Rubik's Cube — Notation, Algorithms & Solving Guide

Start with the 6 face turns (R U F D L B) and 3 modifiers (R = clockwise, R' = counter-clockwise, R2 = 180°). That covers everything you need for a 3×3 with the beginner method. Wide turns (Rw) and big-cube notation (3Rw, 2R, x y z) come later when you move past 3×3. The Notation tab on this page lists every notation form with a click-to-animate button so you can see exactly what each one does.

The 'sexy move' is a 4-move trigger that cycles 3 corners and 3 edges of the cube. It's the building block of dozens of algorithms (most of OLL, several PLLs, F2L cases). Memorise it as a single chunk — the pattern is easy: R, then U, then prime each in reverse order. Once you can do it without looking at your fingers, recognising algorithms gets dramatically easier.

In CFOP (the most common speedsolving method), the last layer is solved in 2 stages. OLL = Orient Last Layer = make the top sticker of every last-layer piece match the top colour (typically yellow). PLL = Permute Last Layer = move those pieces to their correct positions. Beginners learn 2-look OLL (10 algs) and 2-look PLL (6 algs) — 16 algs total — which gets you sub-30. Full OLL (57) + full PLL (21) is the next milestone for sub-20.

That's parity — a state that's mathematically possible on a 4×4 but impossible on a 3×3. It happens because edge-pairing during reduction can leave one pair with reversed orientation. There are two cases: OLL parity (single flipped edge — fix with Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw U2 Rw) and PLL parity (two edges swapped — fix with 2R2 U2 2R2 Uw2 2R2 Uw2). The Big Cube tab walks through both with diagrams.

BOY = Blue, Orange, Yellow appear in clockwise order around one corner of the cube. It's the dominant Western color scheme: White on top, Yellow on bottom, Green front, Blue back, Red right, Orange left. Almost every speedcube ships with this layout. The older Japanese scheme has Blue on the bottom instead. The Glossary tab on this page shows all three common schemes with swatches.

It means averaging UNDER X seconds across multiple solves. Sub-20 = average under 20 seconds, sub-15 = under 15, etc. The standard WCA average is 'AO5' (average of 5 — drop the best and worst, mean of the middle 3). 'PB' means personal best (single solve). World-class times are sub-7 (averaging under 7 seconds), with the world record single under 4 seconds.