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, hold a yellow-blue-red corner with yellow on top and blue at the front, and red will be on the right. White is opposite yellow, green is opposite blue and orange is opposite red. If your cube has a different colour scheme, use its corner pieces as your guide.
2. Make the first white bar
Choose two white centre pieces. A bar is made of two adjacent centre pieces in the same row or column. Put one piece on U and the other on an adjacent face. Use outer turns on those faces to line the pieces up in the path of the same wide turn, then make that wide turn to bring them together.
Each face has only four centre positions. Check where your chosen pair will go before you turn. On the first centre, you can move edges and corners freely because there are no completed centre blocks to protect.
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.
Insert the bar with a wide turn, move it out of the way with U or U2 as needed, then reverse the wide turn. Use the example below to see what Rw, U and Rw′ do to the centre columns. Check the white centre 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 to choose the correct adjacent colour for the fourth centre, taking care to keep opposite colours apart.
Regrip the cube to move the completed blocks away from the faces you’re working on, then build the next centre. Outer turns rotate a finished block and leave its colour intact. Undo any inner or wide turns that cut 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. Focus on completing the centre colour on U, and the other colour will then fill 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 the new matching pieces out of the way, then restore the slice. If the two pieces are diagonally opposite, first use the same sequence of inserting, moving away and restoring to bring them next to each other. Check all finished blocks again after each return move.
Rw U Rw′ shows one way to bring centre pieces together. The moves you need depend on how the pieces are arranged. If your case differs, use the starting and ending cube 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 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
Track the inner centre columns through Rw, U and Rw′. U changes which pieces move back with the wide slice. Copy the setup on a solved cube to see how this centre insertion works before trying the same technique with your own bars.
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 / 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 keyboard focus.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 4×4, with yellow up 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.
Rw U' Rw'Then 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
Make the white centre from two bars, build the yellow centre opposite it, then build the four side centres. After each insertion, check every centre you’ve already 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 assess your result.
If you get stuck
All centres are solid but side colours are in the wrong order.
Use a corner piece to check the order of the colours around the cube. Put any misplaced centre blocks right now, since a mirrored centre scheme needs to be corrected before the outer 3×3 moves.
A completed opposite centre comes apart during insertion.
Move the pieces you brought in out of the working slice, then reverse the exact wide turn that displaced the finished centre. Check the result 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.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.