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| F = front face | B = back face | R = right face | L = left face | U = up face | D = down face |
In addition to a letter, each move may be accompanied by an apostrophe or the number two:
- A letter by itself means turn that face 90 degrees clockwise (eg. F).
- A letter followed by an apostrophe means turn that face 90 degrees anti-clockwise (eg.
F'). - A letter followed by the number 2 means turn that face 180 degrees (direction is irrelevant), (eg.
F2).
So R U' L2 is shorthand for "turn the right face 90 degrees clockwise, then turn the up face 90 degrees anti-clockwise, then turn the left face 180 degrees".
When thinking whether to turn clockwise/anti-clockwise, imagine that
you are looking directly at the particular face you are turning.
The First Layer
 Step 1 The blue/red/white corner is sitting in the bottom layer (the blue part is facing the bottom so we can't see it in this picture). Turn the blue face 90 degrees anti-clockwise. |  Step 2 Now your cube should look like this. Move the D face 90 degrees anti-clockwise to line up the blue/white edge with the blue/white/red corner. |  Step 3 Now that the blue/white edge and the blue/white/red corner have been lined up, re-form the white cross by turning the blue face 90 degrees clockwise. |  Step 4 Now the blue/white/red corner is in its correct place. |
Here are some tips for inserting the top layer corners:
Start with a first layer corner that is sitting in the last layer.
If there are multiple first layer corners in the last
layer (there usually will be), start with one that does not have the
white part of the corner on the face opposite the white face. Or, if
you were using a different colour for the cross ('colour X'), start
with a corner that does not have the 'colour X' part of the corner on
the face opposite the 'colour X' face.When working with a first layer corner piece that is
in the first layer (but in the wrong first layer corner position), you
will need to get it out of the first layer into the last layer, then
insert it into the correct first layer corner position. The same
principle applies if a first layer corner piece is in the correct first
layer corner position but needs to be flipped around. You need to get
it out of the first layer (ie. into the last layer), and then re-insert
it into the first layer the correct way around.
 | This is what the first layer should look like when finished. |
The Middle Layer
The middle layer consists of one stage:
- Insert the 4 middle layer edges (each edge is inserted individually).
You only need to learn one algorithm (plus the mirror algorithm) for
the second layer. There are many more algs, but let's just learn the
essential one first.
First, locate a middle layer edge that is currently sitting in the last layer. I'm going to use the blue/red edge for this example.
 | This blue edge cubie in the last layer is the blue/red edge cubie. |
In this picture, U=white, L=red and F=blue.
We can't see the other three faces, but obviously the R face is the one
opposite the L face, the D face is opposite the U face and the B face
is opposite the F face.
Now, position the blue/red edge piece so that the colour on the side of the cube (blue in this case) lines up with it's centre. Now perform the following algorithm: D L D' L' D' F' D F
If the blue/red edge piece was flipped the other way so that the blue was on the bottom rather than the red, you would position the cubie under the red centre and perform the following alg: D' F' D F D L D' L'.
This is the mirror of the previous algorithm. The axis of symmetry lies
diagonally across the white face, and along the line which divides the blue face and the red face.
The Last Layer
The last layer ("LL") is done in 4 steps:
- Orient the edges (2 algs) - i.e. form a cross on the D face.
- Permute
the corners (1 alg) - i.e. get the corners in the correct position in
3D space (don't worry if they still need to be rotated). - Orient the corners (1 alg + mirror alg) - i.e. flip the corners.
- Permute the edges (1 alg) - i.e. swap the edges around. The cube should now be solved! :)
All last layer algorithms are performed with the cross (i.e. the first layer -
white side in this example) on the bottom.
Orienting the LL Edges
Once you have completed the first two layers ("F2L"), hold the cube
so that the white side is on the bottom. The white side will be on the
bottom for the remainder of the solution. This means that the white
side is the D side for all last layer algorithms.
On my cube, white is opposite yellow, therefore yellow is the U face
for all last layer algorithms on my cube. Note that your cube may have
a different colour opposite white (e.g. blue). Now have a look at your
last layer, and in particular, look at the last layer face - there are
4 possible patterns of LL edges that you may see.
