Start every pattern below with a solved 3×3 cube. Keep the same face at the front and the same colour on top throughout the sequence. Each pattern link takes you to the exact notation and an interactive player, so you can pause at a difficult turn and check the other faces.
These patterns are for practice and aren’t ranked by difficulty. Start with a short sequence that gives you a result you can easily recognise, then explore the designs that interest you.
Fifteen patterns to try
- Checkerboard: compare alternating stickers across several faces. This is a useful first test of slice turns.
- Six Spots: inspect the centre of every face instead of checking only the three visible sides.
- Cube in a Cube: rotate the finished cube to see how the nested-cube illusion connects around a corner.
- Cube in a Cube in a Cube: follow the nested outlines and compare them with the simpler design above.
- Anaconda: trace the band as it crosses from one face to the next.
- Python: compare this connected design with Anaconda instead of just memorising its name.
- Black Mamba: watch the whole sequence before trying it from memory.
- Green Mamba: compare its arrangement with Black Mamba using the final-state previews.
- Four Spots: check which faces change and which ones preserve a larger solid area.
- Cross: inspect the arms of the cross and their surrounding corner colours.
- Four Crosses: count the finished faces and inspect the remaining two.
- Gift Box: follow the contrasting bands around the cube like ribbon.
- Spiral Pattern: inspect the result from several angles to see the repeating path.
- Vertical Stripes: compare the direction of the bands on adjacent faces.
- Superflip: all twelve edges are flipped while corners and centres stay in their solved positions. It is a legal 3×3 position, unlike a single flipped edge.
Read the turns before starting
A plain letter means a clockwise quarter-turn when looking directly at that face. A prime (') reverses it, and 2 makes a half-turn. M, E, and S turn a middle slice. The notation reference explains their direction. A move changes the cube; rotating your viewpoint does not.
On a physical cube, work on a stable surface and avoid forcing a layer that isn’t aligned. On the website, use ‘Next move’ and ‘Previous move’ to compare the cube immediately before and after a move. Use the final preview to check the finished pattern, rather than each intermediate step.
Undo a pattern reliably
To undo any sequence, read its moves backwards and reverse each quarter-turn. Keep half-turns unchanged. For example, the inverse of R U F2 is F2 U' R'. Repeating a pattern algorithm isn’t a general way to undo it: some patterns take several repetitions to return the cube to its solved state.
Reset returns the Digital Cube to a solved state. On a physical cube, reverse the sequence or use the solver if you lose your place. Do not scramble the cube before trying the pattern again: these instructions depend on a solved starting state.
Explore other cube sizes
The pattern library includes designs and interactive playback for every size from 2×2 to 17×17. Select the correct size before following a sequence. An outer-turn algorithm on a 3×3 can produce a different design on a 4×4, and numbered inner-layer moves require enough layers. Each pattern includes its complete notation, a final reference image and a Digital Cube link that opens the matching size.
