How to Solve Rubik’s Cube:

To first solve the cube it is important to get familiar with the different types of pieces. When a side is referred to by a particular color, it is referring to the side with the center piece of that color.

It is also important to understand the algorithm notation and the names of the faces relative to you. The figure below shows all the different faces and the ways that they move. U for up, D for down, L for left, R for fight, F for front, B for back, and M for middle. When a capital letter is shown in a set of moves it means to move it in the direction shown in the diagram below. However, if the letter as a ‘ next to it or a prime, that means to move it the opposite way shown in the diagram.

Step 1 White Daisy on Yellow Side:

The first step is fill in the 4 white edge pieces on the yellow side of the cube like in the figure below. This may seem confusing at first, but once you get familiar with the mechanics of the cube and how it moves it should be simple to do.

Step 2 White Cross:

After obtaining the white daisy the cross will be very simple. Pick a white edge piece on the top of the cube. Observe what color is on the side of that piece. In the first figure below the color on the side of the edge piece is green. After you have done this align the edge piece of the given color with the center piece of the same color as shown in the figure (you will do this by rotating the up face). Rotate the piece of interest 180° to the bottom of the cube. Do the same thing with the three remaining white edge pieces. You will be left with a cross. After obtaining the cross on the bottom flip the cube so that it is on the top.

Step 3 Solving the White Side:

To solve the white side we will now focus on the white corner pieces. We will solve the cube layer by layer, so we will need to solve the white side in a way that also solves the first layer. There are four possible orientations for each of the white corners:

Case 1: white sticker on left side
When the white sticker is on the left side, look for the color that is to the left of the white. Align that color so that it is diagonal with its center piece like in the first figure. This means that the piece needs to move directly above where it is. After aligning you can move it into place using the algorithm:
D L D’ L’ {Perform with white piece facing you!}

Case 2: white sticker on right side
Just as in the last case look for the color on the side of the white piece, and align that color with its center piece as in the second figure. After aligning you can move the piece into place using the algorithm:
D’ R’ D R {Perform with white piece facing you!}

Case 3: White sticker on bottom of cube
Look for the two color on the side of the white piece and place the piece in between those two centers like figure 3. One the piece is put in between the correct two center pieces it can be moved into place using the algorithm:
(D’ R’ D R) x3 {Perform with piece on the right side of you}

Case 4: White sticker on white side but in incorrect place
When this happens you just have to remove the piece from the top then do one of the previous cases. You can remove it using the algorithm:
D’ R’ D R {Perform with piece on the right side of you}

Step 4 Solving the Second Layer:

So far while we have been solving the cube the white side has been on the top and the yellow side has been on the bottom. We will now rotate the cube so that the white side we solved is at the top. If we solved the white side correctly the first layer should be solved as well. To solve the second layer we will look for edge pieces on the up face of the cube that do not have any yellow on them.

The pieces circled in red contain yellow so we can’t use them. The pieces circled in green are in the up layer and do not contain yellow so we can use them. Once we find a piece that does not have yellow we will align the color that is facing us with its center piece like the second and third figures. Once it is aligned decide whether the piece needs to move to the left or to the right. This is based on the two colors on the piece and the two center pieces it can be between. Once you have aligned it and decided whether it needs to move to the left or to the right, perform one of the algorithms bellow with the piece facing you.

To the left:

U’ L’ U L U F U’ F’

To the right:

U R U’ R’ U’ F’ U F

If you performed the move correctly the piece will be moved into place without messing up the solved white side on the bottom. Do the same thing until the whole second layer is solved.

Step 5 Solving for the Yellow Cross:
For the next step we will need a cross on the yellow side. We will ignore the corner pieces for this step. You will have one of the following combinations for the edge pieces:

Perform the algorithm for each of these cases by placing them as shown in the diagram. The line is horizontal relative to you, and the L will be in the left corner relative to you.
Line: F R U R’ U’ F’

L shape: F U R U’ R’ F’

Dot: Either algorithm to get to line or L

Step 6 Solving the Yellow Side:

At this point you will have a yellow cross and one of the following cases:

Position the top the way shown in the pictures and then perform the algorithm to solve the whole yellow side. Note that some of these algorithms have the letter “w” in them. All this means is that you will move two layers at the same time. For example Rw means you will move the right two layers at the same time.

Step 7 Corner Orientation:

Headlights are two adjacent corners of the same color like the figure:

The piece in between them may or may not be the same color. If you are lucky you have headlights on every side, and can skip this step. If not take the headlights and hold them say they are on the left side of you then perform the algorithm below. If there are no headlights perform the algorithm below to get headlights then do the algorithm again.

Step 8 Solving Cube:

After orienting all of the corners you will be left with one of the following cases.

Perform the algorithm then the cube is solved. You can use the algorithm on either the top line or the bottom line. The “(y2)” denotes a 180 rotation about the y axis. You now know how to solve the Rubik’s cube.