The first task is to make a pattern on the top that looks like the following diagram.

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Lesley Lyons
5 years ago
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1 Cube Strategy The cube is worked in specific stages broken down into specific tasks. In the early stages the tasks involve only a single piece needing to be moved and are simple but there are a multitude of solutions. In the later stages, the pieces are move three or four at a time. Lets talk about the names of the pieces that I will use throughout this document. There are basically three different types of pieces. The first piece is the center piece. There are six center pieces. The center pieces spin, but always stay in the same place. If you rotate the whole cube, the centers rotate with it. All the pieces surrounding the center is called a face. If the face is on the left, right, front or rear of the cube it is considered a side. A colored label on the side means it is not on the top or the bottom. The second piece is the edge piece. There are twelve edge pieces. The edge piece has only two colors. Edge pieces rotate with a whole face around a center. When placing edge pieces, two center colors will be the determining destination of an edge. Changing one edge position changes other edges and corners. The third and final piece type is a corner. There are eight corners. Each corner has three colors. When moving or rotating corners, three face colors will be determine the final position and rotation of a

corner. As mentioned earlier there are collections of pieces that have two separate names. First lets talk about faces. Most of the solution requires turning faces.

In many discussions about strategy, the only concern will be whether the label is on the top, side, or bottom. Left side, right side, front or back will not make a difference.

2 corner. As mentioned earlier there are collections of pieces that have two separate names. First lets talk about faces. Most of the solution requires turning faces. The faces are the top, bottom, left, right, front and rear. All the faces are side faces except for the top and bottom. In many discussions about strategy, the only concern will be whether the label is on the top, side, or bottom. Left side, right side, front or back will not make a difference. If it matters then the specific face will be used else it will just be referred to as the side. The first task is to make a pattern on the top that looks like the following diagram. In this illustration, what is being represented is a single color in the shape of a cross with the four edge pieces, all aligned with their matching centers. This task is broken down into four distinct steps. The moves that will be given are not specific to any step except for the first step which is the easiest. So the task at hand is to make the cross. The first step is to decide which center is going to remain on top at all times. This is an important step because it determines the next steps. So go ahead and decide on a color to use. In the pictures, I will always use the yellow as the top color. Now that you have decided the top color, select a side color. In my example I am going to use green. Now find the edge with the colors yellow and green. There is a chance that you may have found it here: In this case there is nothing to do. This is the desired result.

The second easiest place the edge could be is here. In this case the yellow label in on the bottom but the green label matches. Rotate the front face clockwise so that the yellow label is on the top.

The formula for this which I will call #1 is: #1 F T' R T This translates into face turns- Front Clockwise, Top Counter Clockwise(notice the quote) Right Clockwise, and Top Clockwise.

This is the notation I will be using throughout the document. For the situation on the left rotate the top until it is aligned. For the situation on the right, do L F.

3 The second easiest place the edge could be is here. In this case the yellow label in on the bottom but the green label matches. Rotate the front face clockwise so that the yellow label is on the top. 1-1 Here is a common problem for the first step. The edge is in the right position but is flipped upside down. The formula for this which I will call #1 is: #1 F T' R T This translates into face turns- Front Clockwise, Top Counter Clockwise(notice the quote) Right Clockwise, and Top Clockwise. Whenever the counter clockwise direction is needed it is with reference to the center spot on that face. Clockwise on the left is toward you but clockwise on the right face is away from you. This is the notation I will be using throughout the document. For the situation on the left rotate the top until it is aligned. For the situation on the right, do L F. If the yellow label is on the bottom and the green label is on the side, rotate the edge so that it is under the green label on the front, and then rotate the front to bring it to the top. 1-2 The next situation is that the edge is in the bottom slice but the yellow label is on the side like this: Use the same moves from the previous to make it look like 1-1 then do #1. These simple moves are leading up to step 2 of the first task, which is to place the other edges without

4 messing up the first edge. There are similarities to the first step. I am always going to show the completed edge on the left and will only work the top, bottom, font and right faces to finish the next edge. Once that edge is complete, simple turn the whole cube one quarter turn clockwise through the vertical axis and repeat step 2, two more times. I am going to start using the mirrored picture to show the color positions. The outside squares represent mirror images of the hidden sides. In positions indicated by 2-1, simply rotate the front face until the edge is on top. If it is not flipped correctly then do #1. If the red yellow edge is at position 2-2 as indicated in the mirror image of the bottom, then rotate the bottom until the edge is under the red center, indicated by 2-1 and solve using step 2-1.

