Rubik's cube 3*3 formula. Simple rules for solving a Rubik's cube

10.10.2019

Solving a Rubik's cube can be difficult for both adults and children, and if after several attempts you have not succeeded, do not despair, simple and understandable 3x3 diagrams will help you figure out the puzzle. There are many in various ways in order to do this, because the best minds at one time spent effort on this and gave amazing results in the form of schemes and algorithms.

The easiest way to assemble for those who are just starting out

This scheme is considered the simplest and is great for children. It starts with assembling a cross, in other words, each edge should have the same color of the central die and corner elements. At the beginning of the assembly, the Rubik's cube must be disassembled. Assembly diagram 3*3 in 8 stages.

First, you need to take the cube in your hands and turn one of the sides towards you, respectively, taking its frontal side - F, all the rest according to the diagram. Assembly must begin from the bottom (H).

Below is a diagram of this approach:

Having chosen the color you want to start first, we begin assembling the lower cross. This is a simple step, the complexity of which ends solely with the choice of color. What is on the other sides of the cube at this stage should not attract attention.

Stage of solving a Rubik's cube

The cross must be assembled correctly - the cross must end on adjacent edges. This means that the edges located at the top of the mating sides should have the same color as the cross at the bottom. If this did not happen during assembly, then there are two available algorithms that can correct the situation:

The discrepancy on two adjacent sides is corrected by the scheme:

P V P»V P V2 P V

If the error is on opposite parts of the cube, then you can try the following formula:

F2 T2 N2 F2 T2

When working with these algorithms, the cross should be at the top.

Completely solve one side of the Rubik's cube. To do this, you need to put the corners in place. Turning the puzzle over with the already assembled cross facing down, you will notice that the upper corners of the sides adjacent to H have acquired the same color as the cross. That is, if the cross is yellow, then the corner elements in question will also be yellow. With such a scheme, only three options for the position of the base color can be possible: on the left, on the right, or on top, and for each such position there is its own assembly scheme:

The result of applying such algorithms is one completely assembled color, and the upper stripe of the adjacent side has one color.

We continue the assembly

If you want to solve a Rubik's cube at speed, then there are a few more important and relevant formulas for you to remember. We turn the side that is already completely ready up. We begin to twist the bottom edge until the color of one of the side elements matches with any of the sides and form the letter T. Then, it is necessary to move the side element from the bottom edge to the middle until it matches the color of the adjacent sides. As a result, we get two variants of positions in which:

Left turn required: N L N»L» N» F» N F.
Move to the right: N» P» P N P N F N» F».

Now it’s time for the third layer. We turn the toy itself over so that the side that has not yet been folded is at the top. Most likely, the opposite color is white if you chose the most popular one to start building yellow. If there are white dies in front of your eyes with any position described below, then I proceed according to the following formulas:

White dies: central and 2 opposite F P V P" V" F".

White dies: center and two on the side F V P V" P" F".

White dies in the center, choose the pattern you like and repeat 2 times.

Another correct cross with the top edge matching in color with the adjacent ones, in which 2 outcomes are most often possible:

But, if this does not affect the situation in any way, then you can use any options.

Quite a difficult stage at which it is necessary to put the corner elements in their rightful places. And it's not that simple. Most often there is a lot of confusion in the layers, but if you do it right, eventually each color block will fit where you want it.

Stage number eight is associated with the same angles and circular turns:

Clockwise P2 B2 “P F P” B2″ P F P .

And in the opposite direction: P" F P" B2″ P F" P" B2″ P2 .

Any of these algorithms will also be useful when moving in corners: crosswise or opposed.

The mirror cube is also assembled using the same algorithms, but those who want to break the record should know that only the 3*3 model applies to this indicator.

For clarity, the assembly of the 3*3 model can be seen in the video below:

How to solve a 3x3 Rubik's cube - quickly and easily. The best technique for beginners.

