Beginner method refresher
This is J Perm's 10-minute tutorial method (layer by layer), so the muscle memory comes back. Each step has the shortcut from his follow-up video, How to Solve the Rubik's Cube FASTER with the Beginner Method.
The four moves
Almost everything in this method uses one sequence. Left thumb on the front, right thumb on the bottom:
R U R' U' right side up, push the top with your right hand, right side down, push the top with your left hand.
And the mirror for your left hand:
L' U' L U left side up, push with left hand, left side down, push with right hand.
Repeat each a few times until it's quick. Six in a row brings the cube back to where it started.
Step 1 · White cross (white center on top)
Hold the white center on top. Find a white edge (2 colors, not a 3-color corner) in the bottom layer. Turn the bottom until the edge sits under the center with its matching color, then turn that face 180°.
Do this until the white cross is done and every side color lines up with its center. If the side colors don't line up, it isn't done yet.
Pay attention to all the colors on a piece. White-green goes between white and green, not just anywhere white.
Edge flipped the wrong way?
If it ends up on top with white facing the side: move it to the side, turn the top counter-clockwise, bring it up, and put everything back.
F U' R U
Edge stuck in the middle layer?
Drop it into the bottom, move it out of the way, and undo the drop. Then solve it as usual.
R' D' R then F2
Faster: for a piece in the middle layer, see where its white sticker can go up in one move. Turn the top so its spot is there, do that one move, then turn the top back. Example: U R U'.
Also: find all four cross pieces before you start, so you never have to search for the next one.
Step 2 · First layer corners (now flip it: white on the bottom)
Turn the cube upside down. From now on yellow is on top. Most of the cube is gray in the players below so you can focus on the bottom layer.
Find a top-layer corner with white on it. Look at its other two colors (say green + orange). Turn the top until the corner sits right above where it belongs, between the green and orange centers.
Hold that spot at the front-right and repeat R U R' U' until the corner drops in solved. Depending on where white faces, that takes 1, 3 or 5 repetitions.
If a corner is stuck in the bottom in the wrong spot, hold it at the front-right and do the four moves once to pop it out.
White facing the front would take 5×. Instead use the left hand: turn the cube so the slot is on your front-left and do L' U' L U once.
White facing up: do the four moves but turn the top twice the first time, then one normal set. R U2 R' U' + R U R' U'.
When taking a corner out of the bottom, use the hand that leaves white facing sideways, not up. That makes the insert short.
Step 3 · Second layer edges
Find an edge in the top layer without yellow. Turn the top so its front color matches the center below it. Its top color tells you whether it goes right or left.
Goes to the right: push it away (to the left, U), take the corner out with your right hand (four moves), then turn the cube so that corner is on your left and put it back with your left hand.
U R U R' U' y L' U' L U
Goes to the left: the mirror. Push it right, left-hand four moves, turn, right-hand four moves.
U' L' U' L U y' R U R' U'
If an edge is in the second layer but wrong, insert any yellow edge into that spot to pop it out.
Two edges in the right side swapped (front-right and back-right): R2 U2 R2 U2 R2.
One edge flipped in its slot: instead of popping it out with another edge, hold it on the right and do (R U2 R') U (R U2 R'). That lifts the corner out. Then U y (L' U' L U) puts the corner back in with your left hand.
Step 4 · Yellow cross
Ignore the corners. Look at how many yellow edges face up:
- Line: hold it horizontal and do F R U R' U' F'.
- L shape: put the L at the top-left (yellow edges at the back and left), then do the same thing. You get a line, so do it once more.
- Dot: do it once (you get an L), turn the top so the L is top-left, then continue as above.
If you ever have 1 or 3 yellow edges, the cube was put back together wrong. Take it apart and reassemble it solved.
L shape in one go: hold the L at the front and right and use a double-layer front turn: f R U R' U' f'.
Dot in two: F R U R' U' F' then straight into f R U R' U' f'. These are exactly the first three algorithms of 2-look OLL.
Step 5 · Line up the yellow edges with the sides
Turn the top to line up as many edge side colors as you can. You'll get either all four (done) or two.
If the two matched edges are next to each other, hold them at the back and right and do:
R U R' U R U2 R' then U to line up.
Memory: right side up, move the pair left, right side down, keep moving it left all the way, right side up, and put it all the way back in.
If the two matched edges are opposite each other, do it once from anywhere, and now you'll have two next to each other.
Opposite edges in one go: do the algorithm, push the top with your left hand (U'), then do the algorithm again: R U R' U R U2 R' U' R U R' U R U2 R', then line up.
Step 6 · Move the corners to the right spots
A corner is in the right spot when it has the same three colors as the centers around it (even if it's twisted). Find one that is, and hold it at the front-right. If none are, do the algorithm from anywhere first.
U R U' L' U R' U' L
Memory: push with right hand, right side up, push with left hand, left side up. Then the same but downwards: push with right, right side down, push with left, left side down.
Repeat if needed (at most twice). Only two corners in the right spot means the cube was reassembled wrong.
Always do it once, never twice: before starting, look at the corner on the front-left. If one of its stickers matches the left center, the normal algorithm would take two goes. Instead, hold the correct corner at the front-left and start with the left hand:
U' L' U R U' L U R'
Step 7 · Twist the corners (turn the cube upside down again)
Turn the cube upside down so the yellow layer is on the bottom. Hold an unsolved corner at the bottom front-right and repeat R U R' U' until its yellow faces down (2 or 4 times).
The rest of the cube will look scrambled. That's normal, keep going. Turn the bottom layer (D) to bring the next unsolved corner to the front-right. Never turn the whole cube during this step. When all corners are twisted, the cube solves itself.
Always finish all four moves (don't stop at three). If it still doesn't work at the end, the cube was reassembled or a corner was twisted by hand.
Never do it 4 times: when yellow faces the front, do the four moves backwards twice: (U R U' R')2 (push right, right side up, push left, right side down). Every corner then takes exactly 2 repetitions. Bring the next corner over with a left ring-finger D push without stopping.
Moving on to CFOP
J Perm's general beginner-method tips:
- Look ahead is the biggest win. While you insert one piece, look for the next one so there's no pause between pieces. It applies to first-layer corners and second-layer edges.
- Color neutral cross: if another color's cross is almost done, start with that one. It takes practice if you've always used white.
- Get a speed cube. Finger tricks are hard on a stiff cube.
- To get under ~30 seconds, move on to CFOP. The beginner method has a limit. "If you're going to practice a lot… there's really no point in keeping that limit on yourself."
The natural next steps: intuitive F2L (replaces steps 2 + 3), then cross on the bottom (replaces step 1), then 2-look OLL (steps 4 + 7) and 2-look PLL (steps 5 + 6).