Solving the 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube

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Want to learn how to solve the 3x3x3 rubik's cube? We have both videos and text to show you how, quickly and easily! Grab your cube and start solving.

For the technique in this tutorial, the cube is solved in layers, the 1st layer, the 2nd layer, and then the 3rd layer.
Let's start out with some explanation:

If I say a certain color edge piece, that is telling you to find an edge piece with one side of it white, which means it should have a white sticker on it :-P.
If I say “cubie”, it means one of the 26 little cubies that are either a corner, edge, or center peices which make up the visible part of the cube.

a letter with an "i" before it means inverse, so counterclockwise
-F--> means to turn the face clockwise 90 degrees
-iF--> means to turn the face counterclockwise 90 degrees
2F means to turn the face 180 degrees.

Assuming white is top and red is face-->

Step 1: Cross On the Top

The first step to solving the cube is to get a white cross on the top of the cube. There are 2 ways to do this, take your pick:

1. Find a white edge piece in the third row with the white facing down, then just allign the side of the edge peice with the center of its color, and turn that face 180 degrees to bring it to the top of the cube.

2.Find a white edge piece in the third row with the white facing out, put it under the center it belongs to, then --D-R-iF-iR-->

Before you continue you should have this (only pay attention to the colored cubies)

Step 2: Completing the Top

(finishes the 1st layer)

Find a white corner piece in the 3rd row, and find out what corner it goes to in the top layer, and place that white corner piece directly under that top corner like ex1. Then turn the face that the white sticker of the cubie is on so that the white sticker is still in the third row, and then turn the bottom to put the corner into place, and turn the face you turned just earlier back the opposite way.

If white sticker is on left side of face:
-iF-iD-F-->
(here blue is face because thats what face white is on)

If white sticker is on right side of face:
-F-D-iF-->
(here red is face because thats what face white is on)

Before you continue you should have this (only pay attention to the colored cubies)

Step 3: Completing the 2nd Layer

Find an edge piece on the bottom without a yellow, and orient it so that whatever color is on the bottom (on the face with the yellow center, colo ris called primary color) determines what face is when you apply the algorithm. You put the edge piece opposite the primary color.. If the color on the bttom is blue, then you would orient that edge so it is on the opposite side of the cube from the blue face, and still in the third row. The color on this same piece that is in the 3rd layer of the cube will be called the secondary color, and you will use that to determine what algorithm you use by looking at the color that you put the edge piece opposite of, and seeing if the secondary color is to the right or the left.

If the secondary color is on the left.
(since blue is on bottom it becomes face, the color we look at when applying algorithms, and the edge piece is also oriented opposite that color)
-iF-iD-F-D-L-D-iL-->

If secondary color is to the right.
(since red is on the bottom it becomes face, the color we look at when applying algorithms, and the edge piece is also oriented opposite that color)

-F-D-iF-iD-iR-iD-R-->

Before you continue you should have this (only pay attention to the colored cubies)

Step 4: Obtaining the bottom cross

Orient the cube so that the bottom becomes your face (this guide shows yellow as face, and red as top). Then you apply the algorithm -U-L-F-iL-iF-iU making sure to orient the cube like in the pictures below.

Before you continue you should have this (only pay attention to the colored cubies)

Step 5: Correcting the edges

When I say correcting the images I mean you need all the edge pieces so that they are touching their correct correct color at the same time, like you had to do with the top in step 1. Now in this step the yellow will still be considered the top, through the rest of the guide as well.
Turn the yellow face until you have two correct edges right next to each other and two incorrect edges right next to each other....sorta like this:

Orient the cube so that the two wrong colors are towards you and to your right (in this case green would become face, and orange would be right) and apply algorithm.
-2L-2U-D-iR-L-2F-R-iL-iD-2L-->

Before you continue you should have this (only pay attention to the colored cubies)

Step 6: Placing the corners

Placing the corners means that you put the corners in the correct corner, not correctly oriented which we do in the next step, but there is nothing wrong with a corner being oriented correctly out of the luck of the draw. Some examples:

Now we orient the cube so that the only correct corner (if any, if none are right just execute with yellow as top) is closest to you and to the right, then:
-iL-U-R-iU-L-U-iR-iU-->

Once all the corners are in their correct spot you can move onto the next step.

Step 7: Rotating the corners

When your rotating a corner there are 2 different types of corners you have to come across. To make it easy, I will classify one as the one with the yellow facing you, and the one without the yellow facing you. Orient the cube so that the corner to be rotated is closest to you and to your left. After you fix one corner you just turn the top (ONLY THE TOP) to bring the next piece into place, for more clarification watch one or more of the last 3 animations.
(red is face in all these animations)

If the yellow sticker isn't facing you.
-L-D-iL-iD-L-D-iL-iD-->
or (-L-D-iL-iD-->)x2

If the yellow sticker is facing you.
-D-L-iD-iL-D-L-iD-iL-->
or (-D-L-iD-iL-->)x2

This is what u get when u put it all together.

An example of 3 corners with the yellow stickers facing you.

An example of 2 corners one with the yellow sticker facing you and one with the yellow sitcker not facing you.

An example of 3 corners with the yellow stickers not facing you.

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