How to Solve Rubik’s Cube Layer by Layer

This is a beginner’s guide to solving Rubik’s Cubes step by step. This method is quite easy to understand compared to other methods, helping players not have to memorize many steps of Rubik rotation. Practicing the step-by-step method also prepares you to switch to the Fridrich quick solution, which will help you get results in under 20 seconds in competition. With enough patience and determination, you too can conquer Erno’s stubborn Rubik’s Cube. Good luck!

Table of Contents

Learn the terms

Names of the three types of tablets. There are three types of cubes in a Rubik’s cube, based on their position:

The center stone is located in the center of each face and is surrounded by 8 other stones. You can only see one side of this pellet and they never move.
The corner cube is located in the corners of the Rubik’s cube. You can see three sides of this tablet.
The edge piece is between the corner pieces. You can see two sides of each edge.
Note — The types of pellets will never change. For example, the corner tablet is always in the corner position.

Stick to the convention of naming faces. A Rubik’s Cube has 6 faces, each face has a center with a different color. For example, a “red face” is a face with a red center, even if the rest of the red stones are on other faces. But to make it easier to follow, you’ll usually name the top faces relative to the Rubik’s face you’re looking at as landmarks. Following are the terms used in the article:

F (Front, i.e. front) — Place the Rubik’s Cube at eye level. You are looking directly at the front.
B (Back, i.e. behind) — Face directly facing you but you cannot see.
U (Upper, i.e. above) — Face facing the ceiling
D (Down, i.e. bottom) — Face facing the floor
R (Right, i.e. right) — Face towards your right
L (Left, i.e. left) — Face facing your left

Understand how to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise. To determine “clockwise” and “counterclockwise” you must look directly at the Rubik’s face the indication is referring to. With the above convention, a letter (eg L ) appearing in the instruction means that you must rotate the face clockwise by 90º (turn a quarter of a turn). A letter with an apostrophe (eg L’ ) means you have to turn the face counterclockwise by 90º. Here are a few examples:

F’ : you rotate the front face counterclockwise.
R : you rotate the right face clockwise. This means you have to turn your right face away from you. (To see why, turn the front face clockwise, then flip the Rubik’s cube so that the front turns right.)
L : you turn the left face clockwise, that is, turn the left face towards you.
U’ : you rotate the top face anti-clockwise, if viewed from the top, it is facing you.
B : you rotate the back clockwise, if viewed from the back. Be careful not to get confused, because when viewed from the front, you are rotating counter-clockwise.

Add number 2 to repeat instructions. The number “2” after an indication means that you must turn your face 180º instead of 90º respectively. For example, D2 means rotate the bottom face by 180º (half turn).

With these instructions, you don’t need to specify whether it’s clockwise or counterclockwise, as you’ll get the same results no matter which direction you turn.

Name a specific cube in the Rubik’s cube. This tutorial will also help you name a specific cube in a Rubik’s Cube. To do so, list all the faces in the presence of the stone. Below are a few examples:

BD = edge pellets appear on both back and underside.
UFR = corner pellets appear on both the top, front and right sides.
Note — if the instructions refer to a square (a single colored piece), the first letter tells you the Rubik’s face contains this square. For example:
- LFD square → Find the corner cube that appears on the left, front and bottom faces. Identify the square on the reverse side of this marble (since L is the first letter).

Solve the top

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Rotate the Rubik so that the white center cube is on the U face. The white center cube will stay in this position, unless otherwise noted. The purpose of this step is to place white edge stones around the white center to form a “+” sign on the white face.

This instruction is given on the assumption you already have a standard Rubik’s cube with the gold side facing the white side. If you have an old Rubik’s Cube, it will be difficult for you to follow this guide.
Do not move the white center pellet off the top face. This is a common error in this step.

Move the white edges to the top to create a cross. The number of variations at the beginning is very large, so this article cannot give specific step-by-step instructions; however, you can refer to the following procedure:

If the bottom row of an R or L face has a white edge tile, rotate the face once to bring the white square to the middle row. Take the next step below.
If there is a white edge tile in the middle row of the R or L face, rotate the face F or B, whichever is next to the white square. Keep rotating until the white square is on the bottom face. Take the next step below.
If there is a white edge tile on the bottom face, rotate the bottom face until the white edge tile is directly opposite an empty (non-white) tile on the top face. Flip the whole Rubik’s cube so that the “empty edge” is in the UF (Top, Front Side) position. Rotate F2 (turn front 180º) to bring the white square into the UF position.
Repeat the above steps with each of the other white edges until they are all on the top face.