5 If you have an edge at 2-3 then rotate the top two quarter turn which is specified by the code T2. Rotate the back either clockwise or counter clockwise to bring the desired edge to the top. The do T2 again. If the piece is flipped the do # adds a bit of difficulty. First the edge needs to be put on the side by rotating the back face to the right. Do T2 the rotate the back back to the left. Do T2. If the edge is flipped then do #1.

6 For 2-5 do R T2 R' T2. If flipped do #1. This should be all the possible ways to fix an edge without messing up other edges already completed in the top slice. Rotate the whole cube so that R becomes F and repeat step 2. For the last edge again rotate the whole cube so that R becomes F and repeat step 2. Step 3 of solving the top slice involves moving corners around without messing up the four edges that we have already completed. Again I will use the mirrored view because it allows me to keep the front and top visible at all times. You will also notice that the notation is becoming more and more formula like. This will be the trend. While learning this solution, you will have to refer to the formulas many times until they become second nature. Eventually your hand motions will be what you remember and the formulas will be forgotten. Solving the corner in the top slice require that three centers be chosen as the target. The corner pieces can be in the correct position and be rotated or not rotated. For this strategy two rules can be applied. Rule 1: Either the corner is in the top slice or the bottom slice because there is no other choice. Rule 2: If the corner is in the correct position then it is either correct or rotated. The basic strategy for step 3 of the top slice says: If the corner is in the correct position and is rotated, rotate it until it is rotated correctly. Lets look at the case where this is the scenario.

You will notice from the mirror images that the centers and the edges for the top slice are now all in the correct position and rotation. We are considering the front left corner.

7 You will notice from the mirror images that the centers and the edges for the top slice are now all in the correct position and rotation. We are considering the front left corner. It is in the correct position but it is rotated. To fix this use F' B2 F L B2 L' If it is still rotated do it again. If you are observant you will notice that there are only three ways it can be rotated. It can be rotated the correct way, rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise. This example was rotated clockwise and we rotated it counterclockwise. To rotate it the other way do L B2 L' F' B2 F Once you see the pattern, you can do it with the corner on the right side also. Now for the next step 3-2. This problem is the solution to the corner being in the bottom slice. There are two situations involved with this. The corner can have the top color either on the side or on the bottom. First let's consider the side. Look at 3-2. If the top color of the the corner we are working with is on the side, first rotate the bottom

8 so that it is under the front left corner. This will result in situation 3-2a or 3-2b. For 3-2a do B R' B R For 3-2b do B L B' L' Now for the situation which the top color label for the corner we are working with is on the bottom. First rotate the bottom so that the working corner is under the target position like 3-3. Then do F' B F L B2 L' and all should be well. Now the last case. The working corner is in the top slice but not in the correct position. Needless to say you can't just rotate it into the position because that will mess up the edges. So first of all turn the whole cube so that the working corner is on the front left corner. Then look to see if the the top color is on the top, on the front or on the left. If the top color is on the top or the front then do F' B' F and this will move it to the bottom slice with the top colored label on the side. We already know how to fix that. If the top color is on the left then do L B L'. This will also move the corner to the bottom with the label on the side. Step 3-4 is just repeating 3-1 or 3-2 or 3-3 until the whole top slice is finished. Now we move on to fixing the edges in the middle slice without breaking the first slice. All the moves are going to be with the original top color remaining the top color. This will give a fast visual feedback if you made a wrong move at the end of a sequence. If you make a wrong move you will see the top all out of whack, and may have to solve the top again. Practice makes perfect. In this solution we are concentrating on moving an edge from the bottom layer into the middle layer. The edge will match two centers, one on the front and one on the left. There are four things possible. The first thing which is the easy case is that the edge we want to place is already where it needs to be

