Q&A for How to Solve a Rubik's Cube

First off, you have to memorize the cube, its positions, and how many spins each piece needs. What I did was use Quizlet flashcards, where each piece on the cube represents a letter, like a little puzzle. So, if someone says "C-T," you think "cat" because that's the word associated with those letters. Then comes the algorithm; each letter combo has its own moves to get the cube back in shape. My Quizlet setup was all about remembering these letter combos in my brain. Memorizing all those pieces and their spots takes a lot of time. It gets frustrating at times, but with enough practice and dedication, those letters become second nature. Just keep practicing, and soon enough, you'll be solving your cube easily while blindfolded.

If you are just starting out, aim to get down to two to three minutes. Then once you get some practice, go below two minutes. That is around where you should get after a few days of practice. Always try to be faster though -- the world record is 3.13 seconds!

The "layer method" described here is intended for beginners. There are faster methods that are more difficult to learn, the Fridrich method being the most popular among world-class speedcubers.

Japanese-style Rubik's cubes reverse the position of the blue and yellow faces compared to Western-style Rubik's cubes. Follow the instruction as though these colors were switched on your cube.

Rotate the right face of the cube a quarter turn, anticlockwise. R means turn the right face a quarter turn clockwise, and the i means "inverse".

Start solving the cube with ANY face (yellow, green, blue, red, orange, or white). The algorithm doesn't change.

To make the white cross, you need to align the edge to the center piece of the white center along with the center piece of the second color. For example, the white and blue edge piece will come in between the white and blue center.

Work at it progressively. Since you know the basics, work on mastering F2L, then using your usual method to solve the last layer. Mastering F2L should get you below a minute, then you can focus on the orientation and permutation steps which tend to take the longest to master.

You need to do the algorithm so that the front corners and back corners swap at the same time.

Look for any two corners of the same color. Once you find them, should they not be adjacent, perform the algorithm once to align them, then rotate the cube 90 degrees and perform it again to align them correctly.

You need to picture it as if the sizes of the faces were colors, and follow the same procedure.

There are a few apps on both Apple and Android that will actually show you the moves to solving the cube if you put in the colors. If there's no other option for you, just use that.

It’s called a pyraminx. First, you solve one face. Then, you orient and permute the remaining 3 edges.

Yes, you can solve any color first. Just look as if blue were bottom and green were top.

You can solve a side in about 20 seconds if your just learning and using this method.

Use the Friedrick Method, otherwise known as CFOP. There are lots of videos to help you learn.

An algorithm is a way of doing something, a method. In this case there are many ways of solving a Rubik's cube.

The front face changes and is not permanent, so follow the steps rather than the colors.

Make sure you are holding the cube correctly. If you are changing your grip during an algorithm, it may be messing you up. Make sure you are doing the correct move. If it asks for you do an anticlockwise turn, make sure you are not accidentally doing a clockwise turn. Track pieces -- this is slightly more advanced, but can help for some people. When you do an algorithm, you are moving blocks from your first two layers out, then back in another way. Try to watch the blocks as you take them out, and keep watching when you make more moves. If the movement is illogical, then you are probably doing something wrong.

"Playing" with a Rubik's cube generally just means solving it.

They are absent because this is a simple solution. If you want the notations, you will need to go to the Rubik's Cube home page.

No, there is not.

Look for the horizontal line. If a dot appeared, repeat the algorithm of the horizontal line or the adjacent color.

In the above article, the rotate sign means you are supposed to move that layer of the cube in the direction of the arrow.

The simplest way is just to make random moves on all sides. Some websites show you how to generate "scrambles," moves you'd need to make to get the cube to a scrambled position. You can go for that if you'd like.

For a beginner starting out with Rubik's cube solving, that's a good time. Everyone learns at their own pace. With practice, you can lower this time!

There are different ways of solving a Rubik's Cube. Many players switch out the basic methods in favour of advanced and complex methods that take less time. Remember, "every master was once a beginner", and "Practice makes Perfect".

Yes. The world record currently is 3.13 seconds!

The world record is 3.13 seconds, set by top cuber Max Park. You can go to the world cube association website to see a list of world records.

This is the layer-by-layer method, a variation of the beginner method. This method is slower than CFOP. To learn CFOP, go to jperm.net.