You’ve seen that one kid. The one at the back of the bus or in the corner of a coffee shop, hands moving in a blur, plastic clicking like a hailstone on a tin roof. They finish the puzzle in twenty seconds, toss it on the table, and act like it’s nothing. Meanwhile, your cube has been sitting on your shelf since 2022, three sides finished—or so you thought—but with a chaotic mess of colors everywhere else. Honestly, most people who try to learn the Rubik's cube beginners method give up because they treat it like a math test instead of a physical habit. It’s not about being a genius. It’s about muscle memory.
Most tutorials online make this harder than it needs to be. They give you a list of seventy moves and tell you to memorize them. That’s a nightmare. The truth is, the standard layer-by-layer approach—which is the bedrock of the Rubik's cube beginners method—only requires you to learn about four or five actual "sequences." The rest is just looking at where the stickers are. If you can tell the difference between a corner piece and an edge piece, you can do this. Seriously.
The big lie about "sides"
People always say, "I got the blue side done!" Cool. But you actually did it wrong.
When you're using the Rubik's cube beginners method, you don't solve sides. You solve layers. If you solve the white face but the colors on the sides don't match the center pieces of the adjacent faces, you’ve just created a pretty pattern that is functionally useless for finishing the puzzle. You have to ensure that the "T" shape forms on every side.
The cube has a fixed skeleton. The center pieces? They don't move. White is always opposite yellow. Green is always opposite blue. Red is always opposite orange. If your cube has a different layout, you probably bought a knock-off or someone swapped the stickers to prank you. This fixed center is your North Star. You are building the world around those centers.
Why the Daisy is the best training wheels you'll ever use
Most experts, like Tyson Mao or the folks over at Ruwix, suggest starting with the "White Cross." But for a total newbie, jumping straight to the cross is frustrating. Instead, we start with the Daisy.
Basically, you keep the yellow center on top and surround it with four white edge pieces. It looks like a flower. Why do this? Because it doesn't matter what the rest of the cube looks like. You can't "mess up" the rest of the cube because you haven't solved anything yet. Once you have your petals, you line up the other side of the white edge with its matching colored center and flip it 180 degrees down to the bottom.
Boom. White cross solved. No brain power required.
Learning the "Sexy Move" (The only algorithm you really need)
In the world of cubing, there is one sequence of four moves that solves about 80% of your problems. The community calls it the "Sexy Move" because it’s so smooth and fast. In notation, it's $R U R' U'$.
Don't let the letters scare you.
- R: Right side up.
- U: Top layer to the left.
- R': Right side down.
- U': Top layer to the right.
If you do this six times, the cube goes back to exactly how it started. In the Rubik's cube beginners method, you use this to insert corner pieces into the bottom layer. You just repeat it until the white sticker faces down. It feels like magic when it finally clicks. You’ll find yourself doing it mindlessly while watching Netflix. That's the goal.
The second layer is where most people quit
The middle layer is the "make or break" point. You’ve got your white base done. Now you need to tuck the four edge pieces into their slots. This is the first time you have to move a piece away from where it needs to go to eventually get it into position.
It’s counterintuitive.
💡 You might also like: Fantasy Five Michigan Numbers: What Most People Get Wrong
You’re essentially "marrying" an edge piece to a corner piece and then dropping them both into the slot together. If you try to just shove the edge in there, you'll blow up your white base. This is the part of the Rubik's cube beginners method where you’ll likely mess up and have to start over. Do not panic. Starting over is how the muscle memory sets in. Every time you fix the white cross, you’re getting faster.
Handling the Yellow Cross (The home stretch)
Once the first two layers are solid, you flip the cube over. Now you’re looking at the yellow face. You’ll either have a dot, an "L" shape, or a line.
- If it’s a dot, do the sequence.
- If it’s an "L," hold it so it’s in the back-left corner.
- If it’s a line, hold it horizontally.
The sequence here is just a slight variation of what you already know: $F (R U R' U') F'$. You’re just moving the front face, doing the Sexy Move, and moving the front face back.
The final corners: The "Sun" and the "Sune"
You’re almost there. The last step is usually the most terrifying because it looks like you’re destroying the entire cube. You’ll use an algorithm called the "Sune" ($R U R' U R U2 R'$) to orient the yellow corners.
A common mistake? Turning the whole cube in your hands.
Stop.
When you are finishing the last layer of the Rubik's cube beginners method, you must only move the bottom layer (the D face) or the top layer (the U face) to position pieces. If you rotate the entire cube, you lose your orientation and you’ll end up with a scrambled mess and a heavy sense of regret.
Complexity and the "Finger Trick" evolution
The reason you aren't as fast as the kid on the bus isn't because they know more math. It's because they use their fingers, not their whole hands. Beginners usually "wrist turn"—they grab the whole side of the cube and twist.
Pros use "finger tricks." They flick the top layer with their index finger. They push the bottom with their ring finger. If you want to actually master the Rubik's cube beginners method, you need to stop gripping the cube like a stress ball. Hold it lightly. Let your fingers do the dancing.
Dealing with the "Clicky" vs. "Gummy" feel
Not all cubes are created equal. If you’re using an original Rubik’s brand cube from the 80s or a cheap drugstore version, you’re playing on "Hard Mode." Those things are clunky. Modern "speedcubes" from brands like GAN, MoYu, or QiYi use magnets.
Magnets? Yes.
They help the layers snap into place so you don't have to be perfectly precise. They also use tension springs or MagLev (magnetic levitation) technology to reduce friction. If your cube feels "gummy," it might need a drop of silicone-based lubricant. If it feels too loose, you might need to tighten the screws under the center caps. Yes, the center caps pop off. No, that’s not cheating.
Actionable steps for your first solve
Don't try to learn the whole thing in one sitting. Your brain will melt. Follow this sequence over a few days:
- Day 1: Master the Daisy and the White Cross. Learn the "Sexy Move" until you can do it with your eyes closed.
- Day 2: Solve the white corners. Focus on getting those side colors to match the centers.
- Day 3: The Middle Layer. This is the hardest part. Watch a video specifically on "inserting edges" if the diagrams confuse you.
- Day 4: The Yellow Cross and the Top Layer.
Once you solve it for the first time, scramble it immediately. The second solve is where the knowledge actually sticks. If you wait a week, you’ll forget the algorithms and have to start from scratch.
The Rubik's cube beginners method is a gateway drug. Once you get your time down to under two minutes, you'll naturally start looking at the CFOP method (Cross, F2L, OLL, PLL). But for now, just focus on that first "clack" of the final layer falling into place. There is no feeling quite like it. It’s the moment you stop being someone who "has a Rubik’s cube" and start being someone who "can solve a Rubik’s cube."
Get a decent speedcube—even a $10 one will do—and keep it on your desk. Don't peel the stickers. Don't take it apart with a screwdriver. Just learn the four moves. You’ve got this.