In order to solve the Rubik's cube, follow these steps:

1. Learn to take the cube apart
   1. To disassemble the cube follow these directions:
      1. Turn the top face of the cube 45°
      2. The top-face corner pieces should be sticking out past the sides of the cube. Put your thumb under one of them and push upward with great force.
      3. If the corner did not pop out, push harder. It is made of sturdy plastic and will not break.
      4. Now you should be able to easily remove the edge and corner pieces for the rest of the cube.
   2. You will need to take the cube apart in order to reassemble the cube in its starting pattern when you scramble it.

2. Learn to solve one layer using only your spatial ingenuity
   1. Looking at the cube two-dimensionally, start by trying to get 6 squares on one face all the same color, then work your way up to getting all nine squares on the face the same color.
   2. Now look at the cube three-dimensionally, and try to put the corner and edge pieces in the right place for one entire layer of the cube.
   3. Write down the tools you use to get pieces into the right place without messing up the rest of the layer. These will be your "weak tools" or "quick-and-dirty tools" that you will use at the beginning of every cube solution.

3. Figure out more powerful tools through experimentation
   1. Mess around with easy-to-remember move sequences (like URULU'R'U'L') and observe what they do to the cube.
   2. To turn these experiments into tools, you may have to add a move to the beginning or end, or "fool the cube" by performing the moves, turning one face, and then undoing or redoing the moves.
   3. This is where taking the cube apart comes in handy, because it is almost impossible to experiment with a move sequence and completely observe its effects on an unsolved cube.
   4. Try to find some strong tools and some weaker tools.
      1. Strong move sequences accomplish a two- or three-piece flip, twist, swap, or cycle, without messing up any other pieces.
      2. Weak move sequences accomplish these tasks, but mess up the rest of the cube in some way. Their strength or weakness comes from the amount and location of the mess they create. For example, some move sequences only mess up the layer they are working on (i.e. the moves mess up the edges of the top layer, but fix the corners or vice versa), and are thus relatively strong.
   5. Once you have relatively and/or very strong tools for every possible situation (edge flips, corner twists, edge swaps and cycles, corner swaps and cycles), plan the order in which you will solve parts of the cube. Base whether you solve the corners first or the edges first based on the strength of the move sequences you have found. Always solve the cube in layers, going from weakest tools to strongest.
   6. If you get really stuck, look up some tools in a book or online. I wouldn't consider it cheating. You've really basically solved the puzzle once you've figured out how to solve the first layer without any help.
   7. Congratulations! You've solved the Rubik's Cube yourself! If you really know the principles behind solving the cube, then you've already solved the Rubik's Mini Cube(TM) (It's simply a corners-only version of the Cube), and the Rubik's Revenge(TM) puzzle only requires a few new tools (basically just for the four center pieces).

Return to Erno Rubik's Magic Cube
Return to Math Links
Return to Robert Kelley's Music Website

©2001 Robert Kelley