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Recent Obsession: Rubik's Cube

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I'm a throwback, for sure, but I decided a couple of weeks ago that no self-respecting nerd should remain clueless about how to solve the Rubik's Cube. This comes only about 3 short years after I decided no self-respecting nerd should not own a Rubik's cube. I bought one at a local drugstore when I lived in Phoenix. After mixing it up it had remained unsolved ever since.

After watching Dan Brown's tutorial on YouTube several times, and memorizing the algorithms, I have learned (but not mastered) the layer by layer method. I'm now attempting to learn the Fridrich f2l (first two layers) method. This is the preferred method used by so-called "Speedcubers".

Fridrich's page of algorithms is a little confusing for me. I've found a bunch of crappy videos on YouTube explaining f2l, and one decent one. It's nice because he doesn't go blindingly fast while reinforcing all stereotypes about nerds being socially awkward. He goes slow.

For quick reference, here's a list of steps and algorithms I've learned. I'm typing this from memory, and I'm a n00b, so comments and corrections are welcome.

1) Solve the cross on top; no real algorithm for this. I still do the top cross first, even when doing f2l, but I'm working on learning how to solve it on the bottom.

Flipping an edge piece in the top cross:

F' U L' U'

Solve the corners on the top cross. Get the corner below where it should go on the top. I.e. if the top cross is white, and you're solving the red, white and blue corner, have that corner on the bottom layer:

R' D' R D (repeat as needed, up to 6 times)

Turn the whole thing over. From now on the side you just solved is on the bottom, and the unsolved side is the top. I believe in proper Rubik's notation, this is a Z2 move (rotating the cube twice on the Z axis).

Solving the edge pieces in the middle layer. Line up an edge piece in the top level with it's corresponding center piece. I.e. for the red and green piece, line up the face on the side with the corner. If the red side is on the top layer facing up, line up the green side with the green center.

When you get an edge piece lined up like this, you have to make it "turn", either a "left turn" or a "right turn" as I like to call them. I'm not sure what this move is really called. If the corresponding edge is on the left of the cube, you make a left turn. If it's on the right, you make a right turn. Here are the algorithms:

Left Turn: U' L' U L U F U' L'
Right Turn: U R U' R' U' F' U F

The way I remember these is that the pair of inverted moves are on the outside for left turns, and in the middle for right turns. Then I remember that left is the inverted start, and that these both start with an up move.

Flipping and edge piece over in place. I don't know how to do this yet, and may never learn, if I continue with the Fridrich method.

Here's the rest of the algorithms for the top:

Solving the top cross:

From the little L in the top back left corner:

F R U R' U' F

From the horizontal line, same as above.

Properly align the cross with edges:

R U R' U R U2 R', and possibly U depending on where it is, may need to be repeated.

Move the corners to the right place:

U R U' L' U R' U L', may need to repeat.

Turn the corners. Turn one corner with the same algorithm as above:

R' D' R D repeat as needed.

The do U' to move the next corner into place and do R' D' R D til it's solved. Repeat until all the unsolved corners are done.

Feb 22, 2008 | rubiks

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