Seven steps to assemble

First, make sure that the cube is disassembled. This will mark the beginning of stage number 1. The stage ends by assembling a cross on the top side of the cube, and the upper middle edges of the sides should match the center in color. One of the dies of the upper cross should be located on the edge of the bottom. To do this, we take either the first or second option.

The operation is repeated for all remaining cubes of cross B.

Stage two starts from assembled cross upper part, ends completely assembled. How does this happen? The diagram popularly explains the entire sequence of actions. We take the corner element of face B and move it to H. Depending on the color distribution, you need to choose your solution.

With three cubes of the corner of the upper face, you need to repeat exactly the same thing.

It is not difficult to guess that the beginning of the next stage is always the result obtained from the previous one. As we remember, the previous goal was to assemble the face completely. If the goal is achieved, then you can begin to implement it new task: assembly of the two top layers.

To simplify, let's again turn to the help of diagrams. It is necessary to move the selected side cube down. Next we select:

We continue the assembly

As usual, we repeat everything and stirrup with the last dies.

The cube assembled with two belts must be placed in layers down. This part will end with the cubes from cross B in their place, but upside down. You just need to rearrange the cubes in the middle part until everything falls into place.

These actions will have the effect of breaking, but do not be afraid. Repetition is the mother of learning. Let’s fix the algorithm and voila – we have a cube in front of us where everything is in its place. But you need to change the irregular cube in your hands a little spatially, turning it over to the face on the right.

In this step, we take the beginning, as always, from the end of an already completed step. Let's go according to the scheme.

At the end of the step, the cube will be completely assembled, but it will begin with all the corners being where they should be, but possibly upside down.

There may be two positions.

To perform a revolution we perform the following steps:

The algorithm is applied until the PV becomes correct. Again, things can go wrong, but that's okay if you trust consistency over and over again. Before repeating, place another “wrong cube” in the corner on the right. Repeat until the cube is completed.

Jessica Friedrich Method

Jessica Friedrich's method is one of the most quick methods solving a Rubik's cube.

In 1981, Jessica Friedrich developed her own assembly plan, which has all the same main points and has no fundamental differences, but it significantly speeds up the process. You just have to learn “only” 119 rules. If you want to break the record, you'll have to use your brain.

If you are just starting out and spend two minutes or more on assembly, then this method is not for you yet; practice using the eight-step instructions.

This method begins with the same assembly of a cross with edges on the sides. In English, the name of this step sounds like Cross and translated means cross.
The second stage involves assembling two layers of the cube at once and is called F2L (an abbreviation for the phrase First 2 Layers, which literally translates as the first two layers). Algorithms describing this path are given below:

The OLL stage means solving the top layer of the Rubik's cube. It will be described by 57 formulas.

The final, fourth stage is called PLL and means placing all the elements in their places. Last stage can describe these algorithms:

15 steps to assemble a 3*3 cube

In 1982, competitions appeared for the first time, in which those who wanted to complete the puzzle the fastest took part. In connection with the discovery of such games, more and more new formulas and algorithms for solving the problem began to appear. But in fifteen moves no one has yet managed to cope with the task. Even an 8-step build involves many more moves. The God algorithm given below has twenty such moves.

Belongs to the discovery of such quick assembly team from Google, in 2010 they released their solution to the Hungarian sculptor's puzzle.

Now, if you hear somewhere again about the 15-step solution system, you can safely argue with him, there is no chance that his resource will exceed the resources of such a powerful company. Those who want to learn how to solve a cube with the fastest and probably the youngest method among the fastest ones can pick up toys and use the diagram shown in the picture below.

Secret assembly technology

Those who want to cope with the task in a time equal to or less than a minute should learn a few simple rules.

White and yellow colors will be an excellent solution for starting the build.
Many precious seconds are spent turning the Rubik's cube in your hands, which, of course, negatively affects the temporary results. That is why they begin the assembly by assembling the cross on the bottom edge of the puzzle. This way you will save time on turning the toy over in confusion.
The size of the 3*3 cube is good for the hand and its surface is already quite slippery and rotates well, but for greater success you can purchase a special, not very expensive lubricant for such objects.
Always be one step ahead: at the moment when mental stress has already subsided and you are completing one of the algorithms that will definitely lead to success, it’s time to think about the next step.
Use all your resources: all your ten fingers. This is what will lead to new records in solving the cube.

