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How To Solve A Rubik's Cube!

instructables.com — This instructable will teach YOU how to solve a Rubik's cube! I will also teach you algorithms that will enable you to make your cube "pretty", which will impress people!

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  • LukaszH, on 02/06/2008, -35/+7Great story.. Very helpful for rubik's cube nowbies!
    • MasterPlayer, on 02/06/2008, -5/+12Here's a tip, don't misspell a word like newbies or noobies (don't know which one you meant) on Digg.com, you will get buried!
      • smellinator, on 02/09/2008, -0/+2a nowbie is someone who lives in the moment.
    • AlienMushroom, on 02/21/2008, -0/+11n00b!
  • Topher06, on 02/06/2008, -24/+196Step one: go back to 1980 when the rubik's cube was popular.
    Step two: take stickers off cubes and arrange in solid color.
    • DontEatTheFish, on 02/06/2008, -3/+58Step three: remove stickers, Again and replace with a portal companion cube skin
      • jjpertusch, on 02/06/2008, -17/+1HOLY ***** *****! that was a stretch bro, give it a rest.
      • Zeldafreak104, on 02/07/2008, -0/+1My friend is making a companion cube rubiks cube lol
    • SamPollock, on 02/06/2008, -34/+4First of all, rubiks cubes don't stickers you moron and second your a douche
    • jwoelmer2, on 02/06/2008, -6/+3actually, with some of today's cubes, the stickers won't go back on.
      this is a good tutorial for beginners, but if you really want to get fast, I'd recommend some other sites- just do research
    • tavisjohn, on 02/06/2008, -1/+25Never remove the stickers! They never stick properly afterwards.
      Instead turn one side a 1/2 turn, so that the corner of one side is lined up on the middle of the next side.
      Then apply pessure to the corner that is sticking out, untill it pops out! Then just remove the remaning parts.

      Then assemble the parts with the proper color combinations, and you have a sovled cube!
      Tip: When putting it back together, always save a middle pice for last.
    • edwartica, on 02/06/2008, -1/+7When I was five, I did this to my family's Rubik's cube. My parents walked out saw it, and thought they had a genius on their hands. Then I told them what I did.
    • sassafras1232, on 02/06/2008, -1/+3Actually, it's much easier to just pop the cube apart than to take the stickers off. Just put a key between one of the center faces and one of the edge cubes (not a corner cube) and twist. The rest of the cubes come out easily. Just make sure you put it back together correctly, or you might wind up with an unsolvable cube!
    • PBCritic, on 02/06/2008, -0/+0Other than not sticking, if you remove the stickers (or just from over use as always happens to my cubes) the protective plastic coating comes off and they all fade to white.
    • smellinator, on 02/09/2008, -0/+2Step one: Buy cube, already solved
      Step two: Turn on camera, and observe wrist watch
      Step three: Scramble the hell out of the cube, on camera
      Step four: Observe wrist watch again, and then stop the camera
      Step five: Edit the video to play backwards, and upload to YouTube
  • imbob, on 02/06/2008, -18/+4*****..........
  • murty, on 02/06/2008, -11/+6ZOMG! my life is complete
    • lamprey187, on 02/06/2008, -4/+1http://digg.com/television/Zip_Up_You_Fly_NBC_airs ...
    • soupnrc, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1The comments on the page make me laugh. I know someone says that in just about every post that has comments in it. But a few look like the people writing them are in 7th grade.

      "My brain exploded"
      "no i will give you a new brain (AMD CPU}lol"
      "Intel quad core will be better. Just add OS X"
      "mac sucks LOL"
      "macs do but os x doesn't"
      "true!"

      But either way, I have three friends that can solve that stupid little cube in under 1 minute. It's all about knowing the method, it's relatively the same every time.
    • edwartica, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1http://youtube.com/watch?v=RSsJ19sy3JI
      NOW your life is complete.
  • ieataquacrayons, on 02/06/2008, -2/+41I always took the cube apart and put it back together. No sticky residue, and it doesn't look like you peeled the stickers off...
    • FatLoser, on 02/06/2008, -6/+32I always gave up and went to have sex with women, drive cars into fat kids, and do coke.
      • triad203, on 02/06/2008, -2/+10Yeah, I'm sure... since your handle is "FatLoser"...
        /just sayin.
  • snowskate22, on 02/06/2008, -12/+6i was gonna say that this guy has no life, but then i thought about it

