Finish the last four edge groups — 5×5 Reduction

Before you start

Eight complete edges are stored in U and D, four unpaired groups remain in the middle, and centres are restored.

How to hold your cube

Place the two groups you are working on at FL and FR.

1. Find a useful partial match

Check the four remaining groups for a wing that already matches its neighbouring midge. Find the missing wing with the same two colours in another group. Use outer turns to set up those groups at FL and FR.

If there is no partial match, use the slice–flip–slice-back operation on two unpaired groups to rearrange wings and create one. Inspect the new state before choosing another operation.

2. Set up the wing exchange

Choose the upper working slice. Arrange the groups so Uw carries the selected FL wing into FR. The FR flip then changes which wing will travel back when the slice is restored.

Use the FR flip to change a group’s orientation when the front colours form the wrong matching or checkerboard pattern. Compare both sides of the starting net below; a match on just one visible sticker is not enough to choose the setup.

For a lower-slice case, rotate the whole cube to bring that slice to the upper working position, then identify FL and FR again. Keep Uw as written; do not substitute a move that turns a different number of layers.

3. Slice, flip, slice back

Uw R U R' F R' F' R Uw'

Break this into three actions:

Uw: move the selected wing in the upper band towards FR.
R U R′ F R′ F′ R: flip the whole FR group.
Uw′: restore the centre rows and exchange the selected wings.

The sequence changes which wing returns with the slice. With the pieces set up to match, it improves the edge grouping without leaving the centres mixed. Finish the full sequence before checking the result.

4. Check the result before repeating the sequence

Check which groups now contain all three matching pieces. Protect those groups and work on the remaining unpaired ones. A new partial match may need a new setup or a flip before the next operation.

Continue until eleven edges are complete. If the last group also matches on both faces, pairing is finished. Otherwise compare it with the parity case in the next lesson.

5. Separate a last-edge mismatch from general pairing

The final repair applies when eleven groups are complete and the last group’s two wings are reversed relative to its midge. If several groups still contain different colour pairs, stay with ordinary pairing. A parity sequence does not replace the missing setup work.

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.

Rw turns the rightmost two layers together. 2R turns only the second layer from the right. 3Rw turns three layers. x rotates the whole cube like R, so the old front becomes the new top.

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

A prepared upper-band wing exchange. Inspect all three stickers on both sides of FL and FR, then watch slice, flip, and slice-back. On your own cube, set up the same relationship before applying this version.

Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.

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Loading 3D cube…

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 5×5, with yellow on top and blue at the front. Apply the setup below from left to right to create the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.

Uw R' F R F' R U' R' Uw'

Then 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

Before the example

After the full sequence

Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.

Explain it to yourself

Check your understanding

Now use your own cube

Your turn

Find a partial wing–midge match and its missing wing. Compare both colours with the prepared case, exchange the required wings, and inspect all remaining groups after every operation.

Open a 5×5 Digital Cube for practice

The 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

The same sequence keeps undoing my progress.

After each full sequence, identify the partial match and the missing wing again. Repeating the sequence without changing your grip can undo a useful exchange.

More than one group is still mismatched.

Continue pairing those groups. The next parity lesson assumes eleven complete edges and one specific reversed-wing group.

Before moving on

Check your result

Your cube at this stage

Eleven edges complete

Eleven groups match. The final top-front group has reversed wings around its midge in this example; repair that case next if it occurs.

Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.

At least eleven three-piece edges match on both faces.All six centres are restored.I can identify whether the twelfth edge is complete or has reversed wings.

Tick each item when you can do it yourself.