How to solve a Rubik’s Cube

A beginner layer-by-layer method for the 3×3. First solve usually takes 20–40 minutes. Use a physical cube if you have one — or practise each step in Cube Lab.

Before you start

This method builds the cube in layers: white first, then the middle, then yellow last. You only need a handful of short algorithms. The white cross is intuition. After that, you follow a recipe.

• Centres never move relative to each other. White is opposite yellow, red opposite orange, green opposite blue.
• Edges have two colours. Corners have three.
• Hold the cube with the white centre on top and green in front, unless a step says to flip it.

Hold it the same way every time. Algorithms assume a face is Front. If you turn the cube in your hands without meaning to, the moves will look wrong.

Why this method

Layer-by-layer is the shortest path to a first solve: few algorithms, clear stages, and the same hold every time. Speed methods (CFOP, Roux) come after this recipe feels obvious — they reuse the same pieces with fewer looks.

Notation

Each letter is a 90° clockwise turn of that face, as if looking straight at it.

See the full cube notation reference for U–B, prime, wide, M-slice, and x/y/z.

Step 1 · White cross

A white + on top. Each white edge’s other colour must match the centre on that side.

Keep white on top. Find the four edge pieces that include white. Bring each one to the bottom, line it under the matching side centre, then turn that side twice (F2 if it is in front) to lift it into the cross.

A white plus that does not match the sides is not finished — those edges will fight you later. There is no algorithm to memorise here. Move pieces to the bottom, then up.

Step 2 · White corners

The four white corners go under the cross. First layer complete: whole top white, and the upper row of each side matching its centre.

Find a corner that includes white. Put it in the bottom layer, directly under the slot it belongs in (the three centres that match its colours). Hold that slot at the front-right.

Repeat the algorithm until the white sticker on that corner moves from the side onto the top. It may take 1–5 times. Then do the other three corners.

Step 3 · Middle layer

The four middle-layer edges. After this, the top two layers are solved — except you will be holding the cube upside down.

Flip the cube over. White (the layer you just finished) goes on the bottom. Yellow is now up. Keep it that way for the rest of the solve.

Look in the top layer for an edge with no yellow. Turn U until that edge’s side colour matches the centre it sits above. Then insert it left or right, depending on where its other colour belongs.

If the edge you need is already in the middle but in the wrong place, insert any other edge into that slot to kick it out, then place it properly from the top.

Step 4 · Yellow cross

A yellow + on top. Side colours of those edges do not matter yet.

The top usually goes dot → L-shape → line → cross. Repeat one algorithm. Hold an L so the two arms point left and up. Hold a line horizontally.

Step 5 · Yellow face

The whole top face yellow. Corners are oriented; they may still be in the wrong seats.

Use Sune. Put a corner that is not yellow on top at the front-left, apply the algorithm, then put the next unsolved corner at front-left and repeat until the top is all yellow.

It will look scrambled in between. The first two layers may break and then come back. That is normal. Do not stop mid-algorithm.

Step 6 · Yellow corner positions

Each yellow corner sits between the correct two side centres. The top stays yellow.

Check which corners already belong where they are (side colours match the centres, even if you have to ignore the edges). If one corner is correct, hold it at the back-right and apply the algorithm. If none is correct, apply it once from any angle — then one corner will be correct, and you continue.

Step 7 · Last edges

Cycle the remaining three edges. The cube is solved.

If one edge is already solved, hold that side at the back and apply the algorithm. If it is not solved after one pass, do it once more. A final U turn (AUF) may be needed to line the top with the sides.

Practice path

• White cross and corners until the first layer always matches the side centres.
• Add the middle layer after the white-down flip; use ▶ Demo when holds feel fuzzy.
• Finish yellow untimed — keep this page open; do not race the first solves.
• When a full solve needs no lookup, open CFOP or Roux.

Stuck?

If a layer you already solved is a mess, you likely rotated the cube mid-algorithm or skipped a hold instruction. Undo to the last stage that still looks like the diagram, then retry that step in the trainer — it will play the moves on a 3D cube.

If you have a physical cube and the colours do not match this page, you can scan all six faces in Cube Lab. That opens beginner steps for your cube — the same method as this page. Choose Fast solve if you want a short computer solution instead.

After this page

Continue with the CFOP / 4-look written guide or the Roux block-building guide. Solving a 2×2 uses a shorter version of the same ideas. A 4×4 or 5×5 reduces to this method after centres and edge pairing.