    he really just has a lot of free time, brains, and a little skill
    • Namaha, on 02/06/2008, -1/+2Because a combined 12 hours (4 hours a day for 3 days) is so much time.
      • Magee1205, on 02/06/2008, -4/+3For a puzzle game from the 80s? Yes, yes it is.
      • Mutton, on 02/06/2008, -1/+3No one I know would waste that much time watching television, playing video games, reading Digg...
    • Sil369, on 02/06/2008, -3/+1He should try this - scribble numbers on the colors, leave some of them blank... and try to out play a game of Sudoko on a Rubik's... XD
  • Zeldafreak104, on 02/06/2008, -4/+12Cool, video, but I already know how to do this. I feel like such a nerd now.
  • DraggingTheLake, on 02/06/2008, -1/+118The key is after you buy it, don't touch the thing.
  • lukas88, on 02/06/2008, -1/+125Someone bought me a sudoku rubik's cube for my birthday. Instead of completing a side with the same colors, you had to have only one of each numeral per side. I tried for days. My brain has never received such a raping. I wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares about it.
    • Synova, on 02/06/2008, -0/+4HAHA! I got one of those for Christmas and I know EXACTLY what you mean. =(
    • giid, on 02/06/2008, -0/+3ouch, that thing sounds like a nightmare... I'd probably just take the thing, write down all the numbers on a grid on a piece of paper. Noting which number is a middle piece, edge, and corner, and then solve it on paper first. Write down the solution, maybe even mentally associate certain numbers with colors.

      I solved a puzzle cube where each side was a jumbled image. It took me forever, but I eventually got it. I can't even imagine how long your sudoku cube would take me. My record for a normal 3x3 cube is only around 6 minutes.
      • smellinator, on 02/09/2008, -0/+1Six minutes for a 3x3 cube? wow, that sux.

        Six minutes for a 3x3x3 cube. Not bad.
    • stalefries, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1Dugg for "brain rape," because I can sooo relate.
  • DeviantDragon, on 02/06/2008, -5/+46A search for "Rubik's cube" brings up this:

    http://digg.com/search?section=all&s=rubik%27s+cub ...

    You expect me to believe that your submission wasn't flagged as a possible dupe? And that you still went ahead and decided to submit what many before you have? Buried on principle.
    • triad203, on 02/06/2008, -0/+5This is about the 6th one to make the FP.
    • coit, on 02/06/2008, -0/+7Note the 14 appended to the title....
  • smellytim, on 02/06/2008, -2/+16we ought to bury this simply so the secret doesn't get out.
    • FatLoser, on 02/06/2008, -9/+2what secret? that you're a nerd?
      • kenok, on 02/06/2008, -0/+4Playing with a toy doesn't make you a nerd.
    • s0u1man, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2...a secret that has been frontpaged at least three times in the last year?
  • Jfitz136, on 02/06/2008, -0/+24To tell you the truth I've never solved one....ever
  • whatthefu, on 02/06/2008, -3/+1I used to be able to solve one whenever until my roommate took it and lost it and now I can't anymore :(
  • colosis, on 02/06/2008, -0/+109well i was lucky..mine was solved when i bought it
  • smurfeh, on 02/06/2008, -6/+3*cough* Not only are there numerous guides that have been posted on digg, this one is one of the worst out there...

    If you guys are actually interested in solving the cube, I'd recommend http://www.instructables.com/id/Solve-a-Rubiks-Cub ... -that's the method I learned, and I regularly solve it in under 30 seconds :)
    • Crucifix, on 02/06/2008, -0/+3Nice one on the 404...
      • RunawayElf, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2The exclamation points in the original link fux digg up pretty bad it seems. A search on instructables for "Solve a rubiks cube" will quickly reveal the correct link.
  • docsimmons, on 02/06/2008, -4/+13Why is this on the front page?
  • dvsbastard, on 02/06/2008, -1/+7I got to step two... then my brain exploded... :(
  • neo2007, on 02/06/2008, -2/+0It's soo easy to understand my dog can now solve the rubiks cube without thumbs!
  • spineaches, on 02/06/2008, -7/+1This method took me 3 days to master, and a week to perfect, working on it about 4 hours a day

