The 3×3 is the most famous twisty puzzle in the world. It has 43 quintillion possible states but can always be solved in 20 moves or fewer — a fact known as "God's number". This guide explains the most common beginner method, which takes around 100 moves but is easy to learn. If you just want to see your own scramble solved right now, head to the 3×3 solver instead — it returns a near-optimal solution in milliseconds.
The beginner method is built around the principle of solving the cube one layer at a time: bottom layer first, then middle, then top. You only need to memorize about seven short algorithms in total.
If you're new to cube notation, read the notation guide first. The short version: each letter (R, U, F, L, D, B) is a 90° clockwise turn of one face; an apostrophe (R') means counter-clockwise; a 2 (R2) means 180°.
Hold the cube with the white center on top. Find the four white edge pieces (each has one white sticker and one colored sticker) and put them around the white center so that the side-color of each edge matches the center of the adjacent face. When done correctly, you'll see a white cross on top with the colored sides forming a "T" shape on each side.
Now flip the cube so white is on the bottom. This is your foundation for the rest of the solve.
For each of the four white corner pieces (each has a white sticker and two colored stickers), place it in the bottom layer with white facing down and the two side colors matching the centers next to it.
The trick: bring the corner to the top layer above where it needs to go, then perform the right-hand algorithm until it slots in correctly:
R U R' U'
You may need to repeat this 1, 3, or 5 times. Don't be discouraged — repetition here is normal. After all four corners are placed, your entire bottom layer is solved.
Now solve the four edges of the middle layer. Each edge has two colored stickers (no white, no yellow). Bring the edge to the top layer, align it with the matching center, and then send it down to either the right or left slot using one of these:
Right slot: U R U' R' U' F' U F
Left slot: U' L' U L U F U' F'
After all four middle edges are placed, the bottom two layers should look completely solved.
Now look at the top face. The yellow stickers there can form one of four shapes: a dot, an L, a line, or a cross. Apply this algorithm until you see the cross:
F R U R' U' F'
Tip: orient the L so it points toward the back-left before applying the algorithm, and orient the line horizontally.
The yellow cross is done, but the four corners may still show yellow on the side, not on top. Use this algorithm to flip the corners:
R U R' U R U2 R' (this is "Sune")
Keep repeating with the cube rotated until all four corners show yellow on top. The intermediate states will look messy — that's normal, just keep going until the top is fully yellow.
The top face is fully yellow now, but the corners might be in the wrong positions. If one pair of adjacent corners has matching side colors, hold that pair at the back. Then apply:
R' F R' B2 R F' R' B2 R2
After this, all corners should be in their correct positions, even if the edges are still wrong.
Finally, cycle the top edges into their correct positions. If one edge is already correct, hold it at the back. Apply:
R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2
The cube is now solved.
Speedcubers use more advanced methods such as CFOP (Cross, F2L, OLL, PLL), Roux, or ZZ to get solve times under 10 seconds, but each requires memorizing dozens or hundreds of algorithms. The beginner method above is enough to consistently solve any 3×3 scramble in 2–5 minutes.
If at any point you get stuck and can't recover, you can always enter your cube's current state into the 3×3 solver and continue from there with the suggested moves.
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