Extend the cross to the corners. Observe the top edge stones on the faces F, R, B and L. You must rotate the Rubik so that each of these will be connected to the center cube of the same color. For example, if the FU (front, top) edge cell is orange, the F face center cell must also be orange. Here’s how to connect colors on the four sides mentioned above:

Rotate the U face until at least two of the four faces above have the same color side and center tiles. (If all four faces already have tiles of the same color, skip all the next steps.)
Flip the whole Rubik’s cube so that one of the wrong side tiles is on the F face (and the white cross is still on the U face).
Rotate F2 and make sure a white edge tile has been moved down to face D. See the remaining color of that marble (ie the color tile in position FD). In the example above, this cell is red.
Rotate face D until the red edge cell is below the red center tile.
Rotate red face 180º. The white edge will return to the U face.
Check face D again to see if there is a new white edge cell. See the remaining color of the edge with that white square. As an example, this is green.
Rotate face D until the green edge tile is directly below the green center tile.
Rotate the green side 180º. The white cross will reappear on the U face. At this point, the F, R, B, and L faces all have the same color center and edge.

Bring the white corner to the white face. This step is quite complicated, you need to read the instructions carefully. After finishing, the white face of the Rubik’s cube will have four more white corner cells next to the center cell and white edge cells.

Find a corner on face D that is white. A corner has three squares of three different colors, the tutorial will call them white, X and Y respectively. (At this point, the white face doesn’t have to be the D face.)
Rotate the D face until the white/X/Y corner cube is between the X and Y faces. (Remember that the “X face” is the face whose center is the color X.)
Rotate the whole cube so that the white/X/Y corner is in the DFR position, but don’t care about the exact position of each color on the cube. The center cells of the faces F and R will have the same color as X and Y respectively. Note that the top face is still white.
At this point, the corner block can be located in three positions as follows:
- If the square is white on the front (in the FRD position), rotate FD F’.
- If the square is white on the right side (in the RFD position), rotate R’ D’ R.
- If the square is white on the underside (in the DFR position), rotate F D2 F’ D’ FD F’.

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Do the same with the remaining corners. Apply the same steps to bring the remaining three white corners back to the white side. At the end of this step, you will have a white top. Each face F, R, B and L will have the top three cells of the same color as the center cell.

Sometimes a corner has a white square on the U (white face) but in the wrong place, so the two other white squares on that marble are not the same color as the center squares on the other two faces. In this case, flip the Rubik’s cube so that it is in the UFR position, then rotate the formula FD F’. The white square will be on the D face and you can return it to the correct position in the manner shown above.

Finish the middle floor

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Find an edge stone on face D that is not yellow. The white side is still on the top, the unfinished gold side is still on the bottom. Find on face D an edge stone that is not yellow. Notice the two colors of this edge:

The color on the D side is the X color.
The remaining color of the edge is Y.
Note that this must be an edge. Don’t start with a corner.

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Flip the whole Rubik’s cube so that the colored X side is the front face. Rotate the whole Rubik’s cube along its vertical axis (like how a sphere rotates). Stops when the center tile with color X is on the front.

The U and D faces remain the same when flipping the Rubik’s Cube.

Rotate face D. Rotate face D so that the X/Y edge pellet is at the DB position. X will be on the D face and Y will be on the B side.

Adjust the Rubik’s cube depending on the position of the Y color. The specific rotation steps depend on the position of the Y color center:

If color Y coincides with the center of face R, rotate FDF’ D’ R’ D’ R.
If color Y coincides with the center of face L, rotate F’ D’ FDLD L’.

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Continue this step until the top two layers are completed. Find a new edge stone on face D that has no yellow squares. (If not found, go to the next step.) Repeat the steps described in this section to get them to the correct position. When you’re done rotating, the F, R, B, and L faces will have the top and middle rows of the same color.

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Adjust again if one of the edges on face D is yellow. Make sure you’ve checked all 4 edges on the D face. Each edge has two colored squares, and you have to make sure the squares are not yellow in order to apply the steps above. However, if the edge tiles do not meet this requirement (and the upper two layers have not been solved yet), adjust as follows:

Select an edge with a yellow square.
Flip the Rubik’s cube so that the edge is in the FR position. The white side is still on. (Don’t change any faces; we simply flip the whole Rubik’s cube.)
Use the formula FDF’ D’ R’ D’ R.
You should have a non-yellow edge on the D face. Go back to the beginning of this section and repeat the instructions for the top edge.

