Almost everyone has one. It’s sitting in a junk drawer or on a dusty bookshelf, a scrambled mess of plastic that looks more like a colorful spite-cube than a puzzle. You’ve probably tried to twist it a few times, gotten one side done, and then realized that moving the next piece ruins everything you just built. It’s frustrating. Honestly, it’s designed to be. Erno Rubik, the Hungarian architect who invented the thing in 1974, actually spent a whole month figuring out how to solve his own invention. If the guy who made it struggled, you’re allowed to struggle too.
But here’s the thing: learning how to solve the Rubiks cube isn’t about being a math genius. It’s about muscle memory. It’s about recognizing patterns and then letting your fingers do the work while your brain mostly idles. Most people think you solve it side by side. You don’t. If you try to solve the white side, then the red side, you’ll just keep chasing your tail. You have to solve it in layers.
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Think of it like building a house. You don't put the roof on before the foundation is poured.
Why Your First Layer is Usually Wrong
Most beginners manage to get the white face finished and feel like a king. Then they look at the sides and realize the colors don't match the center pieces. This is the first "aha" moment. Every 3x3 cube has six center pieces that never move. They are your anchors. If the center piece is yellow, that side will be yellow. Period.
To start, you need the "White Cross." But it’s not just any cross. The edges of that cross have to align with the side centers. If you have a white-green edge piece, it needs to touch the white center and the green center simultaneously. If it doesn't, you've already failed the foundation. It sounds harsh, but it's true.
Specific experts in the cubing world, like Tyson Mao (who co-founded the World Cube Association), often emphasize that the cross is the hardest part for a total novice because there are no set "moves" for it yet. You just have to use your eyes. Once that cross is locked in, you move to the corners. You're looking for white corner pieces and "parking" them under where they need to go.
The Algorithm: It’s Just a Fancy Word for a Dance
You'll hear the word "algorithm" a lot. Don't let it scare you. In cubing, an algorithm is just a sequence of turns that moves specific pieces without permanently breaking what you’ve already fixed.
The most important one you'll ever learn is the Right Hand Algorithm. It’s four moves: Right side up, Top side left, Right side down, Top side right. In cubing notation, that’s $R U R' U'$.
Once you get the first layer done, you flip the cube over. Now white is on the bottom. You’re looking at the second layer—the belt around the middle of the cube. This is where most people quit. They see the second layer and think they have to memorize fifty different things. You don't. You basically just use a variation of that four-move sequence to "slot" edge pieces into their homes. It’s repetitive. It’s almost boring once you get it. But it works every single time.
Common Misconceptions About Speed
- You need to grease the cube: Not exactly. While pros use silicone-based lubricants like Maru Lube or Gan Lube, a "speedcube" is actually built with different internal springs and magnets. WD-40 will actually melt the plastic. Don't do it.
- Peeling the stickers is a valid strategy: It’s not. The stickers lose their adhesive, and you'll end up with a sticky, ugly mess that everyone knows you cheated on. Plus, modern cubes use "stickerless" plastic anyway.
- You need to see 20 moves ahead: Maybe if you're Max Park or Feliks Zemdegs (two of the greatest to ever do it), but for a regular human? You only need to see the next piece you're hunting for.
Making Sense of the Yellow Face
When you get to the top (the yellow side), the game changes. You aren't "building" anymore; you're "orienting." You'll likely have a yellow dot, an "L" shape, or a horizontal line.
There's a specific trick here. If you have the "L" shape, you hold it so it looks like a backwards 'L' in the top-left corner. Then you do a move called $F (R U R' U') F'$. That’s a front turn, your four-move sequence, and then a front turn back. Boom. You have a cross. It feels like magic when it happens.
This is the stage where the cube starts to look like a mess again. You’ll turn the top, and suddenly the whole thing looks scrambled. Do not panic. This is where most beginners lose their nerve and twist a random side, actually ruining the progress. If you follow the sequence to the end, the bottom layers will magically knit themselves back together. It’s a leap of faith.
How to Solve the Rubiks Cube Faster Using Finger Tricks
If you’re still using your whole hand to turn the faces of the cube, you’re doing it the slow way. Pros use their index fingers to "flick" the top layer. They use their ring fingers to pull the bottom layer.
This isn't just about speed; it's about not losing your grip. When you turn with your whole hand, you're more likely to rotate the entire cube in space, which gets you disoriented. You want the cube to stay relatively still while your fingers dance around it.
Why the Last Layer is the "Boss Fight"
The final steps involve a move called the Sune (pronounced "soon") and eventually the "Permutation of the Last Layer" (PLL). This is where you swap the corners and edges into their final resting spots.
One mistake here—one single $U$ turn instead of a $U'$—and you are back to square one. Or square zero. It’s brutal. This is why people who solve cubes often look like they're in a trance; they are repeating the notation in their heads like a mantra. $R U R' U R U2 R'$. If you can say that in your sleep, you can solve the cube.
Actionable Steps for Your First Solve
If you are holding a scrambled cube right now, stop twisting it randomly. It won't help.
- Find the Yellow Center: Keep it on top. Find the white edges and put them around the yellow center to make a "Daisy." It’s much easier than going straight for the white cross.
- Match and Drop: Align the side color of your daisy petals with the side centers, then rotate them 180 degrees down to the white side. Cross done.
- Learn the "Sexy Move": That’s actually what cubers call the $R U R' U'$ sequence. Practice it until you don't have to think about it. It is the Swiss Army knife of cubing.
- Buy a Real Cube: If you are using an original 1980s-style Rubik’s brand cube, it probably feels like turning a brick filled with sand. Spend $10 on a "speedcube" (brands like MoYu or QiYi are great entry levels). The difference is night and day.
- Don't memorize everything at once: Focus on the cross today. The first layer tomorrow. If you try to swallow the whole method in twenty minutes, your brain will reject it.
The cube is a solved science. There are $43,252,003,274,489,856,000$ possible positions, but every single one of them can be solved in 20 moves or less. You don't need to find the 20-move solution. You just need to find the solution. Keep twisting.