3x3

This is where you will learn about the fundamentals of 3x3. The methods will range from beginner to advanced and there will also be some less well known methods that you may want to learn for fun.

The Rubik's cube was invented by Hungarian professor and architect Erno Rubik. It was originally to help his students understand 3D shapes but he found out it was a puzzle when he first scrambled it and had to solve it. This took him about a month. Later, in the year 1975 he made a plastic version and sold them in shops around Hungary. He then, in 1980, started to sell them to the rest of the world. There are now over 35 million sold Rubik's Cubes.

Once you have learnt to solve a cube it's down to how much practise you put in to it. And as you get better you should be able to learn faster methods and algs that'll help you to drop your times.

Methods + Algs

White Cross

First Layer

First 2 Layers

Yellow Cross

Last Layer Edges

Last Layer Corners

You're Finished

Pogobat/Dan Brown's Beginners Method

Pogobat/Dan Brown's Beginner's Method

The first method that you should learn is the beginners method. It is made up of 7 stages. Following the steps correctly will get you from a scrambled cube to a solved one in less than 2 minutes. This is also called Layer by Layer or LBL for short.

Here's a quick recap of it:

1. White Cross

The first thing you will want to do is to get the white cross. This is mostly intuitive and there aren't any specific ways to get it. What you do is line up all of the white cross pieces just like the picture. Play around and you will slowly get better at it.

One way to do this would be to put all of the pieces in regardless of them being flipped the right way or not. Make sure that they're all in the correct place and then with the flipped piece in front of you do F U' R U to flip it around correctly.

2. White Corners

The next thing is to get all of the white corners in to their corresponding colours so that you have the whole first layer complete. Flip the cross on to the bottom of the cube. Then look around for the corners. Line then up with their colours and then perform the moves R U R' U' (sexy move) until the piece is in the correct place.

3. Second Layer

The third step of the method is to get the whole first two layers complete. This requires two algorithms; one to the left and one to the right.

An easy way to remember the algs is to see them in split stages. So for this one, line up the edge piece that's facing you with the same colour center (unless it has yellow). Then you push it away from the slot, bring the slot out, bring the edge towards the slot, pull the "slot" down, and then insert the pair.

4. Yellow Cross

We are about half way there at this point. Now we make the yellow cross on top. This has to be split in to two parts to make the cross and then align the pieces. At this point you should have 1 of 3 cases. Unless you have the cross you will hold the case in the correct position and do F (R U R' U') F'. That should get the yellow cross complete

5. Last Layer Edges

Now you put the last four edges in their correct places. To do this you must find one correct edge and put it at the back. If you can't find a correct edge, do the alg until you have a correct edge in place. You will then perform a "Sune" which you'll also need later on. But for now it's (R U R' U) R U2 R'. Eventually you will have all the last layer edges in the correct places

6. Last Layer Corners

Here you have to get all of the corners in to their right places. This doesn't mean that they have to be flipped correctly as that'll be left for the last stage. What you do is find a correctly placed corner and move it to the front right corner slot. Then you perform them algorithm (U R U' L') ( U R' U' L). Again if you can't find a correctly placed corner just do the alg until you find one. You should have all of the corners in the correct positions.

7. Finish It!

You're nearly finished! You have a few more moves to go. Flip the cube so that the white is on the top and the yellow is on the bottom. Put an incorrect piece in the bottom right-hand corner. You will now do the moves (R U R' U') until the piece you are working on is correctly flipped. You then do a D, D' or D2 and do it again. Repeat until you have all the pieces flipped and then you should have your cube complete.

Some things that'll help this method:

This guy (Dan Brown) can help you if you need a moving image to follow. He does it a little different to how I've put it down. Also he does use green and blue rather than white and yellow. Hopefully you're all intelligent enough to get along without being bothered too much by it.
This PDF may also help on the move without devices or something:

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BadMePhisto OLL Algs

BadMePhisto PLL Algs

4-look Last Layer

You should now know how to solve the Rubik's cube. But now you want to get faster. This is the right place to be to start you journey to sub-40 sec. It consists of 2 different extensions OLL and PLL. You should be able to solve the Last Layer in 4 algorithms by the time you have learnt the correct way. Solving in less than a minute is a breeze with this in your solves.

Let's take a look at it:

1. OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer)

This is the first step in this LL extension. You should have finished your first two layers and will have one of 3 cases on the top. You use the corresponding algorithm and will end up with another case. This will be with a cross and you'll have to look around the third layer to distinguish which one to use.

This PDF has all the algs that you'll need for 2-look OLL.

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2. PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer

So now you've completed OLL and will have the whole yellow face complete. Now you just need to permute or put the edges and corners in the correct place. You will have to look around the cube for headlights. You'll then place them at the back and perform an algorithm so that you have headlights all around. If you don't have headlights do the algorithm and then look for headlights.

Once you have headlights all around you'll have headlights all around. They'll be either the M-perm, Z-perm, Ua perm or Ub perm.

This PDF has all the algs that you'll need for 2-look PLL

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These things might help:

Those PDF's might help.

Also these videos from badmephisto will explain how to do the methods. They mightn't be the best quality but they have good explanations and ways to remember.

F2L (Intuitive)

F2L is an advanced method to solve the first two layers. Both of the first 2 layers are completed at the same time. It is very hard to explain and teach. It all is just pairing up the corner and edge then putting them in the right place without breaking any other part of the first two layers. You first will need to understand. After that you can go along and play around with different pairs and cases. These videos should help to explain more in depth and later on you can explore youtube on getting faster using his. You will definately be slower when you start off. But once you have F2L, 2-look OLL and 2-look PLL down you should be able to get a 25 second average.

I put in these videos from CrazyBadCuber, TheSergsB and ParadoxCubing that should help you with the method.

The video with the stickerless/colourful cube is a bit lengthy.