Beginning to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube

What's up guys?

Today is a great day, for me and for you Rubik's Cube fans. It's time to begin to solve the thing! This is my first how-to article, so my explanations may not be as clear as I would like them to be, but I will try to do my best. We are first going to learn the basic moves and their notations. Then we will try to solve the first face, which is not as easy as it seems!

First of all, I'm going to describe the method we will use to solve the cube. The method is probably the easiest, ideal for beginners! This consists of solving the cube, layer by layer. First we will solve one face, the white one. This step is called the "first layer". Then we will solve the second layer, and finally the third layer, which will be the yellow face if we started with the white one. The last layer is the most difficult, because we have to solve a face, without breaking the other two layers!

Now it's time to learn the moves to use to solve the cube! But first you have to know that the cube is made of 6 centers, 12 edges which are the duo-coloured pieces, and 8 corners, which are the tri-coloured pieces. Each piece has one and only one spot to be put in. A first tip I can give you is that no matter the moves you make, the centers will always be at the same place! Let me explain myself: if you have the yellow center in front of you, and the red one down, you will always have the orange up, the blue on the right, the green on the left, and the white on the back. Therefore we will always use the centers as referential: when I talk about "the yellow face", I talk about the face where the yellow center is, whatever the other pieces of this face are.

On the picture below you can see the 6 basics moves that we will use to solve the cube. Here, you have the yellow face in front of you.

R (Right), U (Up) and L (Left) are the most used rotations. F (Front), B (Back) and D (Down) are often used in some advances combinations, but they are hard to do quickly because you need to change your hand's position to go on with another rotation. 

You can do a U rotation by turning the upper face (here the orange) clockwise. Identically, you can do a U' rotation by turning the upper face counterclockwise. The U rotation is often made with the right index finger, and the U' movement with the left index finger. But it's not a problem if you need your whole hand at the beginning!

Similary, you can do a R movement by turning the right face (here the blue one) clockwise with your right hand, and a R' movement by turning it counterclockwise, with the same hand.

I think you understand the principle, therefore we won't go into details here. Let's start with the solving of the first layer.

Take your cube with the white center at the top. At the end of this step, your cube will look like this:

Step 1: THE WHITE CROSS

The purpose is to put the 4 white edges at the right place: The white/green edge between the white and the green corners, the white/red between the white and he red... just like this:

You really have to take care of the centers! Otherwise your edges won't be at the right place, and then you won't be able to solve even the first layer! Example of a wrong cross:

NB: Do not worry about the corners! You will put them later at their place.

To do the cross, proceed as follows: Take your cube with the white center above. Take the other center you want to match in front of you, and turn your cube until the corresponding edge is also on the front face. Here the example is the white/green edge. There are then three cases:

• The edge is on the right, white facing you:

Apply the following algorithm:

  U' R U

• The edge is at the bottom, white facing you:

F' U' R U

• The edge is on the left, white facing you:

U L' U'

NB: If you meet a case which is not listed above, for instance if the white is not facing you, you have to put the white in front yourself, with one or two simple and intuitive rotations.

If you have done this correctly with the 4 edges, your cross should be done! Congrats, your first layer is half-solved!

Step 2: THE CORNERS

There are 4 corners to put at the right place. Keep your cube with the white cross above, and put the corner you want to put on the upper right hand. You can meet 4 cases, here described with the white/green/red corner. Turn the Down-face until you meet one of these cases:

• White is facing you: 

D' R' D R

• White is on the Right-face:

D F D' F'

• White is on the D-face (unlucky you):

R' D D R   D R' D' R

• Corner is located, but misguided:

In this case, you'll have to do the first or the second algorithm, to find yourself in an easy case again. With experience you will be able to find your own formula for this case!

If you have done this correctly with the four corners, your first layer is over! At the beginning you could think that there are too much algorithms to learn, but you'll see that these little "fingers-tricks" are relatively intuitive and will soon be natural! An also, the algorithms to set up the corners are very important because they appear in many advanced techniques.

This is it for the first layer of the 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube! Don't forget to subscribe, and to give your opinion in the comment section below. Did you manage to get your first layer solved? Are my explanations clear enough? I'd really enjoy reading your reactions. 

See you soon guys, for an article about solving the second layer!