My child got a 3x3 Rubik’s cube, so now I need to solve it occassionally…

I’ve read some guides to solve the cube, but I found it not very handy to use for myself. So I wrote this as a reference to solve a 3x3 Rubik’s cube.

This guide is mainly based on YouTube, Bright Side’s Tutorial (See Reference below). I’m not going to explain too much in detail because this guide is a reminder note to help me to solve quickly.

  1. Basics
    1. Moves
    2. Terminology
  2. Make a Daisy
  3. White Cross
  4. Solve the bottom corners
  5. Solve the sides
  6. Yellow Cross
  7. Solve Yellow Edges
  8. Orient the Yellow Corners
  9. Solve the Cube
  1. Reference

Rubik's cube

0. Basics

0.1 Moves

  • Note the notation difference between R and L.
R Turn right column UPWARDS R
R’ Turn right column DOWNWARDS R'
U (Use your RIGHT finger to) Turn upper row LEFT U
U’ (Use your LEFT finger to) Turn upper row RIGHT U'
L’ Turn left column UPWARDS L'
L Turn left column DOWNWARDS L
F (Use your RIGHT finger to) Turn front layer CLOCKWISE F
F’ (Use your LEFT finger to) Turn front layer COUNTER CLOCKWISE F'

0.2 Terminology

  • <color> face: The face with that <color> at the center

1. Make a Daisy

  1. Find a white edge
  2. Move the edge so that the color of another side of the edge matches the center of that side. Do NOT break this formation until at least you solved the white face (and may be until the whole cube is solved)
  3. Rotate edge so that the white edge is on the face with yellow center
    Developing Daisy
  4. Repeat from step 1 for red, blue, orange, and green sides
  5. Now you have a “Daisy” on the yellow face. Remember to check the sides of the Daisy

A Daisy

↑ Daisy

2. White Cross

  1. Rotate all 4 sides of the yellow face 180° so that the 4 white edges are now on the white face

White Cross

↑ White Cross

From now on, usually the white face is the bottom face.

3. Solve the bottom corners

  1. Locate a white corner. Check the color of the sides of the corner
  2. Check for the target position. Rotate the cube so that it is at the bottom right corner
  3. Try to position the corner either at the top right or bottom right corner
  4. Apply R U R’ U: R U R' U', until the corner is solved
  5. Repeat above so that all bottom corners are solved

Bottom Corner Solved

↑ Bottom Corner Solved

4. Solve the Sides

  1. Pick a side of the top layer you want to rotate to left or right
  2. Do the following
Rotate Right Rotate Edge Right Rotate Left Rotate Edge Left
1. U R U R’ U’
U R U R' U'

2. Rotate the cube Left, making the Right face to be the Front face
Rotate Cube Left

3. L’ U’ L U
L' U' L U		 1. U’ L’ U’ L U
U' L' U' L U

2. Rotate the cube Right, making the Left face to be the Front face
Rotate Cube Right

3. R U R’ U’
R U R' U'
  1. By manipulating the edges, you can have now the middle layer solved

Middle Layer Solved

↑ Middle Layer Solved

5. Yellow Cross

  1. Rotate the cube so that the top face is shown as either one of the following:
    Yellow Cross Yellow Cross Yellow Cross
  2. Apply F R U R’ U’ F’: F R U R'U' F'
  3. Repeat above until a yellow cross appeared at the top face

Yellow Cross

↑ Yellow Cross

6. Solve Yellow Edges

  • Formula: R U R’ U R U U R’:
    R U R' U R U U R'
  1. If there are 2 adjacent yellow edges match to sides of the cube,
    1. Turn your cube so that the matched sides are the back and right side
    2. Apply the formula once
    3. Apply U U
    4. The yellow edges should be solved
  2. Otherwise, apply the formula until 2 adjacent yellow edges match to the sides of the cube. You may need to rotate the top layer to achieve this

Yellow Edges Solved

↑ Yellow Edges Solved

7. Orient the Yellow Corners

  • Formula: U R U’ L’ U R’ U’ L:
    U R U' L' U R' U' L
  1. Find an oriented corner (a corner which should be there but colors do not match to every side)
    1. If there is any,
      1. Locate an oriented corner at your top right front corner
      2. Apply the formula until all the corners are oriented
    2. If there is none,
      1. Apply the formula until there is any
      2. Perform the steps above for there is any

Now you have all corners oriented.

Yellow Corners Oriented

↑ Yellow Corners Oriented

8. Solve the Cube

  • Formula: U R’ U’ R:
    U R' U' R
  1. Rotate the cube so that the YELLOW face is the front face
  2. Apply the formula until the top right front corner’s YELLOW tile is facing you. (Note: The cube may looks like a MESS but don’t panic, or you’ll end up STARTING ALL OVER otherwise)
    Top Right Front Corner Solved ← Top Right Front Corner Solved
  3. Apply F F
  4. Repeat above until all corners are solved

Still looks like a mess ← Second corner solved. Still looks like a mess

Um... ← Third corner solved, but am I CORRECT?

Only one step left ← Everything makes sense now. Only one step left

Done! ← Done!

A. Reference