 State 1 |  State 2 |  State 3 |  State 4 |
Unlike with the initial cross (where all the edges must match up
with the white centre and with the centres on the middle layer), here
all you need to worry about is getting all the last layer edges
matching up with the last layer centre. It doesn't matter if the other
colour on the LL edge piece does not match up with the colour on the
middle layer centre. Also, ignore the LL corners too. It doesn't matter
what they are doing at the moment. Now, let's consider each of these LL
edge states separately.
| State 1 All the edges are already oriented correctly. Move on to permuting the corners. |
| State 2 We are going to re-orient our faces for this |
| State 3 As with State 2, the face you are looking directly at in this picture is now the U face. Perform the following algorithm: F R U R' U' F' |
| State 4 State 4 is really a combination of States 2 and |
Orienting the LL Corners
There are 8 possible orientation states for the LL corners. One is
where all 4 corners are correctly oriented. The other 7 look like this.
 State 1 |  State 2 |  State 3 |  State 4 |  State 5 |  State 6 |  State 7 |
| State 1. Twisting three corners anti-clockwise R' U' R U' R' U2 R U2 |
| State 2. Twisting three corners clockwise R U R' U R U2 R' U2 |
States 3-7
Once you know the algorithms for
States 1 and 2, you can solve any LL orientation State. The remaining
States can be oriented using a maximum of 2 algorithms. You will need
to do one of the following (i) the State 1 algorithm twice, (ii) the
State 2 algorithm twice, (iii) the State 1 algorithm, then the State 2
algorithm, or (iv) the State 2 algorithm, then the State 1 algorithm.
In a previous edition of this solution, I had said that I'm not
going to tell you exactly how to combine the State 1 and State 2
algorithms to solve States 3-7. My reason for this was because it is
important that you try to understand how the State 1 and the State 2
algorithms work, and that once you do understand them you will be able
to work out how to use them to solve all the States. I still believe
this, however, I received emails from a few people who were having
trouble with States 3-7, so I decided to write some extra tips.
Permuting the LL Corners
The two possible states are:
- two adjacent LL corners need to be swapped; or
- two diagonal LL corners need to be swapped.
These are the only two possible states. If you cannot identify one of these two states with your LL corners then one
or more of the following must be true:
- You have not finished the F2L.
- Someone has ripped out a corner of your cube and put it in the wrong way.
- Someone has ripped off some of your stickers and put them back in the
wrong place. - You are not looking hard enough. ;)
Swapping adjacent corners
Hold the cube with the white side on the bottom, and the two
corners to be swapped are in the front right top and the back right top
positions. Perform the following algorithm: L U' R' U L' U' R U2.
Swapping diagonal corners
Swapping diagonal corners can be done by executing the adjacent
corner swap algorithm twice. Perform it once to swap any two LL
corners. Re-examine you cube and you'll see that now there are just two
LL corners that need to be swapped. Position it correctly for the final
LL adjacent corner swap and perform the LL adjacent corner swap
algorithm.
Permuting the Edges
The following are the two algorithms you need to know for moving three edges clockwise and counter clockwise.
 |  | |
| (R2' U)(R U R' U')(R' U')(R' U R') | (R U')(R U)(R U)(R U')(R' U' R2) |
Nutshell :
Step 1. Complete one side for any colour
Step 2. Go for te middle line colour allignment using D L D' L' D' F' D F
or D' F' D F D L D' L'
Step 3. Arrange the center pieces of the layer opposite the completed layer using F U R U' R' F' or F R U R' U' F'
Step 4. Arange the corners of this layer using R' U' R U' R' U2 R U2 or R U R' U R U2 R' U2
Step 5. If the corners in the last layer need to be aligned, use L U' R' U L' U' R U2
Step 6. Surely just the center pieces now need to be arranged in last layer using R2' U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R' or R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2
(Taken from http://peter.stillhq.com/jasmine/rubikscubesolution.html and http://www.tj9991.com/rubiksguide/)
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