Notation guide
Learn what move letters such as R U R' U' mean, with a live demonstration of each on the cube.
| up face, row 1 | yellow | yellow | yellow |
|---|---|---|---|
| up face, row 2 | yellow | yellow | yellow |
| up face, row 3 | yellow | yellow | yellow |
| right face, row 1 | orange | orange | orange |
| right face, row 2 | orange | orange | orange |
| right face, row 3 | orange | orange | orange |
| front face, row 1 | green | green | green |
| front face, row 2 | green | green | green |
| front face, row 3 | green | green | green |
| down face, row 1 | white | white | white |
| down face, row 2 | white | white | white |
| down face, row 3 | white | white | white |
| left face, row 1 | red | red | red |
| left face, row 2 | red | red | red |
| left face, row 3 | red | red | red |
| back face, row 1 | blue | blue | blue |
| back face, row 2 | blue | blue | blue |
| back face, row 3 | blue | blue | blue |
Drag a sticker to turn its layer; drag outside the cube to look at its sides.
Press "Show" next to a move.
Cube solutions write their moves as letters. The letters are international and the same in every language. The "Show" button next to each letter plays the move on the cube beside it, starting from a solved cube. The cube is held with yellow on top and green in front.
The six faces
The face letters are the initials of Up, Down, Left, Right, Front and Back. A letter on its own turns that face a quarter turn clockwise, as seen from in front of that face.
- UUp faceTurns the top layer a quarter turn clockwise.
- DDown faceTurns the bottom layer a quarter turn clockwise, seen from below.
- LLeft faceTurns the left layer a quarter turn clockwise, seen from the left.
- RRight faceTurns the right layer a quarter turn clockwise, seen from the right.
- FFront faceTurns the layer facing you a quarter turn clockwise.
- BBack faceTurns the back layer a quarter turn clockwise, seen from behind.
Prime and double
The mark after a letter changes the direction or the amount.
- R'R primeThe ' after a letter means "prime": the same face turns a quarter turn counter-clockwise.
- R2R twoThe 2 after a letter means "double": the same face turns a half turn. The direction does not matter.
The middle slices
Three capital letters turn the middle slice between two faces.
- MMiddle sliceTurns the slice between the left and right faces, in the same direction as L.
- EEquator sliceTurns the slice between the top and bottom faces, in the same direction as D.
- SStanding sliceTurns the slice between the front and back faces, in the same direction as F.
Turning two layers together
A small letter turns that face and the middle slice next to it together. The same move is also written with a w after the face letter (Rw instead of r).
- rRight two layersTurns the right face and the middle slice next to it together, in the same direction as R. Also written Rw.
- lLeft two layersTurns the left face and the middle slice next to it together, in the same direction as L. Also written Lw.
- uTop two layersTurns the top face and the middle slice below it together, in the same direction as U. Also written Uw.
- dBottom two layersTurns the bottom face and the middle slice above it together, in the same direction as D. Also written Dw.
- fFront two layersTurns the front face and the middle slice behind it together, in the same direction as F. Also written Fw.
- bBack two layersTurns the back face and the middle slice in front of it together, in the same direction as B. Also written Bw.
Turning the whole cube
The moves x, y and z turn the whole cube. The pieces do not move relative to each other; only the way you hold the cube changes.
- xWhole cube like RTurns the cube like the right face: the front face comes up.
- yWhole cube like UTurns the cube like the top face: the front face goes to the left.
- zWhole cube like FTurns the cube like the front face: the top face goes to the right.
How to read an algorithm
An algorithm is a list of moves separated by spaces. Read it from left to right; each move starts where the one before left off. An example:
R U R' U'
- R: right face, clockwise
- U: up face, clockwise
- R': right face, counter-clockwise
- U': up face, counter-clockwise
So first the right face turns clockwise, then the top face, then the same two faces turn counter-clockwise in the same order. It is the most used move of the beginner method: the right-hand move.