Finish the white layer — 3×3 Beginner

Before you start

An aligned white cross on the bottom.

How to hold your cube

White down. Rotate sideways to put the empty target slot at bottom-front-right.

1. Choose a corner and find its home

Find a white corner in the top layer and identify its other two colours. A white-blue-red corner goes in the slot between the white, blue, and red centres, regardless of which slot is closest.

Rotate the whole cube sideways, keeping white down, until those two side centres are at the front and on the right. The destination is now bottom-front-right (DFR).

2. Put the corner above its destination

Turn only U until your target corner reaches top-front-right (UFR), directly above its home. White may face up, front, or right; all three cases can use the same routine.

3. Repeat the trigger until this corner is solved

R U R' U'

Perform one complete repetition, then inspect the bottom-front-right slot. Continue from the same grip, without extra U turns between repetitions, until the target sits there with white down and both side colours matching.

This takes one, three, or five repetitions, depending on which way the white sticker faces at the start. Always finish all four moves before stopping. The other bottom corners and the cross return to their previous positions after each full repetition.

4. Recover a corner trapped below

If a white corner is in the bottom layer but misplaced or twisted, rotate sideways to put that slot at bottom-front-right. Perform the trigger once to bring it into the top layer. Then find its real home, put it directly above that home, and use step 3.

5. Repeat without losing your reference

After solving one corner, choose the next white corner and rotate the whole cube sideways to put its slot at front-right. Finish all four corners. Before moving on, check the bottom row on every side. If the bottom face is all white but the side rows don’t match, the corners still need 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 direction. A 2 means a 180° turn. Keep the same face toward you throughout the algorithm.

Watch, then try

Work through an example

Start by going through the example one move at a time. It shows a specific action from a prepared position. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognize when that action applies to your own scramble.

Watch one worked example

Follow the white-blue-red corner above the front-right slot. In this prepared orientation, one complete trigger inserts it and restores the white cross.

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. Use the arrow keys to rotate the view when the cube has focus.

Copy this exact example on your own cube

Start with a solved 3×3 with yellow on top and blue in front. Follow the setup moves 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.

U R U' R'

Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s colour scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colours.

Compare the starting position and the result

Before the example

After the full sequence

Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.

Another case: White faces up

White faces up

The same corner begins with white up. Keep your front fixed and finish three complete triggers to insert it.

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. Use the arrow keys to rotate the view when the cube has focus.

Copy this exact example on your own cube

U R U' R' U R U' R' U R U' R'

Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s colour scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colours.

Compare the starting position and the result

Before the example

After the full sequence

Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.

Another case: White faces front

White faces front

This orientation takes five complete triggers. Pause after each set of four moves and keep the same setup between sets.

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. Use the arrow keys to rotate the view when the cube has focus.

Copy this exact example on your own cube

U R U' R' U R U' R' U R U' R' U R U' R' U R U' R'

Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s colour scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colours.

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 white corner, name its two side colours, put it directly above its home, and insert it. Repeat for all four corners. Check the cross after each insertion.

Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practice

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. The Digital Cube doesn’t grade your work.

If you get stuck

The corner keeps returning to the wrong slot.

Use both non-white colours to identify its home first. Rotate the whole cube to put that home at front-right, then use U to put the piece above it.

The cross is broken after an insertion.

Finish all four moves. If it is still broken, check that you used U′ as the fourth move and did not rotate the whole cube during the trigger.

Before moving on

Check your result

Your cube at this stage

First layer solved

The bottom face is white and the bottom row of every side matches its centre. The middle and top layers are still unfinished.

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

The whole bottom face is white.The bottom row on every side matches that side’s centre.I can extract a misplaced bottom corner and try again.

Check off each item once you can do it yourself.