Holding the cube and reading notation

Hold the cube in front of you, yellow center on top and green center facing you. Centers never move: they’re your reference points for the whole solve.

Each face has a letter: R is the right face, L the left, U the top, D the bottom, F the front and B the back (Right, Left, Up, Down, Front, Back).

A letter on its own is a quarter turn clockwise, as if you were looking straight at that face. With an apostrophe (R'), it’s the other way. With a 2 (R2), it’s a half turn.

The easiest way to remember: R brings the right face toward you and up, R' brings it down. U sends the top to the left, U' to the right. Try each move below on your cube, then take the little quiz.

Remember: Throughout an algorithm, don’t change how you’re holding the cube: only the indicated move turns. That’s the number one beginner mistake.

Troubleshooting

I mix up R and R'

For R, your right hand pushes the right face up, like turning a tap toward you. R' is the opposite motion. Do R then R': the cube should go back to how it was.

I don’t know which side is the front anymore

The front is the green face, facing you. If you turned the whole cube by accident, put the yellow center back on top and green in front.

L and R turn in opposite directions?

Yes, that’s normal: each face is viewed head-on. L is done looking at the left face, so the left face comes down toward you.