Step 1: Choose your method
A common misconception about how one goes forth in solving a Rubik's cube is that the cube is solved by solving each one of the six faces of the cube one after another. What I can tell you about that is if you were to try solving the cube in that manner, you would miserably fail and throw your cube across your room in a fit of rage. With saying that, the method you would go forth by for solving the cube as a beginner is to solve it layer by layer(three layers in total). This method is commonly dubbed the beginners method and while it is the easiest of the many methods to solve a Rubik's cube, it is the most inefficient method(meaning you will solve the cube in a slower time than some of the other more complex methods out there). Other popular methods of solving the Rubik's cube are the Jessica Fridrich method, the Waterman method, and the Petrus method. While these methods will get you solving the cube considerably faster than the beginner method, they are of a higher difficulty and usually require you to have some knowledge about the beginners method. So for this tutorial, I will stick to teaching the beginners method.
Step 2: Learn your cube notation
It's imperative that before you start trying to solve the cube, you learn the notations. Here is why: As you learn how to solve a cube, you will encounter theses things called algorithms. Algorithms are formulas you use to help you solve the cube. These algorithms are composed of different cube twists you will execute in order to execute the formula correctly. Here is the standard cube notation for a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube:
Cube Notation
As you hold the cube in front of you, the face of the cube your right hand touches is the right turning piece of the cube and is notated as R or R' (I will explain the little comma thingy next to the R in a second). R means to rotate that right face of the cube clock wise. R', pronounced right inverted, means to turn that right face of the cube counter clock wise. Next, we will move to the left twisting face of the cube. This left face of the cube is notated as L or L'. Again, L means to twist that left face clockwise and L' means to twist that left face counter clockwise. Next, we will move to the front face/layer of the cube, which is the face of the cube facing you as you hold the cube in front of you. This face of the cube is notated as F(front). F means to turn that piece of the cube clock wise and F' means to turn it counter clock wise. Another part of the cube you will be rotating is the bottom face, which is called the down face and is notated as D or D'. D means to rotate that bottom face clock wise and D' means to rotate it counter clockwise. Another face you will have to turn is the top face of the cube, called the up face. The notation for this face is U and U'. U means to rotate that face clockwise and U' means to rotate it counter clockwise. The last face you will need to rotate is the back face , notated as B or B', and like all of the other cube turns, follows the same rules. However, the back fast usually will not have to be utilized much in the solving of the cube. Here's a summary of the notations :
R - turn right face clock wise
R' - turn right face counter clock wise
L- turn left face clock wise
L' - turn left face counter clock wise
F - turn front face clockwise
F'- turn front face counter clock wise
U- turn top face clock wise
U' - turn top face counter clock wise
D - turn bottom face clock wise
D' - turn bottom face counter clock wise
B - turn back face clock wise
B'- turn back face counter clock wise
How to Solve the Cube
Now that you have learned the notation, it is time to learn to solve the cube. For the best video tutorial on using the beginners method to solve the Rubik's cube on the web, watch the top video below. For the second part of the tutorial, click watch the video below that.
