You’ve seen that colorful plastic hunk sitting on a shelf for three years, gathering dust and mocking you. Most people pick it up, twist it for five minutes until the colors look like a chaotic digital explosion, and then give up. They think you have to be a math prodigy or some kind of savant to solve it. Honestly? That’s total nonsense. Learning how to figure a rubix cube isn't about being a genius; it’s basically just muscle memory and following a specific recipe. It’s like baking a cake, but with more clicking sounds.
The World Cube Association (WCA) oversees thousands of competitions globally where kids solve these things in under five seconds. Max Park and Yiheng Wang aren't doing magic—they are just using advanced versions of the exact same logic you're about to learn.
If you want to actually get this done today, stop random twisting. You’re just making it worse.
Understanding the Beast: It’s Not About the Stickers
Before you even touch a side, look at the cube. Really look at it. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is thinking they are moving the "stickers." You aren't. You’re moving pieces. There are three types of pieces, and they never, ever change their fundamental nature.
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Center pieces are the bosses. There are six of them, and they don’t move. If the center square is white, that side will always be the white side. It’s the anchor. Then you have twelve edge pieces with two colors and eight corner pieces with three colors. You can’t move an edge piece into a corner slot. It’s physically impossible. If you understand that, you’ve already jumped ahead of 50% of people trying to learn how to figure a rubix cube.
Think of the cube in layers, not faces. Solving it side-by-side (like finishing the whole red face first) is a trap. You’ll just mess up what you already did. You have to build it from the bottom up.
The First Step: The "Daisy" and the White Cross
We start with the white cross. But for beginners, jumping straight to the cross is a headache. Instead, we make a Daisy.
Find the yellow center. Keep it facing the ceiling. Now, find the four white edge pieces and move them so they surround that yellow center. It doesn't matter what the other colors are yet. It looks like a little flower. Simple, right?
Now, look at the side-color of one of those white edges. If it’s white and red, turn the top layer until that red edge matches the red center on the side. Once they align, rotate that face 180 degrees so the white edge moves to the bottom, next to the white center. Repeat this for all four petals.
Boom. You have a white cross on the bottom, and more importantly, the edges match the side colors. This is the foundation. If these don't match, the whole thing will fall apart later.
Solving the First Layer: Getting Those Corners Home
Flip the cube over. White cross is now on the bottom (the floor). We need to find the white corner pieces in the top layer and drop them into their rightful homes.
Say you find a white-blue-red corner. Rotate the top layer until that corner is directly above the spot where it needs to go—the intersection of the white, blue, and red centers. Now, you use the "Sexy Move." That’s actually what cubers call it. It’s a four-move sequence:
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- Right side up.
- Top layer to the left.
- Right side down.
- Top layer to the right.
Repeat that sequence until the corner drops into place with the white side facing down. Sometimes it takes one try, sometimes five. It feels like a fidget spinner for your brain. Once all four corners are in, the entire bottom layer should be solid white, and you’ll see little "T" shapes on all the side faces.
The Middle Layer: No White Involved
Now we need to fill in the four edges of the middle layer. Look at the top layer for any edge piece that doesn't have yellow on it. If it has yellow, it belongs on the top, so ignore it for now.
Let's say you find a green and orange edge. Line up the green side with the green center so you have a vertical line. If the orange side of that piece needs to go to the right, you follow a specific pattern of moves to "slot" it in without breaking your white base.
- Move the top away from the destination.
- Do the "Sexy Move" on the side it's going to.
- Rotate the whole cube.
- Do a "Left-Handed Sexy Move" (Left up, top right, left down, top left).
It’s about displacement. You're basically pushing the piece out of the way, lifting the "garage door," and parking it. If you mess up, the white layer will break. If that happens, don't panic. Just fix the white layer and try again. Practice makes the fingers move faster than the eyes.
Facing the Yellow Nightmare: The Top Cross
By now, the bottom two-thirds of your cube are finished. You’re feeling like a genius. But the top layer is where most people quit because it looks like you're about to ruin everything.
Look at the yellow top. You’ll either have a single yellow center, an "L" shape, a horizontal line, or the cross already done. Ignore the corners for a second. To get the cross, you use a simple bridge move:
- Turn the front face clockwise.
- Do the Right-Hand Sexy Move.
- Turn the front face back (counter-clockwise).
If you had a line, you now have a cross. If you had an L, do it again. It’s a progression. You’re not trying to solve the whole top at once—you’re just building the skeleton.
Positioning the Yellow Corners
This is the part where everyone gets stuck when learning how to figure a rubix cube. We need to get the corners in the right place, even if they are twisted the wrong way.
Check your corners. Does the color of the corner piece match the three centers around it? For example, a yellow-green-red corner sitting between the yellow, green, and red centers is in the "right place" even if the yellow part is pointing sideways.
If only two are in the right spot, you use an algorithm called the "Niklas" to swap the others. It’s a rhythmic sequence of lifting sides and shifting the top. Once they are all in their correct cubby holes, you are 95% done.
The Final Twist: Orientation
This is the "do or die" moment. Flip the cube upside down again so the white side is on top. We are going to work on the bottom (the yellow side) one corner at a time.
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Find a yellow corner that isn't solved. Use that "Sexy Move" (Up, Left, Down, Right) repeatedly until that specific corner is solved and the yellow is facing the floor.
CRITICAL WARNING: The rest of the cube will look like a total mess while you do this. Do not stop. Do not rotate the whole cube. Only rotate the bottom layer to bring the next unsolved corner to your working position (usually the bottom right). Keep doing the moves. As you solve the last corner, the rest of the cube will magically snap back into place.
If you did it right, you're now holding a solved cube. If you didn't, you probably forgot to do the very last "Right" move of the sequence. It happens to the best of us.
Actionable Next Steps to Mastery
Knowing how to figure a rubix cube once doesn't mean you've mastered it. It’s like learning a song on the piano; you need to play it until your fingers don't have to ask your brain for permission.
- Get a Speedcube: If you’re using an old, stiff brand-name cube from the 90s, throw it in the bin. Buy a "speedcube" (brands like MoYu or GAN). They use magnets and better plastics so they turn with a flick of a finger. It makes the learning process 10x more enjoyable.
- Don't memorize the letters yet: You’ll see stuff like R, U, R', U'. Those are notations. For now, just memorize the shape of the movement.
- Use the 24-hour rule: Solve it once, then scramble it and solve it again within 24 hours. If you wait a week, you’ll forget the algorithms and have to start from scratch.
- Learn the "Sexy Move" blindly: Practice the R U R' U' sequence while watching TV. Once your hand can do it without you looking, you’re ready to get fast.
The Rubik's Cube is less of a puzzle and more of a mechanical dance. Once you learn the steps, the music never stops. Go scramble it and try again.