Beginner Rubik's Cube Tutorial

The Magic Sequence

The method solves the cube with a special 4-move sequence called the 'Inverse Sexy' move, abbreviated as IS. It is executed as follows:

1. Rotate the top layer 90° clockwise.
2. Rotate the right layer 90° clockwise.
3. Rotate the top layer 90° anticlockwise.
4. Rotate the right layer 90° anticlockwise.

IS solves things on the right-hand side of the cube. In order to deal with some cases which affect the left side, we need to apply the mirrored version of this sequence. This is called 'Mirrored Inverse Sexy' move or MirIS​. It is executed like this:

1. Rotate the top layer 90° anticlockwise.
2. Rotate the left layer 90° anticlockwise.
3. Rotate the top layer 90° clockwise.
4. Rotate the left layer 90° clockwise.

Parts of the Cube

Before explaining how to solve the cube, it is important the anatomy of the cube is understood. The tutorial refers to the following cube parts:

• centre The pieces at the centre of each face. The cube has 6 centre pieces. They form a fixed frame around which the other pieces move. The colour of the centre sticker determines the colour of the face.
  
• edge A piece with two stickers. It is solved when both stickers match their neighboring centre pieces. The cube has 12 edges in total.
• corner A piece with three stickers. The cube has 8 corner pieces.
• side Any of the four side layers of the cube (left, right, front or back). Does not include the top or bottom layer.
• slot One of the four corner-edge positions that lie between the completed white cross pieces. During the solve corner-edge pairs are constructed in the top layer and placed into their slots.

The Steps

• Daisy
• White Cross
• Three Slots
• Yellow Cross
• Yellow Cross Alignment
• Three More Corners
• Final Two Corners

Daisy

This step involves creating a daisy pattern by placing 4 white edges beside the yellow centre. Create the daisy by repeating these steps:

1. Look in the middle layer for an edge with a white sticker. Grip the cube with your thumb on the white sticker. Do a quarter turn to connect it to the yellow centre.
   
   If you notice that placing the white piece will displace a white that has already been placed, then turn the top layer until the side that you need to turn is free of solved daisy edges.
   
   Now repeat this step for all white edges in middle layer. If there are no white edges in the middle layer go to step #2.
2. Look in the bottom layer for an edge with a white sticker. Grip the side that the edge is in.

   If turning the layer you are gripping will displace a white edge that is already part of the daisy, then turn the top layer until the side that you need to turn is free of solved daisy edges.

   Now Turn the side by a quarter turn and go back to step #1.
3. If there is an edge with a white sticker in the yellow layer, but the white sticker is not touching the yellow centre, grip the side containing the edge and do a quarter turn. Now go back to step #1.

White Cross

Once the daisy is completed solving the cross is straightforward.

Pick any white edge that is connected to the yellow centre. Grip the top layer of the cube.

Turn the bottom two layers of the cube until the edge's side sticker is connected to its centre.

Place your thumb on the white sticker and do a half turn to place the edge into the bottom layer.

Repeat these steps for all four white edges, converting the daisy on the top of the cube into the complete white cross on the bottom of the cube.

Three Slots

In this step three of the 'slots' remaining in the bottom two layers will be filled. Slots are filled with corner+edge pairs, composed of a bottom-layer (white) corner, joined to its middle layer edge. These can by constructed and placed as follows:

1. Look for a white corner in the top layer, and then twist the top layer to place it above its slot.
   
   If the corner's white sticker is on the top, hold the cube with the slot on the right and do IS three times.
   
   Otherwise hold the cube so that the white sticker is facing you. If the corner piece is now on the left then do MirIS​, otherwise IS
2. Look for the adjoining slot edge in the top layer. Twist the top layer so that the side of the edge lines up with its center.

   Now hold the cube so that the edge is facing you. If the slot is now on the left apply MirIS​, otherwise IS.

3. There should now be a connected corner-edge pair above the slot. Follow the instructions in step #1 to place the corner-edge pair into its slot.

If any pieces required to build a corner-edge pair are not in the top layer, find the slot containing the piece. Hold the cube so that the slot is in the front-right position and do IS.

Repeat this process until three corner-edge pairs have been solved.

Yellow Cross

This step forms the yellow cross on the top of the cube by inserting yellow edges from the last unsolved 'slot' into the top layer.

Look at the edge in the last unsolved slot, hold the cube so that its yellow sticker is facing you. If the edge has no yellow sticker, hold the cube with the slot on your right.

Remember IS places the edge into the right side and MirIS​ places it into the left side. If the side you are working on already contains a solved yellow cross edge, twist the top layer to move it out of the way before doing IS/MirIS​ places it into the left side..

Repeat these steps until all yellow edges form a yellow cross on the top layer.

Yellow Cross Alignment

Attempt to align the yellow cross edges with their sides by twisting the top layer. If they can't be aligned then the 'permutation' of the top cross is incorrect. There are two possible cases:

1. Two opposite pieces can be aligned.
   
   First, two adjacent edges need to be aligned. Start by doing IS.
   
   At this point there will be a yellow edge in the slot. Rotate the top layer a quarter turn clockwise, and then do IS again to put the yellow edge back into the top layer.
   
   The cube now has two adjacent edges aligned. Follow the instructions in #2 below to align the remaining two edges.
   
   
2. Two adjacent pieces can be can be aligned.
   
   In this case, keeping the slot in the front right, rotate the top layer so that the two aligned pieces are in the back-left and then do IS.
   
   At this point there will be a yellow edge in the slot. Rotate the top layer a quarter turn clockwise, and then do IS again to put the yellow edge back into the top layer, completing yellow cross.
   
   

Three More Corners

Flip the cube over so that the white layer is on the top. Now rotate the cube so that the last unsolved corner in the top (white) layer is in the front-right position. If it happens that all corners in the top layer are solved you can start with any white corner in the front-right position.

IMPORTANT: For the rest of this step do not rotate the cube, and do not twist the top (white) layer unless you are doing IS.

1. Look at the unsolved corner in the front-right of the top layer. Rotate the bottom layer until the home position of the unsolved corner is directly underneath it and then do IS.
2. If the corner is in the correct position but twisted the wrong way, then repeat IS until the corner is placed correctly in its position.

If at any point the unsolved corner in the top-right position has a white sticker, twist the bottom layer to place any unsolved yellow corner into the bottom-right position and then do IS.

Repeat the steps above until there is only one unsolved corner left in the bottom layer.

At this point the top layer probably still looks scrambled. To unscramble it, twist the bottom layer to position the final unsolved corner in the front-right. This time, repeat IS until until everything in the top layer is solved except for the front-right corner.

Final Two Corners

These are solved in a similar way to the first three. First rotate the cube so that the final two unsolved corners are in the bottom layer.

If it is not possible to find a single layer that contains both corners it means they are at diagonally opposite ends of the cube. In this case do a half turn on any side before rotating the cube.

Twist the bottom layer to place an unsolved corner into the front-right position. Do IS until the corner is solved.

Do the same again for the last unsolved corner and then twist the bottom layer back into its correct position.

If you're now looking at a solved cube, congratulations!

Last updated: 14^th June 2017