want that so what
I want you to do instead is rotate the
top face until the white sticker on the
top is directly opposite a non-white
sticker on the bottom in this case that
sticker is blue next determine if the
white sticker is on the right side of
the cube or the left side if it's on the
right side like it is here perform the
appropriate trigger move but instead of
doing it just once do it twice once
twice now the white sticker that was
right here is on the top layer facing
outward and I can solve it by matching
the adjacent sticker to its coloured
Center and performing the appropriate
trigger move which in this case is a
right trigger continue performing the
appropriate moves until there are no
more white corner stickers to solve for
I'm going to do that on my cube now I
have two that are facing up so I'm going
to match this over a non white side pull
the trigger two times repositioning them
to the side this is to the side of a
blue sticker which is diagonally matched
on the right to this so I'm going to
perform the right trigger this is beside
an orange sticker and to match that to
it's orange Center it's to the left so
I'm going to perform the left trigger
and I'm done when you're done the entire
bottom layer will be solved and as a
bonus so will the bottom face on to step
four the goal of this step is to solve
the second layer of the cube when you're
done your cube will look something like
this these first two layers completely
solved first search the top layer for
edge pieces with no yellow stickers once
you find one match the edge piece that's
facing towards the side with the center
piece of the same color when this top
sticker is appropriately matched you'll
have an upside-down T so for example
this is an edge piece with no yellow
stickers the sticker facing the side is
green I'm gonna rotate this top layer
until the green piece is Center matched
over the same color I've got my
upside-down T so I'm gonna look at the
sticker on the top of this edge piece
and see whether it matches the left
center or the right Center in this case
it matches the right center so I'm gonna
use my right hand to first pull the top
face towards me 90 degrees and perform
the right trigger
I've displaced the white sticker so I'm
gonna use the sticker beside it orange
diagonally match it to the center of the
same color and because it's on the left
side I'm gonna use the left trigger to
place it back on the bottom just like in
step 3 if at any point the sticker on
the top of your edge piece is color
matched with the sticker on the left
side instead pull with your left index
finger then perform the left trigger and
fix the displaced white sticker as you
wouldn't step 3 continue solving for
edge pieces on the top layer without
yellow stickers until the second layer
is completely solved occasionally you'll
run into an edge case like this one
where there are no edge pieces in the
top layer without yellow stickers and
yet the middle layer is not solved in
cases such as these you need to pull
these middle pieces out by performing
the left or right trigger and then solve
for the edge pieces without yellow
stickers as you normally would
here's what that looks like there are no
edge pieces in this top layer that don't
have yellow stickers and yet the second
layer is not solved so we need to fix
this piece here it's on the right side
of the cube so I'm gonna use my right
trigger to pull it out I'm gonna fix the
white piece that we just displaced by
diagonally matching with the red Center
here it's on the left side so I'm gonna
use my left trigger now I should have an
edge piece in the upper layer that
doesn't have a yellow side that's this
one right here notice it's the one I
just kicked out like before I'm gonna
take the side that's facing out and
match it to the same Center got my
upside down tee I'm gonna look at the
top sticker it's red it's red on the
right face so I'm gonna use my right
hand to pull the top once towards me
then perform my right trigger again I've
displaced this white piece so I'm gonna
move the red diagonally match here it's
on the left side I'm going to perform my
left trigger and now my second layer is
entirely solved alright that brings us
to step five the goal of Step five is to
create a yellow cross on the top of your
cube but before we do let's pause for a
second to discuss cube notation cube
notation is what cubers use to describe
algorithms and algorithms are the
memorized sequences of moves that they
use to solve the cube quickly F stands
for the front face of the cube relative
to you B stands for the back
l stands for left R stands for right D
stands for down and U stands for up if
you see a letter it means to turn the
corresponding face clockwise by 90
degrees relative to the perspective of
somebody looking at that face head-on so
this and this are clockwise rotations of
the right and left faces respectively
similarly if you see a letter followed
by the number two it means to turn the
corresponding face two times for a total
of 180 degrees so for example you two
would mean to turn the upper face two
times if the letter is followed by an
apostrophe that is to say a prime symbol
it means to rotate the corresponding
face counterclockwise by 90 degrees for
example L prime means to turn the left
face 90 degrees counterclockwise
like so I know all of this sounds like a
lot and that's because it is but with
practice reading and following notation
becomes a lot more straightforward so
now that you know cube notation it's
time to learn an algorithm the notation
for it is as follows F u R u prime R
prime f prime if you're looking for a
mnemonic you can call it for Earth
the goal of step 5 is to make a yellow
cross and when you're done the top of
your cube should look like this if you
have no yellow edge pieces perform fir
earth f u R u prime R prime F prime if
you have two yellow edge pieces such
that they form a line with the center
piece orient the line so it faces up and
down relative to your perspective and
again perform f u R u prime R prime F
prime if you have two yellow edge pieces
such that they form a backwards L turn
your top layer until the edge pieces are
at the 12 and 9 positions on a clock and
perform f u R u prime R Prime
at this point you should have a yellow
cross on your top face on to the next
step the sixth step is to solve the
entire yellow face begin this step by
inspecting the top face of your cube how
many corners have yellow stickers you'll
never have three but you'll have either
0 1 or 2 if you have 0 or 2 rotate the
top face of your cube until there is a
yellow sticker in this position right
here if you're holding it in your left
hand it's in the upper right hand corner
of the left face like that once that
yellow sticker is in position perform
the following algorithm R u R prime u R
u2 R prime again if you have either 0 or
2 corner stickers like we do here
position this top layer such that there
is a yellow sticker in the upper right
hand corner of the left face and again
perform the algorithm R u R prime u R u2
R prime if you have your yellow cross
and only one yellow corner it'll look
like there's a fish on the top face of
your cube rotate that top face so that
the fish's mouth is pointing down and to
the left relative to your perspective
and perform the algorithm again R u R
prime u R u2 R prime you might have to
orient the fish and perform this
algorithm one last time but once you do
you'll have solved the yellow side onto
step 7 the goal of step 7 is to position
the corners of the cube to perform this
step inspect the top layer of your cube
you want to be looking at the uppermost
corner pieces of each face so here and
here here and here here and here and
here and here for step 7 we're gonna be
learning a new algorithm I'll be using
this cube to demonstrate it goes like
this l prime u
are you prime L u R prime R u R prime u
R u2 R prime now you'll notice that the
8th step of this algorithm actually
undoes the seventh step which is weird
but it actually makes this algorithm
easier to remember and that's because
the entire second half is exactly the
same as the algorithm we learned in step 6
6
got it good now occasionally you might
find that none of your faces have
matching corner pieces like on this demo
cube and if that's the case just perform
your new algorithm l prime u R u prime L
u R prime R u R prime u R u2 R prime if
one of your faces has matching corner
pieces like we do here hold that face in
the left hand and perform the algorithm
l prime u R u prime L u R prime R u R
prime u R u2 R prime now look you're
definitely gonna have to memorize all of
these algorithms if you want your time
is to really come down but the more you
practice the less sort of clunky and the
more natural they'll become at this
point all of your corner pieces should
match if they don't you might need to
perform step 7s algorithm one more time
now rotate the upper face so that the
corner pieces match up with the rest of
the cubes faces there's just one step
left to go alright this is it the eighth
and final step the goal of this
death is to position the edges of your
cube if none of the sides is solved just
hang tight and we'll address that in a
moment but for now if one of the sides
is completely solved like we have here
face it away from you now inspect the
edge pieces on the remaining three sides
they should be just slightly out of
position so for example this orange
piece really wants to be here this green
piece really wants to be here and this
blue piece really wants to be over here
to swap these three edges in a clockwise
fashion you'll be performing a new
algorithm it goes like this f2 u R prime
L f2 l prime R u f2 to swap the three
edge pieces in a counterclockwise
rotation perform the algorithm f2 u
prime R prime L f2 l prime R u prime F -
alright so what do you do if none of
your sides are solved simple perform the
counterclockwise algorithm once
reposition the cube and the performance
again that looks like this
f2 u prime R prime L F - L prime R u
prime f2 now you'll have one solved face
point that away from you and perform the
counterclockwise algorithm a second time
f2 u prime R prime L f2 l prime R u
prime f2 now your cube should be solved
and that's it you're done you solve the
cube like I said at the top this might
be the kind of thing you have to watch
multiple times and really try several
times over before you really start to
get the hang of it but I'd say after
about the first half dozen solves you
should be able to do
this without watching the video and the
more consistently you solve it after
that the more dramatically your times
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