The daunting image that many people believe to be unfathomable to fix. A scrambled Rubik's cube. It only has 43 quintillion positions, so I can guarantee you never solved one by accident. If you take the stickers off, you take more time then it actually takes to learn to solve one correctly. If you have a few hours then continue along this guide and learn how to solve the cube. I hope my instructions are easy to follow and understand.
First off: Notation
Solving the cube requires the memorization of algorithms. An algorithm is a series of moves that move certain pieces in a desired way while keeping the rest of the cube intact. It requires an understanding of the cube notation. The notation consists of the letters: U, R, L, F, D, B. Each of these has an inverse which is designated by a ' after the letter such as U'. The original denotes a clockwise turn of the face and the inverse is a counter clockwise. U is the upper face, R is the Right, L is the Left, F is the Front, D is the bottom, and B is the back.
Step 1: The Cross
This is the quintessential first step. Most people have heard to do this first, but they still do not understand really what it is. Well, it is actually very simple. You make a cross of 4 edge pieces attached to the center that corresponds to them. In this case I have used green. To make the rest of the guide easy to follow, I recommend you use green also. Once you have the cross,you must make sure the 4 edges are placed in the right place relative to each other. Below each of the edges there is a center. The edge must match that center in color. By placing the pieces in randomly, you have a chance to either have 2 or 4 correct. If 2 are correct, you must swap the other 2 in order to make all 4 correct. To do this you simply turn one of the wrong edges 180 degrees until it is opposite of the green side. Then you turn the blue side until that edge matches up with the correct center. Turn it 180 degrees back onto the green face, taking the other wrong piece out at the same time. Then turn that piece to the center it corresponds to, and turn it 180 degrees back onto the green face. This should fix all 4 of the edges correctly.
Step 2: The Corners
The next step is to place all of the corners beside the green edges. This creates a single layer of the cube that is complete. That is how this method solves the cube, layer by layer. To do this you find a green corner. There are two more colors on that piece, those colors tell you where it goes. To put it in the correct place, move the other greens out of the way before turning it into place. You are temporarily moving a row of the greens out of the way, placing the corner correctly, and then putting the other greens back.
Step 3: Second Layer
This is the first step that requires an algorithm.
At this point we are going to place the green side on the bottom. Our goal is to complete the second layer. This means that all of the cube will be solved except for the layer that contains the blue center.In order to do this you have to find a middle layer edge in the top layer. Then you look at the color on the side face and align that colour with the center piece of the same color. Make sure that the face with the edge/center alignment is in front of you.
Now that this piece is in place, you have to know which way to put it. Is it going clockwise into the position or counterclockwise. You can see this by turning the face you are working with one of those directions. If the color of the edge that was on top matches up with a center, then that is the way you are turning it. Make sure to put that turn back where the green bottom remains solved after checking which way.
If you are moving clockwise, here is the algorithm: U R U' R' U' F' U F.
If you are moving counterclockwise, here is the algorithm: U' L' U L U F U' F'
Repeat this until all 4 of the edges in the second layer are solved.
Step 5: Cross on Top
Place the green on the bottom as it should already be. The cube now only has 4 options for the next step, all of them are solved the same way. It consists of a dot, a line, a V, and a cross. Each of which is represented by a picture below. They are solved through a cycle. Using the algorithm on a dot gives you a line, a line gives a V, a V gives you a cross.
The algorithm is performed with blue side on top. The dot can be performed from any direction but the line and the V require the cube to be placed a certain way. The line must be going from left to right across the cube.
The V must consist of the left and top edge.
The algorithm is: F U R U' R' F'
Step 6: OLL ( Orienting Last Layer)
Now that you have the cross on top you are only 2 steps from completion. In advanced solving it is called OLL and PLL. Which is Orienting Last Layer and then Positioning Last Layer. There are 58 OLLs and 21 PLLs. For the beginner method we will only learn 1 OLL and 2 PLLs.
The image below is what you are looking for in order to perform the OLL on.
It is called Sune and this is the algorithm: R U R' U R U2 R'
If this is not what you cube looks like then just perform the algorithm randomly until it does. Whenever you see a single blue corner, put it in the bottom left of the top. Repeat the algorithm and it will fix itself in at most 6 repetitions.
Step 7: PLL ( Positioning Last Layer)
This step is called PLL and we will be learning 2 of them like I said earlier. One is a corner rotation and the other is an edge rotation. Each algorithm moves 3 of the specified item in a clockwise motion for the edges and a counterclockwise motion for the corners. This means each will only have to be done a maximum of two times.
To see what you have to do, line up as many correct pieces as you can. You will see that either only edges or only corners are messed up, or you may have both messed up. To rotate the edges you place the three broken edges to your left, front, and right. They cycle from left-right-front then back to left, so in a clockwise fashion.
The Edge algorithm is: R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R'
To cycle the corners, you must place the blue in front of you, not on top. That is very important. The cycle goes from top right to bottom left to bottom right to top right, so a counter clockwise pattern.
The Corner algorithm is: R U' R D2 R' U R D2 R2
Do each of these until the cube is solved.
CONGRATULATIONS! If this guide worked for you, please leave a comment somewhere telling me how I did writing it.