9 and is turned the correct way. If this is so then we move on to the next edge. The second thing is that the edge is in the bottom slice and we need to move it to the middle. The third is that the edge we need is in the middle row and is not in the right position. The last is that the edge is in the right place but flipped. This is the most time consuming scenario. Fortunately for us there are only two formulas to use. They are: La which is B L B' L' B' F' B F Lb which is B' F'' B F B L B' L' So the trivial case first. Find the edge you need and rotate the bottom until it is like L2-1a or L2-1b. If this is not possible then move on to the next step. Most of the time it is possible to do this. If you have L2-1a then do La. If you have L2-1b then do Lb. The second situation is that there are none available because they are all in the second slice. In this case pick an edge in the middle layer you want to move to the bottom layer. Rotate the whole cube until it is on the front left edge and do La. Then try to rotate the bottom until it is like L2-1a or L2-1b. If the edge is in the right place but flipped, rotate the cube so that the edge is in the front left position. Do La and rotate the bottom so it is like L2-1a or L2-1b and use the appropriate formula La or Lb. Do this until all edges are in the proper place and rotated correctly. Now the hardest part layer three. Layer three is difficult because it is solved by using formulas that move three or four pieces at once. It solution applied has to match the current situation. The process has 4 steps. Step one is to get a cross on the bottom of the bottom color. The color of the sides does not matter at this point. Step two is to arrange the corners so that they are in the correct position. Step three is to rotate three corners until they are turned the right way. The fourth and last step is to swap three edges until they are in the correct position and rotation. Step one making a cross on the bottom. First look at the bottom color. The cross will look like this when this step is finished. At this point we don't care about the bottom corners or the color of the side pieces. We are only concerned that all the bottom colored label on the edges are on the bottom.

For L3-1a do L' B' F' B F L For L3-1b do L' F' B' F B L If you have L3-1c the do L3-1a then either L3-1a again or L3-1b. Next is moving the bottom corners until they are in the correct position.

10 Here is the desired result. You may already have one of the three patterns. Remember that the corners and the sides don't matter yet. If you rotate the whole cube you will find you have one of the pictures for the bottom. For L3-1a do L' B' F' B F L For L3-1b do L' F' B' F B L If you have L3-1c the do L3-1a then either L3-1a again or L3-1b. Next is moving the bottom corners until they are in the correct position. This is done by swapping two corners. The position is all that matters and the rotation happens in the next step. This will be done using a single formula and rotating the bottom. Again there are three possibilities. Rotate the bottom until you have one of these scenarios. First let's consider L3-2a. To solve this use the formula #2 which is L B' R' B L' B' R B2. For L3-2b or L3-2c do #2 then rotate the whole cube to look like L3-2a then do #2 again. Layer 3 step 3 involves rotating three corners in order to get all four bottom corners into the correct orientation. The strategy involves rotating the whole cube, and applying a single formula up to 3 time to get all the corners correct. The formula we are going to use is #3 R' B' R B' R' B2 R B2.This does this.

11 The desired pattern we are after is this. I know this needs some explaining. First of all we are looking at the bottom. The bottom color is white. The desired pattern we would like to have shows the bottom color in position 1, 2, 3 and 4. If the colors are arranged like this then using #3 will leave the corners both in the correct position and rotated to the correct way with all colors being where they need to be. The first step to this process is first to rotate the whole cube so that there is a single corner with the bottom color in the upper left corner. If there are no corners with the bottom color or there are two corners with the bottom color then we need to figure out how to turn the cube so that when we are done there is a single corner with the bottom color showing. If you look at the diagram and and the cube and answer the question, If I did a #3, with the cube rotated this way would I be left with a single corner with the bottom color on the bottom? Follow the sequence 2, 3 and 4 from the diagram on your cube bottom without actually doing the #3 and see if the results would give you the answer yes to the question. If yes then put the bottom down and the 2 as the front and do a #3. If the answer is no, then rotate the whole cube clockwise keeping the bottom showing and follow the arrows again. You will eventually get a single corner with the bottom color showing and match the pattern shown in the diagram. Layer 3 step 4. Finally we have gotten all but the bottom edges fixed. This uses a single formula also. #4 is long but easy. #4 F2 B' L' R F2 L R' B' F2 This rotates three edges without changing their rotation so the bottom color stays on the bottom.

12 There are again thee situations. First is that #4 will solve the cube completely. The second scenario is that the pieces need to be rotated the other way. If this is the case then doing #4 twice will solve the cube. The last scenario is that all four edges are wrong. Then do #4. This will bring you to one of the first two scenarios. I hope you find this helpful.

Rubik's Cube Solution

Rubik's Cube Solution This Rubik's Cube solution is very easy to learn. Anyone can do it! In about 30 minutes with this guide, you'll have a cube that looks like this: Throughout this guide, I'll be using