HOW TO
SOLVE A RUBIK’S CUBE
1
SOLVING THE
FIRST CROSS
This step, along with
the next step, are the most difficult to teach because there are so many
possible starting situations. Luckily, after these steps it takes very little
effort to solve the rest of the cube, so please be patient on steps one and
two.
In this step, it is
important to remember that the very center piece of each side of the cube
doesn’t move, making it that side’s respective color. You must bring all
of the other pieces with that color to that side. In the example below we bring
the red/green piece to match with the red and green sides.
Below are the most
common moves for this step. If your cube doesn’t match any of the three
starting positions shown below you may need to move some pieces around to get
there. You must do this on four sides in order to make a cross like the
“after” picture below. So in the example below, I would first get the
red/green block in the correct spot (as shown in the “after” picture) then do
the yellow piece, then blue, then white.
BEFORE
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you start this step.
THE MOVE
These are the moves
that you should make with the Rubik's Cube.
AFTER
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you finish this step.
2
SOLVING THE
BOTTOM CORNERS
Again, this step is a
little harder to teach than the steps to follow because of the amount of
possible starting situations, but the pictures below should help you through
it.
Find a corner piece on
the bottom layer that belongs on the top. In our example pictures this is any
corner piece with green in it. Move this piece until it is situated on the
bottom layer directly below its appropriate place in the top layer of the cube.
In other words, the spot where the piece should start out should be in the same
column as the spot where you want the piece to end up. Then, refer to the
pictures below to solve. Make sure you are looking at the correct starting
picture. Do this step to all four corner pieces.
BEFORE
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you start this step.
THE MOVE
These are the moves
that you should make with the Rubik's Cube.
AFTER
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you finish this step.
3
SOLVING THE
MIDDLE LAYERS
Before you start this
step, flip the cube over so the face that is complete is now the bottom. In the
pictures, this is the green side. Now, turn the top layer of the cube to match
either of the “before” pictures below. This will make an upside down “T” with
one color. We will move that top middle piece to the correct spot on the middle
row in this step (as shown in the “after” picture). There are two ways to do
this depending on which side the “T” is on when you’re looking at the cube.
Make sure to find the correct starting picture before doing this step. Repeat
this step with all four sides. (HINT: If you ever get stuck where there aren’t
any useful pieces on the top layer then do one of the moves below in reverse.)
BEFORE
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you start this step.
THE MOVE
These are the moves
that you should make with the Rubik's Cube.
AFTER
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you finish this step.
4
SOLVING THE
TOP CROSS
In this step, the goal
is to get the top face of the cube to have a cross. In the “after” picture
below this is the blue side. You start out by facing a side of the cube that
has a blue piece (or whatever your top color is) in the top layer in the front left position (refer to the
“before” picture below). It‘s okay to have a blue piece in the front right
position as well, but the key is to make sure that there is a blue piece on
that front left side. You then follow the moves in the pictures below. Just
doing this step once most likely won’t be enough. You may have to repeat the
step a few times until there is a cross. You will also likely have to rotate
the cube in your hands to manipulate different sides (still make sure a blue
piece is in the front left position!).
BEFORE
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you start this step.
THE MOVE
These are the moves
that you should make with the Rubik's Cube.
AFTER
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you finish this step.
5
SOLVING THE
TOP, MIDDLE PIECES
Once you have the
cross at the top, the next step is to get all of the top middle pieces to be on
the correct sides. This step, like the previous step, will most likely need to
be repeated several times. A useful tip is that, when you have two adjacent sides
in the correct place, rotate the cube in your hands so that those two sides are
in the back right and front right positions, then repeat this move once more.
After doing this, the top pieces will all be in the correct order but will need
to be rotated around the cube until they are on their correct sides. (HINT:
when performing this step, keep in mind that the front left piece will not
move.)
BEFORE
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you start this step.
THE MOVE
These are the moves
that you should make with the Rubik's Cube.
AFTER
This is how the
Rubik's Cube should look when you finish this step.
@Created by Amjad,ru
