Any 3×3 cube. It can be scrambled.
Pick any face as the front. No moves to memorize yet.
1. Think in pieces, not stickers
A turn moves a whole piece. The two stickers on an edge always travel together; the three stickers on a corner also stay together. You cannot move just one sticker to a new face.
| Piece | How to recognize it | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Center | One sticker, in the middle of a face | Defines that face’s color |
| Edge | Two stickers, between two corners | Between the two matching centers |
| Corner | Three stickers, at a vertex | Between the three matching centers |
Find one of each on your cube before continuing. There are six centers, twelve edges, and eight corners.
2. Let the centers tell you the destination
Turn a face slowly. Its center stays in the middle while the surrounding pieces move. On a 3×3, the centers keep the same positions relative to one another.
The white-blue edge belongs between the white and blue centers. A white-blue-red corner belongs between those three centers, even if its white sticker currently points sideways. Its position and the direction its stickers face are two different things to fix.
Our example cube has yellow on top, white underneath, blue in front, and red on the right. Your cube’s colors may be arranged differently; use its centers as your reference.
3. Understand the route to a solved 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 with white facing down can still be in the wrong places. Look around the sides: a finished bottom layer has a matching bottom row on each side. We will check both white and the side colors before moving on.
Watch, then try
Work through an example
Use one move at a time first. This prepared case teaches a specific action; use the lesson’s setup instructions to recognize when it applies to your own scramble.
Watch one worked example
Watch R followed by R′. The right face center stays in its face; complete edge and corner pieces move around it.
Example grip: yellow up · blue front · red right at the start. Follow any written whole-cube rotations.
0 / 2
Loading 3D cube…
Prepared position · 0 / 2 moves
Use Next move to follow the sequence.
Drag to inspect other faces. Arrow keys rotate the view when the cube is focused.
Copy this exact example on your own cube
Start with a solved 3×3, 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.
R U R' F2 D L2 B U2Then follow the lesson sequence. If your cube’s color scheme differs, match the piece relationships using your own colors.
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 centers around its home.
Open a 3×3 Digital Cube for practiceOpens in a new tab so you can keep this lesson beside your practice. Check the lesson goal yourself; the Digital Cube does not grade it.
If you get stuck
My white face is solid, but the sides are mixed.
Some white pieces occupy the wrong homes. Match every piece’s other colors to the side centers; do not move on just because white is solid.
Before moving on
Check your result
Preparation · no solving yet
Know the pieces
Find centers, edges, and corners. This lesson is about recognizing pieces; your cube can still be scrambled.
Confirm these on your cube. Watching the animation alone does not complete the lesson.
Check every item when you can do it yourself.