    GET A LIFE
    • EntangledPhysx, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1i spend more time doing homework for school... both that and the rubiks cube is about bettering oneself... so wtf are you talking about? Get a life.
      • spineaches, on 02/06/2008, -2/+1sure if you want to waste 40 hours of your life perfecting how to rearrange a plastic cube of colors. go outside.
  • garfonzo, on 02/06/2008, -0/+4I am determined to solve it on my own BEFORE finding out the easy way.
    call me stubborn...
    • Truegod, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2good luck, how long have you been at it?
      It's fairly easy to follow this guide, but memorizing the steps and the formulas takes a bit. Speaking as someone who can solve a rubik's cube in under a minute and a 4x4 cube, this is hardly taking the easy way out (there are easier ways). Me personally I would probably never would have been able to solve a cube without outside help. And other than personal satisfaction there really isn't a good reason to. Solving the cube on your own once will not unlock some magical knowledge allowing you to instantly duplicate your feet... just my feelings on the subject.
      • garfonzo, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2I've been at it (in spare moments of nothing to do) for about 2 months. I know that solving it on my own won't unlock some secret. It is purely self-satisfaction knowing that I could do it. It is really frustrating though because I've tried my own thought up strategies which are failing. But, I'm determined...for now :-)
  • Nameloc, on 02/06/2008, -8/+3old news. this has been posted a bunch of times before.
    my fastest solve : 30 sec
    average : 1:10
  • MasterPlayer, on 02/06/2008, -12/+92Can you guys please bury this comment, I posted in the wrong comment thread. Thanks in advance!
  • wukillabee, on 02/06/2008, -1/+0just break it up and set it up like it was brand new :D
  • UltramegaOK, on 02/06/2008, -2/+1It's easier for me just to take a hammer to it and Superglue it back together........
  • Hallucinogenic, on 02/06/2008, -2/+1It's really, REALLY not that hard, and all of these instructions and algorithms are included with every Rubik's Cube ever sold. If you buy one, scramble it, and follow the instructions, you can finish one in less than half an hour even if you've never touched one before.
    • dopplerdog, on 02/06/2008, -0/+3Not in the 80s, they weren't. When I got mine, no-one I knew knew how to solve it. I had to find the algorithm the hard way.
  • pyrobyro, on 02/06/2008, -2/+0Anyone have a good method for quick times? I haven't gotten under about 35 seconds and my method doesn't permit me to go much faster...smurfeh's link doesn't go anywhere
  • FlynnRocks, on 02/06/2008, -2/+1What ev's I can own the ***** out of a Rubiks Cube! What kind of a retard couldn't solve it?
    • DrummerAndrew, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1I thought you were a stupid ***** jerk when I read your comment. Then I saw your cute little black and white picture of an apple and I KNEW it.
  • handheldchimp, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1The first time I saw a Rubiks Cube, Pyramid, etc I was quite young and at my parent's friend's house. They had like 5 different ones...I thought they were a puzzle and decided to take them all apart and try to rearrange them back together...that didn't work out so well...
  • Gizza, on 02/06/2008, -3/+13x3x3 rubik's cube is nothing. I'm currently working on a 4x4x4. Needless to say, I'm not getting very far.
    • dementedd, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1more like roughly the same difficulty with parity concerns
    • KnightofCydonia, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1more like make it looks like a 3x3x3 then solve it and hope you get lucky enough not to run into the few issues a 3x3x3 doesn't have. and if you aren't lucky then start over.
  • dualityim, on 02/06/2008, -3/+45Here's a video of Rick Astley singing Never Gonna Give You Up: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZOU8GIRUd_g
    • darlingt, on 02/06/2008, -0/+9Well, at least you were honest about it...
      • whodaimen, on 02/06/2008, -0/+17Amazing, I still clicked it.


        It's ALWAYS Astley time.
    • triad203, on 02/06/2008, -0/+10Does it still count as being RickRolled, if I CHOSE to click on it??
  • badmephisto, on 02/06/2008, -0/+11I can solve the Rubik's cube in around 17 seconds. When a group of people sees me solve it, there will always be at least one smartass who will tell me how he peeled the stickers off. It's NOT funny, it's dumb, and I heard people say it way too many times! It doesn't make you look smart or witty, it makes you look stupid. I always show them that you can actually take the cube apart and just rearrange the pieces easily and put it back in solved state just to make them feel as stupid as they are. If you want to cheat, taking off the stickers is the hard way.

    Anyways, I do not approve of the method discussed in that article. Ask any really good speedcuber to suggest a site where to learn to solve it, they will all point you to the same place:
    http://solvethecube.110mb.com/index.php?location=s ...
    • Truegod, on 02/06/2008, -1/+2Haha, wow, you do not approve, eh? Not everyone wants to solve it fast (or at least as fast as you). I personally don't user or like this method, but I see no reason why someone shouldn't use it. If it works and makes sense to a new comer, awesome.
      And I feel your pain, ever time I pull my cube out in public someone makes that comment..
    • s0u1man, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1Speedcuber? I'll bet you're a real hit with the ladies,aren't you?
  • dylangaine, on 02/06/2008, -1/+2remember rubiks revenge? the 4x4 cube? whatever happened to that?
    • kenok, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1i think i saw one from a store recently...
    • Namaha, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1I have one, and I hate the thing. It's very similar to the normal one, but it ***** with your mind when you get to that third layer part.
    • anewname, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1I eventually solved the 4x4x4. The 5x5x5 and the UFO shaped one are both sitting on my desk in an embarrassing state of entropy. :(
  • mattbtay, on 02/06/2008, -2/+2Song in the background - Dream Theater! Best band ever!!!
  • Lunarparcel, on 02/06/2008, -1/+2Long time solver, though not a speed cuber, and I'm satisfied with that. If I was more ambitious or truly devoid of productive goals I could have probably spent eons of time trying to best myself or others at every turn, but I pretty much figured out by 1983 that I was NEVER going to be in a situation in which my deft cubing skills would be called upon to save the world from imminent destruction.

