How to use this cheat sheet
Every algorithm is written in standard notation: a letter is a quarter turn of that face clockwise as you look at it,
' is anticlockwise and 2 is a half turn. If that is new, read the Rubik's cube notation guide first.
Hold the cube the way each card says and keep that grip until the algorithm ends. Press Watch to see the case and the algorithm on a 3D cube.
For the full explanation of each step, with what to look for before you use it, see the step-by-step solving guide.
Beginner method algorithms
The layer-by-layer method needs no algorithm for the white cross (make a daisy around the yellow centre, then bring each petal down with a half turn). These are the seven for everything after it. Hold white on the bottom and yellow on top unless a card says otherwise.
First layer: the white corners
Put in a white corner
Corner above its spot at the front-right. Repeat 1, 3 or 5 times until it drops in with white facing down.
Second layer: the middle edges
Middle edge to the right
Front sticker matches the front centre, top sticker matches the right centre.
Middle edge to the left
Front sticker matches the front centre, top sticker matches the left centre.
How to solve the last layer, step by step
The last (yellow) layer of the beginner method is four steps with one algorithm each. Do them in this order.
1. Make the yellow cross
Dot → L → line → cross
Hold an L shape at the back-left and a line left to right. From a dot, do it once and look again: each go moves one shape along.
2. Line up the yellow edges
Swap two yellow edges
Turn the top until two edges match. Neighbours matching: hold them at the back and right. Opposites matching: do it once from anywhere, then again.
3. Put the yellow corners in place
Cycle three corners
Hold a corner that is already in its spot (even if twisted) at the front-right; it stays put while the other three cycle. None in place: do it once from anywhere.
4. Twist the yellow corners
Twist a corner
Yellow on the bottom now. Repeat 2 or 4 times until the front-right-bottom corner shows yellow underneath, then turn only the bottom layer (D) to bring the next one there. The cube looks scrambled until the last corner: keep going.
2-look OLL: make the top one colour
The first half of CFOP's last layer, once the first two layers are solved. Look 1 makes the yellow cross; look 2 turns the corners.
Look 1: the yellow edges
Dot
No yellow edges on top: this flips all four at once. f is a wide front turn (front face and the slice behind it).
L shape
Hold the L at the back-left (its arms pointing back and left).
Line
Hold the line left to right.
Look 2: the yellow corners
Sune
One yellow corner on top: hold it at the front-left.
Anti-Sune
One yellow corner on top: hold it at the back-right.
H
No yellow corners on top; the left and right sides show two yellows each.
Pi
No yellow corners on top; the yellows on the left side face left.
Headlights
Two yellow corners at the back; two yellows facing you.
Chameleon
Two yellow corners on top, both on the right; the other two show yellow at the front and back.
Bowtie
Two yellow corners on top, diagonal: back-right and front-left.
2-look PLL: move the top pieces home
With the top one colour, look 1 puts the corners in place and look 2 the edges.
Look 1: the corners
T-perm
A side with matching “headlights” (two corners of the same colour): hold it on the left.
Y-perm
No headlights on any side: it swaps two diagonal corners.
Look 2: the edges
Ua-perm
One side fully solved: hold it at the back. Ua and Ub cycle the other three edges in opposite directions.
Ub-perm
Solved side at the back. If Ua made it worse, this is the one you needed.
H-perm
Every side shows a stripe of the opposite colour: swaps opposite edges.
Z-perm
Swaps two pairs of neighbouring edges.
Where to go next
Once 2-look is comfortable, the next step is full PLL (21 algorithms, each case in one look), then full OLL (57). Many cubers also learn F2L cases to make the first two layers smoother. The CFOP section of the guide explains each step, and the Roux and ZZ sections show two other ways to solve.
Stuck on a real cube right now? The Rubik's cube solver scans it with your camera and shows every turn, and its Beginner and CFOP modes use the same steps as this page. Practise with a fresh scramble from the cube timer.
Questions people ask
How many algorithms do you need to solve a Rubik's cube?
Seven for the beginner layer-by-layer method on this page. The 2-look last layer used by new speedcubers needs 16 (10 for OLL and 6 for PLL), and full CFOP uses 78: 57 OLL cases and 21 PLL cases, plus F2L, which is mostly solved without memorised algorithms.
How do you solve the last layer of a Rubik's cube?
With the beginner method it takes four steps, each with one algorithm: make the yellow cross with F R U R' U' F', line up the yellow edges with R U R' U R U2 R' U, put the corners in place with U R U' L' U R' U' L, then twist them with R' D' R D, turning only the bottom layer between corners.
What is the easiest Rubik's cube algorithm?
R U R' U', often called the “sexy move”. It is only four moves, it puts the white corners in during the beginner method, and it is part of many longer algorithms.
What is 2-look OLL and PLL?
A shorter way into CFOP's last layer. Instead of learning all 57 OLL and 21 PLL cases, you solve each part in two looks: 2-look OLL makes the top one colour with 10 algorithms (3 for the edges, 7 for the corners), and 2-look PLL moves the pieces home with 6 (2 for the corners, 4 for the edges).
What is the T-perm?
A PLL algorithm, R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F', that swaps two neighbouring top corners and two top edges without disturbing the rest of the cube. In 2-look PLL it is used to fix the corners when one side shows matching “headlights”.
Why does my algorithm not work?
Usually the cube was held the wrong way round for the case, or one move was read in the wrong direction. Check the hold described under each algorithm, keep the same face towards you all the way through, and remember that every turn is clockwise as you look at that face. Press Watch to see it done on a 3D cube.
Sources
Written in our own words. The move sequences are the standard ones cubers share, and every one on this page is checked on this site's own cube engine. These pages go further: