How to Solve a 3x3 Rubik'S Cube A GUIDE FOR BEGINNER ..., Study notes of Psychology of Games

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How to Solve a 3x3 Rubik’S Cube

A Guide for beginner cubers

By Levi Nicolai

The Cube Itself

When holding your Rubik’s cube, the side of the cube that is facing you is called the “Front Face”. This will be your basis for determining the other sides of the cube. From the image above, the difference faces can be seen, and the table to the right shows the names of the sides that will be used throughout this instruction set. When talking about an algorithm (a process to be followed to solve a problem) we will use the notation seen above. If the face designation is followed by an ‘i’ (inverted), this designates that we will be rotating the respective side of the cube counterclockwise. In the absence of the ‘i’, this designates a clockwise rotation. A key thing to remember is that this rotation is made with respect to the side we are denoting. For example, if the algorithm starts with ‘R Li’ this means that we will rotate the right face clockwise and the left face counterclockwise as if we were looking at the sides individually. The diagram above can help to distinguish between the variety of rotations for each face. On the cube there are three types of pieces that make up a face. The center pieces are at the center of each face and do not move at all. The edge and corner pieces do move and will be the pieces that are aligned to solve each layer. The image below shows the location of each type of piece on the faces. These are essential to keep in mind throughout this tutorial. [1] [2] [2] [2] Center Piece (^) Corner Piece Edge Piece

Layer Two – Left and Right Movements

Once you have completed layer one of the cube, turn the cube over so that the white side now becomes the “Down Face” and begin solving for the second layer. For this layer, we will be aligning the edge pieces that match the second layer between the center pieces. There are five main steps to completing this layer:

1. Find an edge piece that does not have yellow attached to it (yellow is the 3rd^ layer color) so we will not need any yellow in this.
2. Align the edge piece with the matching color.
3. Determine which way the piece much go (left or right) to be matched up with the second color.
4. Use the algorithm for the corresponding direction.
5. Repeat until the second layer is complete If an edge piece you need is in a spot that another piece needs to go, simply use the algorithm to replace it with a different piece (it does not matter which piece) and then put it where it belongs. There are two algorithms to keep in mind for this layer that are used to move a piece to the left or to the right. Below are examples of both situations with their corresponding algorithms. Once this is complete, your second layer should be finished and you are ready to move onto layer three. Rightward Movement [2] (^) [2] Leftward Movement

Layer Three – The Yellow Cross

Once you have completed layers one and two, it is time to complete the final steps in solving the last layer of the cube. Like the first step, we need to solve the yellow cross on side opposite of the white face. An important thing to keep in mind when doing this is that the edge pieces do not need to perfectly line up to complete the cross. There are two steps in completing the cross, and the first step is to make the cross, then the second step is to align the edge pieces. The four orientations above are what you will see and be looking for once you have completed layer two. If you have any of the first three, holding them in the orientation depicted with the yellow face as the ‘UP’ face, perform the following algorithm: Each time you complete the algorithm, you will see a new pattern until you finally get the cross. If you are starting with The Dot, you will see all the orientations and need to complete the algorithm three times (two times starting with The L and a single time starting with The Line).

Layer Three – The Edge Pieces

Now that you have successfully made the yellow cross, we must orient the edge pieces to be in the proper places. There are a few steps and a single algorithm to complete this step.

1. Rotate the ‘UP’ face until two (or all) of the edge pieces are lined up with their respective sides
2. If all four edge pieces are already aligned, skip to “Layer Three – The Corner Pieces”.
3. If two edge pieces are aligned, hold the cube such that: a. If the two sides are adjacent, one of the aligned faces is on the ‘BACK’ face and the other is on the ‘RIGHT’ face. b. If the two sides are opposite of each other, one of the aligned faces is on the ‘BACK’ face and the other is on the ‘FRONT’ face.
4. Perform the following algorithm:
5. Rotate the ‘UP’ face to align the edge pieces again.
6. Repeat the algorithm if necessary. The Dot The L The Line The Cross