    I guess maybe the coolest thing I ever saw in the world of cube solvery was some magician dude who swallowed a mixed up cube and solved it in his stomach before retching it back out of his mouth. I tried it once..... ONCE ! I couldn't heave it back up though so it just hurt really bad..especially about 2 days later...when I crapped it out.......UNSOLVED ! Turns out I wasn't magic.
  • dopplerdog, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1When this came out in the early 80s I was in high school. I bought one on a friday afternoon, after school. I spent the entire weekend trying to solve it - I only managed to get part of the way there. I felt that I was so close I begged my parents to let me stay at home from school for an extra day to solve it. I thought it'd only take me an extra day - but it took me an entire school week to do it. This was at a time when the solution wasn't readily available. My parents were kind enough to me to let me take the entire week off school under the pretext that I was "not well" (in a way, they were right... :-) I was a pretty good student, topping my class every time, so I guess that helped.
  • dboone480, on 02/06/2008, -0/+0Buried because the author has "mufinator" in his/her user name, used the word "pretty" and for the shear nerdiness of spending that much time practicing to solve a rubik's cube.
  • skyshock1, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1That's all fine and good for the 3x3x3 models, but the 4x4x4 models present a whole differert approach.
  • L33tmaster, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2Try Dan's Cube Station for a better guide. Solving a Rubik's cube is mostly just memorization of algorithms (take a look at the Fridrich method).
  • MovieBlog, on 02/06/2008, -0/+8I could easily solve the cube in the amount of time it took him to *mix* up the cube. I can't believe step 1 has instructions on how to *mess up* the cube!
    -Don't turn any one side more than twice in a row, then you're being inefficient.
    -Don't turn two edge sides the same way, you could have just turned the middle section
    -Don't turn only one or two faces, rotate the cube while scrambling to get a better scramble
    -If you want the best scramble, scramble the middle rows and columns, that tends to make the solution take longer.
    Geez! Is anyone else having problems scrambling there cube efficiently? :)
  • Beacon, on 02/06/2008, -2/+1Who wants to play with my cubes?
  • fancyj, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1this guy is more annoying but he actually give step by step instructions on how to solve it... its in two parts.
    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsQIoPyfQzM
    2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW_BBp3FPMQ
  • MaxUSA, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1I learned how to do a 3x3 over the summer with the brochure that came with it, heh. (I believe it's a condensed and slightly modified form of the Fridrich method. The orientation and permutation methods for the last layer differ between the two.) Using just those algorithms and some logic I can get down to 1:45. I could learn some more algorithms and perfect the finger tricks and go for near one minute or less, but there's really no point in doing so. I have no aspirations to get competitive, and people are impressed if you can do it at all. I've yet to learn the 4x4 and 5x5.
  • lamprey187, on 02/06/2008, -8/+1I was the 666th digg
    http://digg.com/television/Zip_Up_You_Fly_NBC_airs ...


  • likwidfuzion, on 02/06/2008, -1/+1Just use the formula.
  • Tkuebrich, on 02/06/2008, -0/+0I can solve it and no one gives a damn, its not that impressive.
  • narcosis219, on 02/06/2008, -0/+2Slow as hell... when i started after 3 days i was at 50 seconds using fredrich's f2l. This guy is retarded. Hitting 30 seconds average now.
  • DirkAlmighty, on 02/06/2008, -0/+4When you buy a Rubik's Cube, it comes with a little booklet that tells you how to solve it using the same algorithm that this guy presents in his video.
  • IllBeBack, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1I had a book back in 1981 that showed how to make many pretty patterns on the cube. So this is only 27 years too late.
  • SolipsismX, on 02/06/2008, -2/+3What's funny is that he has the spatial skills to solve a rubik's cube pretty quickly, yet he doesn't realize that cameras DON'T reverse images (he's thinking of mirrors).
    • DrummerAndrew, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1If you're facing the camera it does. Your left is not the viewers left.
  • DanOnTheMoon, on 02/06/2008, -0/+1No spoiler tag? Asshat.
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