You’ve probably seen one sitting on a dusty shelf. Maybe it’s your own, a tangled mess of plastic that hasn't been solved since 2014. Most people pick it up, twist it for five minutes, get one side done, and then give up because the rest of the colors just won't cooperate. It’s frustrating. It feels like you need to be some sort of math genius or a child prodigy to make the colors line up. But honestly? It’s mostly just muscle memory and knowing which patterns to ignore. Learning how to Rubik's cube isn't about high-level calculus; it's about following a recipe, sort of like baking a cake where if you mess up the eggs, the whole kitchen explodes.
Ernő Rubik, the Hungarian architect who invented the thing back in 1974, actually took a full month to solve his own invention. Think about that. The guy who built it couldn't figure it out at first. He called it the "Magic Cube." It wasn't until 1980, when Ideal Toy Corp started mass-producing them, that the world went collectively insane trying to peel the stickers off to "cheat." Don't do that. It ruins the adhesive and, frankly, it's a lot more satisfying to actually beat the puzzle.
The First Layer: It’s Not About the Stickers
Most beginners try to solve the cube side by side. They finish the white face, then try to do the red face, and then they realize that by finishing the red, they've completely nuked the white. It’s a loop of despair.
To understand how to Rubik's cube properly, you have to realize you aren't moving stickers. You are moving "pieces." There are three types of pieces on a standard 3x3:
- Centers: These have one color. They never move. If the center is white, that face will always be the white face.
- Edges: These have two colors. There are 12 of them.
- Corners: These have three colors. There are 8 of them.
Basically, the center pieces are your North Star. If you see a green center, every other piece you put on that side must have green on it. You start with the "White Cross." This is the foundation. You want the white edge pieces to surround the white center, but here’s the kicker: the other side of those edge pieces has to match the side centers. If your white-blue edge piece is sitting next to the red center, you’ve already failed. Line them up. It’s okay if it takes a minute. Just get that cross looking like a plus sign with matching "legs" on the sides.
Once the cross is done, you tuck the corners in. A common mistake is just getting the white side finished without looking at the rows underneath. You want the top layer to be a solid color, sure, but the "T" shapes on the sides are what actually matter. If you don't have those T's, you're building a house on sand.
Mid-Game Struggles and the Second Layer
The middle layer is where most people get stuck. It’s actually the easiest part once you learn a couple of sequences, which cubers call "algorithms." An algorithm is just a fancy word for a specific set of moves that moves one piece without ruining the stuff you already fixed.
To get the second layer edges in place, you’re looking for pieces on the bottom (the yellow side) that don't have any yellow on them. If an edge piece is red and green, it belongs in the middle layer. You move it under the center that matches its front color, then perform a sequence of moves to "slot" it in.
There are two main ways to do this: the "lefty" move and the "righty" move. If the piece needs to go to the right, you move the bottom away to the left, do a right-hand sequence, rotate the cube, and do a left-hand sequence. It sounds like a lot of steps. It is. But after doing it fifty times, your fingers will just start doing it while you watch Netflix. It becomes a tactile itch you have to scratch.
Facing the Yellow Side
Now things get weird. You have two layers done. The bottom of your cube—which we usually keep as the yellow side—is a mess. This is where the Layer-by-Layer method (often called the Beginner’s Method) really shines. You aren't trying to solve the whole thing at once. You're just trying to get a yellow cross.
Sometimes you'll have just a yellow dot. Sometimes a "J" shape or a horizontal line. You use the same algorithm over and over—usually $F R U R' U' F'$—until that cross appears.
Why Algorithms Feel Like Magic
If you’ve ever watched a speedcuber like Max Park or Feliks Zemdegs, you’ll notice their hands move so fast you can’t even see the turns. They aren't thinking "Front, Right, Up." They are thinking in "triggers." A trigger is a four-move sequence that feels like one fluid motion. The most famous one is the "Sexy Move" ($R U R' U'$). It’s the Swiss Army knife of cubing. If you learn this one move, you’re 70% of the way to knowing how to Rubik's cube.
Once the yellow cross is there, you have to get all the yellow on top. This is the "Sune" algorithm ($R U R' U R U2 R'$). You might have to do it once, or you might have to do it five times. You're looking for a "fish" shape. Once you see the fish, point its nose to the bottom-left corner and do the move. Boom. Yellow top.
The Home Stretch: Permutation
The final step is the most nerve-wracking. You have the white bottom and middle layers done, and the yellow top is solid. But the pieces on the top layer are in the wrong spots. They're like people sitting in the wrong seats at a wedding.
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You have to swap the corners first. Look for "headlights"—two corners of the same color on one side. Point those to the back and run a longer algorithm. If you don't have headlights, run it anyway, and you’ll get them. Finally, you swap the last few edge pieces. This is the moment of truth. One wrong move here and the whole cube scrambles, and you’re back to the white cross, questioning your life choices.
Most beginners use the "U-Perm" to cycle the edges. It’s a repetitive set of moves that slowly rotates the edges into their final homes. When that last piece clicks into place and the colors align, the rush of dopamine is real. You didn't just solve a puzzle; you conquered a 43 quintillion-combination nightmare.
Beyond the Basics: What’s Next?
So you solved it once. Cool. Now you want to do it faster. The Beginner’s Method is great, but it’s slow. It usually takes about 100 to 120 moves to solve a cube this way. If you want to get under a minute, you have to look into CFOP.
CFOP stands for Cross, F2L (First Two Layers), OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer), and PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer). This is what the pros use. Instead of doing the first layer corners and then the second layer edges, you do them both at the same time in "pairs." It’s much more efficient but requires memorizing about 78 different algorithms.
Don't rush into that. Stick with the beginner method until you can do it without looking at a cheat sheet.
Common Misconceptions
- "I'm not smart enough." Wrong. It's a physical skill, like typing or playing an instrument.
- "The colors are what matters." Not really. The positions matter.
- "WD-40 will make it faster." For the love of all that is holy, do not put WD-40 in your cube. It will melt the plastic. Use silicone-based lubricants specifically made for puzzles.
Actionable Steps to Your First Solve
If you're holding a scrambled cube right now, don't just spin it aimlessly. Follow this roadmap:
- Get a decent cube. If you're using an original 1980s Rubik's brand, it's going to be stiff and lock up. Buy a "speedcube" online. Even a $10 one from a brand like MoYu or QiYi will feel like it’s made of butter compared to the old ones.
- Learn the notation. $R$ means turn the right side clockwise. $R'$ (R-prime) means counter-clockwise. $U$ is the top (Up) layer. $F$ is Front. If you can read these, you can follow any tutorial on the internet.
- The Daisy Method. If the white cross is too hard, make a "Daisy" first. Put the four white edges around the yellow center. It’s much easier to see. Then, line up the side colors and flip them 180 degrees down to the white center.
- Slow is smooth. Don't try to turn fast. When you turn fast, you overshoot and the cube jams. Turn deliberately.
- Drill the "Righty" and "Lefty" moves. $R U R' U'$ and $L' U' L U$. Do these until you can do them with your eyes closed. They are the building blocks of almost every solve.
Solving the cube isn't a gift you're born with. It's a set of instructions you choose to follow. Once you break the barrier of that first solve, the "impossible" puzzle becomes a desk toy, a fidget tool, and a pretty great party trick. Just be prepared for people to ask you "how to Rubik's cube" every time they see it on your coffee table.
Start with the white cross. Don't worry about the clock. Just get it done once. After that, the 43 quintillion possibilities don't seem quite so intimidating anymore.