With your eyes closed? Easily!

Do you want to surprise everyone with your ability to solve a Rubik's cube without watching the process? Learned algorithms will help you deal with this. In addition, follow a few simple rules:

Keep a picture of the puzzle in your head, it should always be mentally before your eyes and remember the golden rule, which states that it is best to start assembling from the bottom edge. And do not forget about the immobility of the centers relative to the sides.
Solving the cube with your eyes blindfolded or closed will definitely amaze those around you. The invented algorithm says: orient the corners correctly! As a rule, all corners contain two colors: it is either yellow or white.
Correctly position the side elements of the puzzle and whether its orientation is correct.

Modern varieties of Rubik's cube

The Rubik's Cube was created by the Hungarian scientist Erno Rubik; the professor and sculptor used this model to explain to his students the basics of mathematics, namely the mathematical theory of groups. In that same 1974, Rubik could not even imagine that this attempt to clearly demonstrate mathematics would make him a millionaire.

The assembly of the item took about a month, during which time it underwent many changes, mainly related to size. The scientist tested the future toy on his friends and loved ones. The patent was received in 1975, and the first batch was published only in 1977. “Magic cubes,” as the invention was dubbed, first appeared in Budapest, in a small cooperative just in time for the Christmas holidays. Several pieces from that very first batch ended up in the USSR.

Such mathematics soon interested the minds of other people. Tibor Lakzi started promoting the cube as a puzzle game. It was with his help that the world recognized the now beloved cube. Lakzi lived in Germany at that time, but often visited his homeland, where the object he liked was discovered. In one of the cafes where the entrepreneur was having lunch, he saw a funny little thing in the hands of the waiter. He, as a mathematician and as a businessman in the computer field, immediately saw the prospects and contacted the inventor. Another game inventor, Tom Kremer, who had already founded Seven Town Ltd., was brought in for promotion.

First popularity

And already at the end of the 20th century, hundreds of millions of copies of the Rubik's cube went on sale, making it exciting game and hobbies. The thing spread in European countries in May 1980, and the USSR saw it a year later. Of course, in our country there were some oddities. Some officials were given bribes with these toys, to receive which citizens had to stand in line and go around the circle twice.

The desire to understand the puzzle and learn its secrets enlivened the minds of everyone, even those who did not have it themselves. And in 1982, in the famous magazine “ Young Technician"an article appeared that provided diagrams and methods for making a foreign toy with your own hands. And, of course, they could not do without the stigma - a bourgeois toy that takes up a lot of the workers’ time. But these arguments did not exist for long and soon appeared on the pages scientific journals There were also articles with diagrams for assembling a Rubik's cube.

So that people who could not cope with this difficult task and did not drown out their failures in alcoholic binges, special plastic hatchets were developed to destroy the unsuccessful, nasty model.

A little more history

In 1982, the first puzzle assembly competitions were held. The venue was the capital of Hungary - Budapest, where the game was invented. The participants were 19 countries, represented by the best players and winners of local competitions. The winner was Minh Thai, an American student from Los Angeles, who was 16 years old at the time. He completed his task in 22.95 seconds. Although at that time there were persistent rumors about craftsmen who could complete the assembly in just 10 seconds. Of course, compared to Mats Volk's current record, these numbers seem simply huge.

The Dutchman manages this in just 5.5 seconds. Although there is a video where the previous record holder Felix Zemdegs solves the magic cube in 4.21, it has no official confirmation. But there is another record, which is also not officially included in the Guinness Book of Records. The CubeStormer-3 robot managed to beat Zemdegs, spending only 3.25 seconds on the problem. Let's hope that one day one of the people will be able to break the program's record.

