A scrambled 4×4 and the ability to distinguish outer and wide turns.
Build each of the first two centres on top. Once the first is complete, hold it underneath while you build the opposite centre.
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 consists of two adjacent centre pieces in the same row or column. Put one piece on U and the other on an adjacent face. Turn the outer layers of those faces to line up the pieces so that a single wide turn can bring them together, then make that wide turn.
Each face has only four interior positions. Locate the two pieces you have chosen and follow them before making a turn. For the first centre, there are no completed centre blocks to protect, so the 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.
Use a wide turn to insert the bar, move it out of the way with U or U2 as needed, then reverse the wide turn. Follow 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 the 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, so opposite colours stay opposite.
Regrip the cube so the completed blocks are away from the working faces, then build the next centre. Outer turns rotate a finished block without mixing its colour. Undo any inner or wide turn that passes through the block to restore it.
5. Finish the last two centres together
Hold the cube with the two unfinished centres at U and F. Only two colours remain. Finish the colour on U, and the other colour will fill F.
Form one bar and move it out of the working column. Align the pieces you need on F and bring them to U with a wide turn. Move the newly matched pieces out of the way, then restore the slice. If the two pieces you need are diagonally placed, first insert, move aside and restore the slice to bring them next to each other. Check all completed blocks again after each return move.
You are building the centres piece by piece. Rw U Rw′ shows how the pieces move in this example. The setup turns depend on your case, so if yours differs, use the starting and ending nets below to track the pieces and choose the turns that align your bars.
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
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.
Starting grip. Yellow up · blue at the front · 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 focus.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 4×4, yellow up and blue front. Apply the setup below from left to right. This creates the example’s starting position. Keep this separate from the ongoing scramble you are solving through 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, followed by the four side centres. After each insertion, check all the centres you have already completed and verify the colour order.
Open a 4×4 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
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.
A completed centre on the opposite face comes apart during insertion.
Move the pieces you just brought in out of the working slice, then reverse the exact wide turn that displaced the completed 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.
Tick each item once you can do it yourself.