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How to solve a Rubik's cube in seven steps

This is the beginner layer-by-layer method: the standard route to a first solve. You build the bottom layer, fill in the middle layer, then finish the top layer in four stages. There are only six short sequences to learn in total, and you pick them up one step at a time rather than all at once.

White goes on the bottom and stays there for the whole solve, so the top face always ends up yellow. Work through the steps in order and stay on each one until it feels boring before you move on. Fifteen minutes a day is plenty.

  1. Step 1 — White cross

    Goal: a white cross on the bottom, with the side colours matching their centres.

    Bring the four white edge pieces down around the white centre. Each one has a second colour, and that colour has to line up with its own centre. This is the only step with no sequence to follow — you work it out by looking. If an edge is on the bottom but its side colour is wrong, bring it up to the top, turn the top until it sits above the right slot, then bring it back down.

    No algorithm — solve it by eye

  2. Step 2 — White corners

    Goal: the whole bottom layer finished.

    Find a corner with white on it sitting in the top layer. Turn the top face until that corner is directly above the gap it belongs in, then repeat the sequence until it drops in. Sometimes it takes one go, sometimes five — just keep repeating it. If a white corner is stuck in the bottom layer facing the wrong way, run the same sequence to pop it out to the top, then put it back in properly.

    R U R' U'

  3. Step 3 — Middle layer

    Goal: two full layers done.

    Find an edge in the top layer with no yellow on it. Turn the top until its front colour matches the front centre. Its other colour tells you whether it belongs to the left or the right. If an edge is already in the middle layer but flipped or in the wrong slot, run either sequence to kick it out to the top, then put it back in properly.

    Send it right: U R U' R' U' F' U F
    Send it left: U' L' U L U F U' F'

  4. Step 4 — Yellow cross

    Goal: a yellow cross on top.

    From here on, ignore the corners completely. Look at the top face: you will see a dot, an L shape, or a line. The sequence moves you along that chain — a dot becomes an L or a line, and those become the cross. Hold an L pointing towards the back and the left. Hold a line horizontally. A dot can be run from any angle.

    F R U R' U' F'

  5. Step 5 — Yellow face

    Goal: the whole top face yellow.

    Hold the cube so that a corner which is already yellow on top sits at the front-left, then run the sequence. Repeat two or three times and the whole top turns yellow. The sides will look wrecked — that is normal, and the last two steps fix them. This one is called Sune, and it is worth learning by name: you will still be using it long after you outgrow this method.

    R U R' U R U2 R'

  6. Step 6 — Corners home

    Goal: every corner in its right slot.

    All the pieces face the right way now, they are just in the wrong seats. Find the one corner that is already home — both its side colours match their centres — hold it at the front-left, and run the sequence. It rotates the other three corners and leaves the front-left one exactly where it is. If no corner is home yet, run it once from any angle and one will lock in.

    R' F R' B2 R F' R' B2 R2

  7. Step 7 — Last four edges

    Goal: solved.

    Find the edge that is already correct — its side colour matches its centre — hold it at the back, then run the sequence. If none are correct, run it once from anywhere, find the one that locked in, put it at the back, and go again. That is the whole cube.

    R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

Reading the letters

Each letter is a face of the cube: R is right, U is up, F is front, B is back, L is left and D is down. A plain letter means turn that face a quarter turn clockwise, as seen looking straight at that face. An apostrophe means anticlockwise, so R' is a quarter turn the other way. A 2 means a half turn, so B2 turns the back face 180 degrees. That is the whole notation.

Common questions

How long does it take to learn?

Most people get their first full solve within a few days of short sessions. The seven steps are learned one at a time, and there is no benefit to rushing — a step you half know will fall apart under the next one.

Do I have to memorise algorithms?

Only six short ones, spread across steps 2 to 7. Step 1 has none at all. Several of them share the same trigger, so the later ones are less new than they look.

Can I use this without a real cube?

Yes. The cube on screen is fully playable — drag it to look underneath, and use the face buttons to turn it. If you do have a cube in your hands, you can type in its colours and pick up from exactly that position.

Which method is this?

The beginner layer-by-layer method. It is the usual first solve, and the normal starting point before faster methods like CFOP.

Is it free?

Yes, with no account to create. Progress is saved on your own device.