You can read quarter-turns and their inverses. Keep the scrambled cube from the previous lesson.
For this example, hold the cube with yellow on top, blue at the front and red on the right. Keep the same face at the front throughout.
1. Learn four turns as one small routine
R U R' U'
A short sequence you use repeatedly is often called a trigger. You’ll use this one to insert the white corners. Read it as “right clockwise, top clockwise, right anticlockwise, top anticlockwise”. Use the notation lesson to check the turn directions.
2. Follow one piece
Keep your cube scrambled. Before you start, take a photo of each face or note the sticker positions so you can compare them at the end. Pick any corner and remember its three colours. Perform the full trigger once, then find where that corner went. All three colours are still on the same piece.
Don’t try to fix the cube after each turn. A useful sequence often moves solved pieces out of place temporarily and puts them back later.
3. Repeat with control
Repeat the full trigger six times in total. The cube returns to exactly the state it was in when you started. After four repetitions, it does not return to the start.
The player shows all six repetitions. Pause after moves 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 to inspect what changed. At move 24, compare every face with the start.
4. Know when this routine helps
Repeating the trigger is a drill for practising turns. It won’t solve an arbitrary scramble. In the white corner lesson, you’ll first choose the correct corner and put it directly above the slot where it belongs. Only then will the trigger help you solve that corner.
You’re now ready to start a real solve. Continue with the 3×3 Beginner course and work through its solving stages from this scramble. If your cube is already solved, scramble it before starting the course.
Need a reminder of the move notation?
R right · L left · U top · D bottom · F front · B back. A plain letter means a 90° clockwise turn as you look directly at that face. An apostrophe (′) reverses the turn. A 2 means a 180° turn. Keep the same face towards you throughout the algorithm.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by stepping through the example one move at a time. This example demonstrates a specific action. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognise when that action applies to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
This is a turning drill: six repetitions return the cube to its starting state. Pause every four moves and keep the same face at the front.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 24
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 24 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
Drag to inspect other faces. When the cube has focus, use the arrow keys to rotate the view.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 3×3, with yellow on top and blue facing you. Follow the setup moves below from left to right to recreate the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.
R U R' F2 D L2 B U2Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube has a different colour scheme, use your own colours to identify the corresponding pieces.
Compare the starting position and the result
Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.
Explain it to yourself
Check your understanding
Now use your own cube
Your turn
Perform R U R′ U′ six times on your scrambled cube, pausing after each complete repetition. Count repetitions aloud, then compare all six faces with the starting scramble.
Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practiceThe Digital Cube opens in a new tab so you can keep this lesson open while you practise. Check for yourself whether you’ve met the lesson goal, as the Digital Cube doesn’t assess your result.
If you get stuck
My cube hasn’t returned to its starting state after six repetitions.
Check the direction of each turn and make sure you included the final U′ every time. Use Previous move to undo one move in the example. On your own cube, undo only the moves you remember.
Before moving on
Check your result
Preparation · no solving yet
Return to the same scramble
Six complete triggers restore the scramble you started with. You have learned a turning routine; begin solving with the white edges in the 3×3 Beginner course.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Tick each item when you can do it yourself.