Any 2×2 cube, solved or scrambled.
Find a white corner and hold the cube with that corner’s white sticker facing down.
1. A 2×2 has only corners
There are eight pieces, each with three stickers. There are no edge pieces or visible centre stickers to solve. A turn still moves a whole layer of four corners.
We’ll solve one white layer, turn the opposite stickers to face up, then put those last corners in the correct order. You don’t need to learn to solve a 3×3 first.
2. Choose a reference corner
Find any corner with white on it. Hold white facing down. This corner gives you the first solved piece and a reference for the side colours.
For example, a white-blue-red corner has a white-blue neighbour on its blue side and a white-red neighbour on its red side. The white corner that shares neither blue nor red belongs diagonally opposite it in the white layer.
On the example cube, yellow is opposite white. If your cube has another colour opposite white, use that opposite colour wherever this course says yellow. The two corners with the same pair of side colours reveal the two opposite-face colours.
3. Aim for a layer, not just a face
A finished white layer has four white stickers down and a matching pair along the bottom of every side. White corners in the wrong order can make a white face while leaving the side pairs mixed.
There are no centre stickers to fix the side order, so use the colours of the already placed corner pieces. Do not move your reference corner to a different home just to make the next piece fit.
4. Learn the moves next
Repeat the turning drill six times to return the cube to its starting state. In the next lesson, you’ll learn the notation and the four-move trigger before using them to insert corners.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by stepping through one move at a time. This prepared example shows a specific action. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognise when to use it on your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
Watch how each corner moves as a single piece. This six-repetition drill returns the cube to its starting state, leaving any scramble unsolved.
Example grip: Start with yellow on top, blue at the front and red on the right. Follow any written instructions for rotating the whole cube.
0 / 24
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 24 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 keyboard focus.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 2×2, with yellow on top and blue facing you. Apply 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.
R U R' F2 D L2 B U2Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube has a different colour scheme, use the relationships between your own colours to identify the equivalent 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
Count the eight physical pieces. Choose one white corner as your reference and find the other white corners that share each of its side colours.
Open a 2×2 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 assess your result.
If you get stuck
There is no centre telling me which side is blue.
Start with your first white corner. Its two non-white stickers establish the colours of the adjacent sides. The other white corners complete that same ring of side colours.
Before moving on
Check your result
Preparation · no solving yet
Recognise the eight corners
Every piece is a corner. Choose a white corner as your reference. You can start without a solved face.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.