Today it is the best-selling toy in the whole world, which everyone has tried to collect. She has several awards to her name: she has repeatedly received the National Hungarian Prize for the best invention, and won in France, the USA, Germany and the UK. In 1981 he received his rightful place in New York, in the Museum of National Art. There is even a special Rubik Foundation, established in 1988. It was founded to support young inventors.

How to entertain yourself when you have a free minute, but nothing to do? Solving all kinds of puzzles is a great option!

The most popular puzzle in the history of mankind is rightfully considered the famous Rubik's Cube, invented back in 1975 and named after its inventor. After his birth, he “took over the whole world” with lightning speed. Everyone at least tried to solve a Rubik's cube, but not everyone was able to do it.

How to solve a Rubik's cube? Without outside help, it is quite difficult to do this absolutely independently; this is far from a child’s task. You need to know the algorithm for solving a Rubik's cube.

By the way, it has been proven that for any initial situation, a cube of size 3x3x3 can be completely assembled in no more than 20 moves (turns). The number 20 is therefore also called the number of God, and the algorithm that solves the cube in the minimum number of moves is called the algorithm of God.

If you have long wanted to learn how to solve a Rubik's cube, then this post is just for you. Let's get this task over with once and for all and have a little celebration for ourselves. Having done this, you can safely put a plus sign on the list of your achievements and then show off in front of your friends who do not know how to do this. So, we present to your attention an algorithm for solving a Rubik's cube.

The pictures show diagrams of actions, following which we will eventually be able to arrange the colors on the sides of the cube.

First, let's understand the notation that is used in the diagrams, and which we will operate in the process of studying the algorithm for solving a Rubik's cube of the classic size 3x3x3.

Side designations:

F - frontal (front)
Z - back
L - left
P - right
IN - upper
N - lower

Now let's deal with names of turns, which we will apply to the above-described parties.

A letter without any prefixes indicates a rotation of the indicated side by a quarter of a full turn (90 degrees) clockwise(For example, " F"means we turn the front side a quarter turn clockwise, i.e. one shift).

Letter with " ’ " means turning the indicated side a quarter full turn (90 degrees) counterclockwise. Thus, the inscription “ F'" means that we must turn the front side a quarter of a full turn counterclockwise.

Letter with " ’ ’ "means that specified side turn in any direction half turn(180 degrees)

Let's fix: inscription L ’ ’ PF' means that we first turn the left face half a turn, then make a quarter turn of the right face clockwise, and complete the combination with a quarter turn of the front face counterclockwise.

Arrangement of flowers.

Select the bottom color, it will remain bottom throughout the cube assembly process. Instead of gray, which is shown in the diagrams of the algorithm for solving the Rubik's cube, can be any color, it doesn't matter. The place where we moved the part we need will be shown in black. Let's look at the first drawing.

Let's move on directly to the assembly and the answer to the question “How to solve a Rubik's cube?”

Step #1.

You need to assemble a cross on the bottom side of the cube, so that all the middle side squares correspond to the middles of the side faces (look at the diagram). Unfortunately, there is no ready-made algorithm here. You'll have to tinker a little and use your brain.

Step #2.

The second step will be to assemble the bottom layer. We need to put the bottom corner cubes in their places. Everything here is much simpler than in step 1 - there is ready-made templates turns.

If the corner is in the lower layer, but is incorrectly oriented, then it must first be lifted up, rotated the way we need it and put in its rightful place. We look at the picture and apply the techniques given there. Each turn corresponds to a formula, which we dealt with a little higher.

Step #3.

The bottom layer is assembled. Let's move on to the second, middle layer. We place the 4 side cubes of the second layer in their rightful places. If the side cube is in its place, but not turned correctly, then you can turn it over by following these steps - look at the diagram.

Two layers are assembled. There is a final push left, but don’t relax ahead of time.

Step #4.

The task is to turn the middle cubes of the top layer over with the color we need facing up. It doesn’t matter whether they are in their place or not, at this step it is not so important. Using one of the proposed action schemes, we turn the sides of the upper side with the desired color facing up.