Gold face finishing

Flip the Rubik’s Cube so that the U face is the yellow face. The Rubik’s Cube will stay in this position until it is completely solved.

Make a cross on the gold face. Notice the number of yellow edges on the U face. (Remember that the corner is not the edge.) Here, we have four possibilities:

If there are only two gold-sided stones facing each other on the U-face: Rotate the U-face until the two yellow-edged edges are in the UL and UR positions, respectively. Apply BLUL’ U’ B’.
If there are already two gold edges next to each other at the UF and UR positions (like an arrow pointing to the left and back side): Apply BULU’ L’ B’.
If none of the edges are yellow: Use either of the above formulas. That recipe will flip the two golden edges to the top. Repeat either formula one more time, depending on the position of the edge pellets.
If all four sides are present: You are done with the golden cross. Move on to the next step.

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Bring a golden corner to the top. Flip the whole Rubik’s cube until the green side is the front, the yellow side is still the top. We will put the golden corner in the correct position as follows:

Rotate the U-face until the UFR corner piece is no longer yellow on the top face.
There are two possibilities for this corner:
- If the corner is yellow on the F face, use the formula FDF’ D’ FDF’ D’.
- If the corner stone is yellow on the R face, use the formula DFD’ F’ DFD’ F’.
Note: At this point, the Rubik’s Cube will look like it’s been shuffled around. Do not worry. It will return itself to the correct position in the following steps.

Completing the Rubik’s Cube

Rotate the U face until an edge is the same color as the adjacent center piece. For example, if the face F has a blue center, rotate the U face until the tile above the blue center is also blue. We need exactly one edge of the same color as above, not two or three of the same color.

If all four edge cubes are the same color as the center cube: rotate them to have the same color and go to “End Rubik’s Cube.”
If you fail to do the above step: apply R2 D’ R’ L F2 L’ R U2 D R2 and try again.

Return the remaining edges to the position. Once you have exactly one edge of the same color out of four, adjust the Rubik’s Cube as follows:

Flip the whole Rubik’s cube so that the side of the same color is on the left side.
Check if the FU tile has the same color as the center cell on the R face:
- If correct, use the formula R2 D’ R’ L F2 L’ R U2 D R2 and move on to the next step. The Rubik’s Cube will be almost complete, only the corners remain.
- If not, rotate U2 and then flip the whole Rubik’s Cube like a sphere so that the F side becomes the R face. Use the formula R2 D’ R’ L F2 L’ R U2 D R2.

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Finish the Rubik’s Cube. Now you only have the corners:

If you already have a corner in the correct position, move on to the next step. If no corner cube is in the correct position, use the formula L2 B2 L’ F’ L B2 L’ F L’. Repeat the formula until one corner is in the correct position.
Flip the Rubik’s cube so that the correct corner is in the FUR position and the FUR square is the same color as the center square on face F.
Use the formula L2 B2 L’ F’ L B2 L’ FL’ .
If the Rubik’s Cube is still unsolved, use the formula L2 B2 L’ F’ L B2 L’ FL’ one more time. You have solved the Rubik’s cube!

Advice

You can rotate Rubik’s cubes faster by removing them and applying lubricant to the internals, or by filing the Rubik’s inner edges. Silicone oil is the best lubricant. Cooking oil is also good but the smoothness does not last as long.
Solving will be easier and faster when you no longer remember the formulas in the form of letters and numbers, but rotate the Rubik based on muscle memory. Of course, this ability requires regular practice.
It will take you at least about 45-60 seconds using this method. After reaching the 1 minute 30 seconds mark, you can start studying the Fridrich method. However, the Fridrich method is more difficult than the solution presented in the previous article. Other methods include Petrus, Roux, and Waterman. ZB is the fastest method but is also exceptionally complex.
If you have trouble remembering formulas, you should write down specific cases and corresponding formulas. When practicing, be ready to use this category.

Warning

Repeatedly rotating the Rubik’s Cube can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (eg, Rubik’s Wrist or Thumb Pain).

Things you need

Rubik’s cube with white face facing gold (some old Rubik’s cubes have a different color arrangement).

Steps