How to Solve Rubik’s Cube

There are about 43 quintillion[53] possible combinations of the pieces that make up a standard cube. But only one of them is correct.

To solve the cube correctly, you have to memorize algorithms that tell you what twists to do on each face. For example, a letter with a 2 after it means to turn that face counterclockwise 90 degrees.

The History of the Rubik’s Cube

In 1974, Hungarian design teacher and serious puzzler Erno Rubik completed his first prototype 3x3x3 cube. He called it the Magic Cube and patented it in Hungary. But it wasn’t until a toy agent at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1980 saw his creation that things really started to move.

The rep had a plan for the rubik’s cube shop: He asked the inventor to come to America and demonstrate it in front of store chains. But Rubik wasn’t exactly a charismatic salesperson — he was a shy professor with a limited grasp of English.

He did, however, solve the cube live in front of toy buyers — and it was a hit. It became the best-selling toy of the 1980s and is still the world’s most popular puzzle to this day. While the cube has many variants, including the 2x2x2, the 1x1x1, and others, the standard cube is now recognizable by its 54 color stickers (yellow, red, orange, green, blue, and white) and standardized corner placement.

The Beginner’s Method

The Beginner’s Method is a simple way to solve the cube that avoids memorization of algorithm steps. It involves orienting the edges and center pieces before solving the corners. The method requires a little more practice than the other two methods, but it does not require memorization of any algorithms.

To execute the beginner’s algorithm, look at your cube and find a yellow corner piece that is incorrectly oriented. Ensure that the center colors on this corner match those on the surrounding cube face color. If they match, execute the algorithm two to four times.

Repeat this process until the yellow corner is in its correct position. The center and edge pieces will remain jumbled, but they should be close to their correct positions. This will make the white cross much easier to set up.

The Intermediate Method

After you’ve mastered the Layer by Layer Beginner Method you may want to move on to learning more advanced algorithms. These are a set of memorised sequences that change the position of certain edges or corners, making the cube easier to solve. Cubbers use a special notation to help with these, with letters (f b u d l r) representing faces and numbers (1L 2L) representing layers. Some methods also have an abbreviation that uses vowels to simplify memorization. For example, CFOP stands for Corner-Flip-Orient-Pair, and is one of the most popular methods among top cubers.

There are 41 possible permutations of a corner and its vertical edge, which is enough to cover the Earth’s surface more than twice. This number does not include combinations where a pair is already paired, as the orienting algorithm will take care of those in the last step. This last step is often the most frustrating for new cubers, as your cube will look completely messed up after you complete this algorithm.

The Advanced Method

For those who have mastered the beginner’s method, and can achieve a time around 45-50 seconds, it is possible to move on to an advanced algorithm. The most popular method is CFOP (Cross, First 2 Layers, Orientation, Permutation). This requires a lot of memorization and may take longer to learn than the beginner’s method, but it will save you at least two or four seconds.

This technique involves learning the algorithms to solve each layer individually, and then executing them in order to position each of the center pieces correctly. It is important to practice these algorithms until they are second nature. There are also a number of advanced methods that can be used to reduce your solve time, such as the Roux Method or one-look PLL.

Despite the popularity of these speedsolving methods, it is important to remember that a cube is not solved by memorizing algorithms alone. There are many other factors that go into a good solve, and only through practice can you improve your speed.