Any 3×3 cube. It can be scrambled.
Choose any face as the front. There are no moves to memorise yet.
1. Think in pieces, not stickers
A turn moves the whole piece. Both stickers on an edge always move together, and so do all three stickers on a corner. You cannot move a sticker to a new face on its own.
| Piece | How to recognise it | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | One sticker, in the middle of a face | Defines that face’s colour |
| Edge | Two stickers, between two corners | Between the two matching centres |
| Corner | Three stickers, at a vertex | Between the three matching centres |
Find one of each on your cube before continuing. There are six centres, twelve edges, and eight corners.
2. Use the centres to find where pieces belong
Turn a face slowly. Its centre stays in the middle while the surrounding pieces move. On a 3×3, the centres keep the same positions relative to one another.
The white-blue edge belongs between the white and blue centres. A white-blue-red corner belongs between those three centres, even if its white sticker faces sideways. Check its position and the direction its stickers face separately, and correct either if needed.
The example cube has yellow on top, white underneath, blue at the front and red on the right. Your cube may have a different colour scheme, so use its centres as your reference.
3. Understand the stages of solving the cube
We will gather white edges into a daisy, line them up into a white cross, then insert the white corners. This completes the first layer. Next come the middle edges, yellow cross, yellow corner orientation, corner positions, and final edge positions.
Each stage protects the finished work from the earlier stages. Keep the same scramble as you move through the solving lessons. The next lesson starts where the previous one ends.
4. A face is not a layer
Four white corners can still be in the wrong places even when their white stickers face down. Look around the sides. In a solved bottom layer, the bottom row on each side matches its centre. Check both the white face and the side colours before moving on.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Start by going through the moves one at a time. The prepared example shows a specific action. Use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognise when to apply it to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
Watch R followed by R′. The centre of the right face stays in place while whole edge and corner pieces move around it.
Starting grip. Yellow up · blue at the front · red on the right. Follow any written instructions for rotating the whole cube.
0 / 2
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 2 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 3×3 with yellow facing up and blue facing front. Apply the setup moves below from left to right to create the example’s starting position. Keep this example separate from the scramble you are solving as you work through the course.
R U R' F2 D L2 B U2Then 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
Find the white-blue edge and the white-blue-red corner on your cube. Trace every sticker on each piece, then point to the centres that show where each piece belongs.
Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practiceOpens in a new tab so you can refer to this lesson while you practise. Check for yourself whether you’ve met the lesson goal. The Digital Cube does not grade your work.
If you get stuck
The white face is a single colour, but the side colours are mixed.
Some white pieces are in the wrong positions. Match the other colours on each piece to the side centres. Check those colours before moving on, even if the white face is a single colour.
Before moving on
Check your result
Preparation · no solving yet
Know the pieces
Find the centres, edges and corners. The goal is to recognise the pieces. Your cube can stay scrambled.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.