Step #5.

On the top face there is a cross of the desired color, but as you can understand from the previous paragraph, the side cubes of the top face may not be in their places. The task of step 5 is to put them in their place.

There are 4 options, each of which has its own effective algorithm of action. We apply them and install the sides in place. The cross on the upper edge can be considered fully assembled.

Step #6.

Let's continue to figure out how to solve a Rubik's cube? And we have almost reached the finish line.

We install the corners of the top edge in their places, but they can be turned upside down.

In this case " in its place" means that the corner contains the colors of all the central squares of those faces at the junction of which it is located.

Here are three rotation formulas that correspond to three options for moving the corner cubes. We remind you that the corners may be oriented incorrectly, but they should fall into place.

Step #7.

Friends, we have reached the finish line! There is one last step left in solving the Rubik's cube.

The corner cubes are in place, but some may be oriented incorrectly. They need to be turned over. To do this, you should perform the operations prescribed in the diagram of step No. 7 in pairs (look at the figure above).

Did it work? Well, of course it worked! In just 7 steps, we have solved the puzzle that has kept millions of people awake and still unable to sleep.

Naturally, you did not remember all the steps and formulas for turns and movements at one time. Here you just need to practice and get better at it.

The main thing is that you now know exactly the answer to the question “ How to solve a Rubik's cube»?

Even if we assume that the record holder was very lucky, the world ranking table based on the average of five results no longer leaves any doubt: if more than 80 people on average do it in 12 seconds, obviously they know something. In this brief overview I will try to reveal the secrets of high-speed assembly. Let me make a reservation right away that after reading this article you will not become champions: here are only the main points and links to more detailed information. In addition, even after learning the method completely, you will need long training to achieve good results. But you will get a good idea of how this is done, and, if desired, you will know where to move next. I think that with enough perseverance, after several months of training, many will be able to achieve an average result of around 30 seconds.

I'll be linking mainly to the SpeedSolving Wiki and Badmephisto. So, let's go.

CFOP method

The most popular method of speed cube solving is the CFOP method, also known as the method of Jessica Friedrich, who refined and popularized it, although other people have also contributed. If everything is done correctly, on average the cube can be solved in 56 moves (alas, not twenty). There are other methods with which you can get good results: Petrus, Roux, etc. They are less popular and for the sake of brevity we will limit ourselves to considering the CFOP method.

CFOP is the name for the four stages of assembly: C ross F 2L, O LL, P LL:

Cross - assembly of a cross, four rib cubes on the bottom edge;
F2L (First two layers) - assembly of two layers - bottom and middle;
OLL (Orient the last layer) - correct orientation of the cubes of the top layer;
PLL (Permute the last layer) - placement of the cubes of the top layer.

Let's look at these stages in more detail.

Cross - cross

The goal of the stage is to correctly place four edge cubes on one of the faces. Anyone who knows how to solve a cube at least somehow can handle this, but solving a cross in a few seconds is not so trivial. According to the rules of the competition, before assembling, you are given 15 seconds to study the combination (inspecting), during which you at least need to find these four edge cubes, and it would be nice to create a complete sequence of moves in your head. It has been proven that assembling a cross on a pre-selected face always requires no more than eight turns (a 180° turn counts as one), with eight being extremely rare, and even seven infrequently (the average is slightly less than six). In practice, in order to quickly learn to find the optimal sequence, a lot of training is required.

You can choose a face for assembling a cross in different ways. The most popular way is to always collect it on the same edge (often the white one). Then you know exactly the relative position of the colors at all stages of assembly, which makes the process easier. Some people collect the face that is easiest to assemble first. On average, this saves one turn, but you constantly have to adjust to a different color arrangement. A compromise option is also used - to collect one of two opposite faces (say, either white or yellow), then the set of colors of the side faces does not change.

