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HOW TO SOLVE A RUBIK'S CUBE ≡

Rubik's Cube Move

Notations

In order to convey a certain turn or a sequence of

turns around the cube through writing, there are
certain agreed key letters that specify exactly what
move should be made: There are 6 different letters
for turning the Rubik's cube, each for the 6 faces
of the Rubik's cube to be turned:

F (front): the face facing the solver.

B (back): the back face.
R (right): the right face.
L (left): the left face.
U (up): the upper face.
D (down): the face opposite to the upper
face.

The letter means turning a single turn, (90°),

clockwise, the corresponding face.

Letter followed by an apostrophe mark (') (known

as "prime") means turning the corresponding face
a single turn, (90°), counter-clockwise.

Letter followed by "2" means turning the

corresponding face 2 single turns (180°). The
direction of the turning does not matter here.
(However sometimes notations such R2' do
appear – mostly for speedcubing reasons, to
suggest the speedy and flowing way to execute an
algorithm)

U R F

D L B

U' R' F'

D' L' B'

U2 R2 F2

D2 L2 B2

These notation marks will always be in Capital

letters. The reason for that is that there are
different meanings for small letters:

Double Layer Turns

A small letter means turning the face along with its
corresponding middle layer, making it a double
layer turn. The reason for doing such moves is
that it can reduce the need of cube rotations (For
example: l is equal for doing just R and x' - which
is a cube rotation mark, explanation ahead). It is
also accepted to use a capital letter + w instead of
small letter (For example: Rw; it is identical to r).
Small letters can be followed by a prime ('), or 2
just like the regular turns and means the same.

u r f

d l b

u' r' f'

d' l' b'

Middle Layer Turns

There are 3 different middle layer possible turns in
the Rubiks cube, presented by letters (Capital
only). Only 1 out of the 3 is popular in common
algorithms, while the other 2 are rarely used. Still
here are the notations:

M (middle): the middle layer parallel to the R

& L faces.
E (equator): the middle layer parallel to the U
& D faces.
S (side): the middle layer parallel to the F & B
faces.

The middle layer turns can be followed by a prime

('), or 2, just like the regular turns. Middle layer
turns are always written in capital letters.

M M' E

E' S S'

Cube Rotations
These are not actual turns, and is meant to
instruct a rotation of whole the cube. Sometimes
making a cube rotation allows executing much
more convenient turns, like turning the R face,
instead of the B face. There are 3 possible axes to
rotate the cube on: The X, Y & Z axes. Just like in
math. Those are also the letters used for these
rotations. Best way to remember the rotations is
just thinking about a 3D function graph:

x : rotating the cube on the X axis. (R & L

faces remain intact)
y : rotating the cube on the Y axis. (U & D
faces remain intact)
z : rotating the cube on the Z axis. (F & B
faces remain intact)

Cube rotations usually written as small letters, but

it doesn't have a meaning and they could possibly
by written as capital letters – same meaning.

Cube rotations can be followed by a prime (')

meaning rotating the cube a quarter rotation (90°)
on the corresponding axis counter-clockwise, or
followed by 2 which means rotating the cube 180°
on the axis.

x x' y

y' z z'

Tip: If you're having difficulties in finding the right

CW/C-CW direction of a face (like B or D faces for
example), rotate temporarily the cube so that face
will become the F face which is the easiest face to
determine the CW/CCW direction. Just image a
clock on the face and think where the hand would
go to)

A sequence of turns in a row is represented by a

sequence of letters, and called an algorithm.

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