RRight face
Turn the right face one quarter-turn clockwise.
Move reference
Rubik’s Cube notation
Learn which face to turn, which way to turn it, and how to read a sequence of moves.
Try the Digital CubeFace letters
Each letter names a face. A letter on its own means a 90° clockwise turn as you look directly at that face.
LLeft face
Turn the left face one quarter-turn clockwise.
UUp face
Turn the upper face one quarter-turn clockwise.
DDown face
Turn the bottom face one quarter-turn clockwise.
FFront face
Turn the face pointing towards you clockwise.
BBack face
Turn the face pointing away from you clockwise.
Turn modifiers
Modifiers tell you which layers to turn, how far to turn them, and in which direction. Rotation letters turn the whole cube.
R′Prime turn
An anticlockwise quarter-turn of the right face.
R2Double turn
A 180° turn. Direction does not matter for a half-turn.
RwWide turn
Turn the two rightmost layers together. Use Rw in Digital Cube. On larger cubes, 3Rw turns the three rightmost layers.
2RInner layer
Count from the right face and turn only the second layer. 2R2 is a half-turn of that inner layer, while R2 is a half-turn of the right face.
MMiddle slice
On a 3×3, turn the middle slice between L and R in the same direction as L.
EEquatorial slice
On a 3×3, turn the middle slice between U and D in the same direction as D.
SStanding slice
On a 3×3, turn the middle slice between F and B in the same direction as F.
xX rotation
Rotate the whole cube in the direction of R. The old front becomes the new top.
yY rotation
Rotate the whole cube in the direction of U. The old right becomes the new front.
zZ rotation
Rotate the whole cube in the direction of F. The old top becomes the new right.
Reading an algorithm
Follow the moves from left to right. Keep the same front and top faces unless the sequence calls for a cube rotation.
RRight clockwiseUUp clockwiseR′Right anticlockwiseU′Up anticlockwise
This four-move sequence is often called the ‘sexy move’.
No notation references match your search. Try a face letter such as R, or search for ‘prime’.
Practise on the Digital Cube
Try a single turn or play through a whole sequence.