The main trick to assembling a cross is that it must be assembled relatively. For example, if you are solving a cross on a white edge and a white-blue edge cube is already on it with a white color towards the white center, then it is not so important to you whether the blue side of this cube is aligned with the blue edge. It is enough to place a white-green cube on the opposite side, and a white-red and white-orange cube on the left and right. During the assembly process, you can twist the white edge as you like, and at the end, in one movement, immediately align all the side centers with the cross cubes. It is only important to remember the exact order of the colors on the cube: if you look at the white side, then clockwise there are blue, red, green, orange (yellow at the back).

Professionals assemble a cross on the bottom edge. This seems difficult for beginners, since it is almost impossible to see what you are collecting, but this gives a great advantage when moving on to the next stage: you do not have to waste time turning over the cube, and in the process of assembling the cross you can notice the arrangement of the cubes needed to assemble F2L and outline a plan for further assembly.

Some advanced tricks for assembling a cross are described in this video.

F2L - first two layers

Perhaps the longest stage, the goal of which is to completely assemble two layers: the layer with the cross and the intermediate layer. Essentially, you need to place eight cubes in place: four corner bottom layers and four side edges in the middle layer. Unlike assembly methods for beginners, a pair (column) from a corner and edge cube is assembled immediately (that is, you need to assemble four such pairs). Depending on the initial arrangement of the cubes of the pair, you need to apply one or another algorithm (sequence of rotations). There are more than 40 such algorithms in total; you can simply memorize them, but almost all of them are derived intuitively. There are two simplest cases when a pair gathers in three movements:

Two more cases are mirror to these. Everything else needs to be reduced to one of these four. This requires a maximum of 8 moves, that is, no more than 11 moves per column will be required. Perhaps you will not find the most optimal method, but if you first learn to intuitively put together any combination somehow, then you can look at individual cases in cheat sheets.

The main difficulty of the stage is to quickly find paired cubes. They can be in 16 different places: 8 places in the last layer and 8 in the columns. The columns are more difficult to view, and the fewer columns you have collected, the greater the chance that the uncollected ones contain the cubes you need. If you did not pay attention to the cubes for F2L when assembling the cross, when moving to this stage you may lose a lot of time simply searching. It is also not always wise to start with the first pair found: perhaps it is collected through a long algorithm, and if you start with another, then in the process the first one will be rebuilt into a more successful combination.

OLL - orientation of the last layer

At this stage, the cubes of the last layer are oriented so that the last (in our case, yellow) face is assembled. It doesn’t matter that the cubes are essentially not in their places: we will deal with this at the last stage.

There are 57 different initial situations, each of which has its own assembly algorithm, from 6 and somewhere up to 14 moves. It is necessary not only to learn all these algorithms, but also to quickly identify which one needs to be applied to the at the moment. Here is an example of one of the OLLs:

The picture on the left shows the initial situation up to rotation (it is assumed that we are assembling the yellow edge). To apply this OLL, the locations of the yellow squares must match not only on the top edge, but also on the side ones (we ignore squares of other colors). It is not always necessary to compare the cube with the diagram completely, you just need to compare enough squares to distinguish it from other combinations. On the right are two algorithms (for some it is more convenient to do one, for others another) in standard notation, below is the OLL number and the probability of its occurrence. Almost all are 1/54, some are 1/108, and two are 1/216 (including lucky combination, when OLL assembled itself).

For beginners, learning 57 combinations may seem like torture, so a simplified but slower option was invented - 2-look OLL. In this case, the OLL is divided into two stages, first the cross is assembled, and then the corners. Here you need to memorize only 10 algorithms (3 for the cross, 7 for the corners). Having gained experience in 2-look OLL, you can slowly begin studying the full set. In this case, 2-looks will come in handy in any case: firstly, they are all in a complete set (say, if the cross is assembled by itself, then the complete OLLs coincide with the 2-look OLL for the corners), and secondly, if you come across another unfamiliar OLL, you can go back to 2-look.

