A scrambled 4×4 and the ability to distinguish outer and wide turns.
For the first two centres, build on top with the completed opposite centre underneath.
1. Establish the colour scheme first
A 4×4 has no fixed centres. Use the corner pieces to verify which colours touch and in which order. Opposite pairs alone do not determine the order of the remaining centres.
On our cube, holding a yellow-blue-red corner with yellow up and blue front places red at right. White is opposite yellow, green opposite blue, and orange opposite red. Use your own corner pieces if the scheme differs.
2. Make the first white bar
Choose two white centre pieces. A bar is a pair of adjacent centre pieces in the same row or column. Put one piece on U and the other on an adjacent face. Use outer turns of those faces to line up the pieces so a single wide turn can bring them together, then make that wide turn.
Each face has only four centre positions. Check where the two pieces you chose will go before turning. The first centre is forgiving: there are no completed centre blocks to protect, and edges and corners can move freely.
Turn U to park the completed bar in the left column. Build a second white bar in the right column of F, then use Rw to bring that front bar into the right column of U. The two bars make the white centre.
3. Build the opposite centre with a return move
Rotate the cube so white is down and build yellow on U. Whenever a wide turn disturbs white, plan to undo that same wide turn after moving the incoming yellow pieces out of its path.
The pattern is: insert with a wide turn, move the inserted bar away with U or U2 as the case requires, then reverse the wide turn. Use the example below to follow what Rw, U, and Rw′ do to the centre columns. Check white after the return move.
4. Build the third and fourth centres
Hold the completed white and yellow centres on the left and right. Build a third centre on F from two bars. Use moves that restore both completed centres after each insertion. Check a corner piece to choose the correct adjacent colour for the fourth centre. Don’t place opposite colours next to each other.
Change your grip to move the completed blocks off the faces you’re working on, then build the next centre. An outer turn rotates a finished block without mixing its colour. Undo any inner or wide turn that cuts through the block to restore it.
5. Finish the last two centres together
Hold the two unfinished centres at U and F. Only two colours remain. Finish the centre on U with its correct colour; the other colour will then fill the centre on F.
Form one bar and move it out of the working column. Line up the pieces you need on F, bring them to U with a wide turn, move those matching pieces out of the way, then restore the slice. If the two pieces you need are diagonal, first insert, move the piece out of the way, and restore the slice so the two pieces are adjacent. Check all finished blocks after each return move.
You’re assembling centre pieces. Rw U Rw′ shows one way to move them; it isn’t an algorithm for every centre case. If your case differs, use the starting and ending nets below to track the pieces and choose the setup turns that line up your bars.
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
Track the interior centre columns through Rw, U, Rw′. U changes which pieces return with the wide slice. Copy the prepared setup on a solved cube to study this one centre insertion before applying the idea to your own bars.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 3
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 3 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
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 4×4, 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 practice setup separate from the scramble you’re solving throughout the course.
Rw U' Rw'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
Drag each cube to inspect its other faces.
Explain it to yourself
Check your understanding
Now use your own cube
Your turn
Build the white centre from two bars, then build the yellow centre opposite it and finish the four side centres. After each insertion, check all the centres you’ve completed and verify the colour order.
Open a 4×4 Digital Cube for practiceOpens 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
All centres are solid but side colours are in the wrong order.
Compare their cyclic order with a corner piece. Fix the misplaced centre blocks now; outer 3×3 moves will not correct a mirrored centre scheme.
The completed centre on the opposite face comes apart during insertion.
Move the pieces you just inserted out of the active slice, then reverse the exact wide turn that displaced the finished centre. Check the centre only after completing the return move.
Before moving on
Check your result
Your cube at this stage
Six centres complete
Each 2×2 centre block is uniform and the colours are in the correct order. The edge wings still need pairing.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Check off each item once you can do it yourself.