PLL - permutation of the last layer

The final stage of assembly is to arrange the cubes of the last layer on the right places. The approach is approximately similar to the previous stage, but there are fewer combinations and algorithms here, only 21 (13, if you count mirror and inverse ones as one). On the other hand, they are somewhat more difficult to identify, since here it is necessary to take into account different colors, and the colors on the diagram may not coincide with your colors (up to cyclic permutation):

The arrows indicate the cubes that this PLL rearranges. The probabilities of most combinations are 1/18, occasionally 1/36 and 1/72 (including the lucky case when you don’t need to do anything).

Again, a simplified version is offered - 2-look PLL, when the corners (two combinations) are placed first, and then the centers (four combinations), they are quite easy to learn.

Cube and lube

Even if you master the given method perfectly, you will not achieve good results with a bad cube. The sides of the cube should rotate easily with a push of one finger, and it should not be too loose. The layers should hang on springs so that one layer that is not completely rotated does not interfere with continuing rotation in the other direction (within reasonable limits, of course). The central squares of the correct cube can be pulled out and the bolts located under them can be tightened. It’s difficult to find a good cube in regular stores; they recommend ordering online, for example.

For best results, the cube needs to be lubricated. Sometimes lubricant comes complete with the cube, or is purchased separately. Silicone grease, which can be purchased at car dealerships, is suitable.

Cube rotations

Rotating the entire cube in your hands (and not individual faces) takes significant time, so when assembling it, try to avoid it as much as possible. For example, at the F2L stage, it is sometimes easier to collect a column in the corner farthest from you, without seeing it, than to turn the cube with this column towards you. At the OLL stage, in order to rotate the cube as in the algorithm diagram, it is enough to rotate the top layer, rather than rotating the entire cube - this is faster (the position of the top layer relative to the bottom ones at this stage is not important).

Look ahead - looking ahead

After completion next stage you should move on to the next one without pausing. While you automatically perform the next algorithm, your head is free. Use this time to find the cubes that are important for the next stage and understand which algorithm you will have to use next.

Fingertricks

Also the key to significantly speeding up assembly is fingertricks, the skillful use of all fingers to rotate. Some commonly used combinations can be performed at lightning speed, 5 turns per second or more, if you use your fingers correctly. Note that a shorter algorithm is not always faster; it may turn out. that you will have to make awkward turns. BadMephisto has several videos dedicated to fingertricks, for example, about F2L.

Practice

Nothing will come of it without long-term training. Get ready to solve the cube thousands of times.

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Designations of sides and language of rotations in Russian letters

First of all, let's agree on a notation system. The faces of the cube are indicated by letters F, T, P, L, V, N- the initial letters of the words façade, rear, right, left, top, bottom. Which face of the cube is considered the front face - blue, green, etc. - depends on you and the resulting situation. During the assembly process, you will have to several times take this or that edge as a façade, convenient for this case. The central cubes determine the color of the face, that is, we can say that even in a completely mixed up cube, the central cubes have already been selected and 8 cubes of the same color remain to be attached to each of them. The central cubes are designated by one letter: f, t, p, l, v, n.

Edge cubes (there are 12 of them) belong to two faces and are designated by two letters, for example fp, pv, fn etc.

Corner cubes - in three letters according to the name of the faces, for example, fpv, fln etc.

In capital letters F, T, P, L, V, N the elementary operations of rotating the corresponding face (layer, slice) of a cube by 90° clockwise are indicated. Designations F", T", P", L", V", N" correspond to the rotation of the faces by 90° counterclockwise. Designations F 2, P 2 etc. talk about double rotation of the corresponding face ( F 2 = FF).

Letter WITH indicate the rotation of the middle layer. The subscript indicates which face should be viewed from in order to make this turn. For example S P- from the right side, C N- from the bottom side, S" L- from the left side, counterclockwise, etc. It is clear that C N = C "B, S P = S "L etc. Letter ABOUT- rotation (revolution) of the entire cube around its axis. O F- from the side of the front edge clockwise, etc.

Process recording (F" P") N 2 (PF) means: rotate the front edge counterclockwise by 90°, the same - the right edge, rotate the bottom edge twice (that is, 180°), rotate the right edge 90° clockwise, rotate the front edge 90° clockwise.

Along with the alphabetic recording of processes, a matrix form of recording is also used, where elementary operations are depicted by a drawing of a façade face with corresponding arrows indicating the directions of rotation of the corresponding face.

The layer-by-layer algorithm for solving the Rubik's cube is far from the only one. There are other methods, which are discussed on other pages of this section.

To be continued...

Even if we assume that the record holder was very lucky, the world ranking table based on the average of five results no longer leaves any doubt: if more than 80 people on average do it in 12 seconds, obviously they know something. In this short review I will try to reveal the secrets of high-speed assembly. Let me make a reservation right away that after reading this article you will not become champions: only the main points and links to more detailed information are given here. In addition, even after learning the method completely, you will need long training to achieve good results. But you will get a good idea of how this is done, and, if desired, you will know where to move next. I think that with enough perseverance, after several months of training, many will be able to achieve an average result of around 30 seconds.

I'll be linking mainly to the SpeedSolving Wiki and Badmephisto. So, let's go.

CFOP method

The most popular method of speed cube solving is the CFOP method, also known as the method of Jessica Friedrich, who refined and popularized it, although other people have also contributed. If everything is done correctly, on average the cube can be solved in 56 moves (alas, not in ). There are other methods with which you can get good results: Petrus, Roux, etc. They are less popular and for the sake of brevity we will limit ourselves to considering the CFOP method.

CFOP is the name for the four stages of assembly: C ross F 2L, O LL, P LL:

Cross - assembly of a cross, four rib cubes on the bottom edge;
F2L (First two layers) - assembly of two layers - bottom and middle;
OLL (Orient the last layer) - correct orientation of the cubes of the top layer;
PLL (Permute the last layer) - placement of the cubes of the top layer.

Let's look at these stages in more detail.

Cross - cross

Some advanced tricks for assembling a cross are described in this video.

F2L - first two layers

OLL - orientation of the last layer

There are 57 different initial situations, each of which has its own assembly algorithm, from 6 and somewhere up to 14 moves. It is necessary not only to learn all these algorithms, but also to quickly identify which one needs to be applied at the moment. Here is an example of one of the OLLs:

The picture on the left shows the initial situation up to rotation (it is assumed that we are assembling the yellow edge). To apply this OLL, the locations of the yellow squares must match not only on the top edge, but also on the side ones (we ignore squares of other colors). It is not always necessary to compare the cube with the diagram completely, you just need to compare enough squares to distinguish it from other combinations. On the right are two algorithms (for some it is more convenient to do one, for others another) in standard notation, below is the OLL number and the probability of its occurrence. Almost all come up with a probability of 1/54, some with a probability of 1/108 and two with a probability of 1/216 (including a lucky combination when the OLL collected itself).

PLL - permutation of the last layer

The final stage of assembly is to place the cubes of the last layer in the right places. The approach is approximately similar to the previous stage, but there are fewer combinations and algorithms here, only 21 (13, if you count mirror and inverse ones as one). On the other hand, they are somewhat more difficult to identify, since here you need to take into account different colors, and the colors on the diagram may not coincide with your colors (up to cyclic permutation):

The arrows indicate the cubes that this PLL rearranges. The probabilities of most combinations are 1/18, occasionally 1/36 and 1/72 (including the lucky case when you don’t need to do anything).

Again, a simplified version is offered - 2-look PLL, when the corners (two combinations) are placed first, and then the centers (four combinations), they are quite easy to learn.

Cube and lube

Cube rotations

Look ahead - looking ahead

After completing the next stage, you must move on to the next one without pause. While you automatically perform the next algorithm, your head is free. Use this time to find the cubes that are important for the next stage and understand which algorithm you will have to use next.

Fingertricks

Practice

Nothing will come of it without long-term training. Get ready to solve the cube thousands of times.