CFOP, Part 1: Cross and F2L
First: what counts as winning?
There is no opponent. The goal is a solved cube: all six faces each have one colour and every piece matches the adjacent centres in position and orientation. Solving one face is not solving the cube.
A white face with mixed side colours is only partial progress. The first turning exercise simply asks you to return to its solved starting state.
Each exercise has a limited goal; playing an algorithm does not solve every scramble.
Learn to pair a bottom-layer corner with its matching middle-layer edge and put them into place together. Identify the target pieces and follow three step-by-step cases; speed is not required.
First complete a layer-by-layer solve and explain cross alignment and the target locations of corners and middle edges. Speed and perfect recall are unnecessary. F2L means First Two Layers: pair a bottom corner with its middle-layer edge and insert them together.
CFOP means Cross, F2L, OLL (last-layer orientation) and PLL (last-layer permutation). Orientation turns yellow upwards; permutation places side colors against their centers. This course revisits cross checks and three pairing cases, not one algorithm chain for every position. Learn to recognize cases before the next course.
The goal is four white edges around the white center, with white facing down AND each edge's other color matching its side center. An edge has two stickers; a corner has three. White corners do not count towards the cross. A white plus sign alone is not enough: check the sides too. Hold yellow center up, white down and green facing you.
Select this case and pause before turning. The white-green edge is at top-front, white facing up and green facing front, aligned with the green center. The other three white edges are already correctly placed on the bottom. In the bottom diagram, one white square beside the center is missing. Move only this last edge into place; do not rotate the whole cube.
Press Next once for F2: turn only the front face halfway (180 degrees), not two button presses. Stop at completion. Check the bottom center and its four adjacent squares are white, each side's bottom-middle sticker matches its center, and the other three white edges remain correct. This prepared start happens to finish the whole cube; a real scramble usually still needs corners and middle edges after the cross.
This is one edge-positioning case, not an F2 solution for every scramble. On a physical cube, find a white edge, name its other color and target center, then compare its current position and orientation with this case. If they differ, do not force F2; revisit the beginner layer-by-layer white-cross steps for other situations. Pausing and looking at the bottom are allowed. Learn to explain each move before planning ahead; there is no blindfold or move-count requirement.
Algorithm
F2
Half-turn the front to complete the white cross; stop and check the side colors.
F2L handles one slot at a time — a bottom corner and the middle edge above it. The whole idea in one sentence: pair the corner and edge in the top layer, then insert the pair into the slot together. Four slots, four times.
Find the white-green-orange corner and green-orange edge. In this case they form a pair on top: corner at front-left, edge at front-middle. Both green stickers point up and both orange stickers face front. The target is the front-right slot between green and orange centers. R opens the slot; U' carries the pair to the right; R' lowers it into place. Pause after each move and compare the six-face diagrams.
Algorithm
R U' R'
A formed pair going into the front-right slot.
This section teaches one specific starting position, not a collection of four formulas. The same pair still belongs in the front-right slot, but it starts elsewhere on top. First align it with U, then use the three-move insertion you already learned. U turns only the top layer, not the whole cube. Keep the yellow center up and the green center facing you.
This case uses the same white-green-orange corner and green-orange edge. The corner is at top-front-right with white facing front; the edge is at top-right. Both green stickers point up and orange stickers face right. They are already paired, not being split. U carries the pair to top-front-left and top-front-middle, then R U' R' inserts it. At the end the white corner is bottom-front-right and the matching middle edge is above it, with side colors matching their centers.
Algorithm
U R U' R'
More often the corner and edge are both on top but apart. The principle: use the U layer to bring the edge next to or opposite the corner, then lift the corner with R or R' to catch the edge and form the pair, then insert with three moves.
Initially the white-green-orange corner is top-front-right with white up; the green-orange edge is top-back with green up and orange back. They are separated. U R U2 R' U forms the pair. At step 5, stop and find the front-left top corner and front-middle top edge: green together on top, orange together at front. Finish with R U' R' into the front-right slot. Verify the pieces are joined instead of memorising a vague five-move instruction.
Algorithm
U R U2 R' U R U' R'
Five moves to join, three to insert.
Lookahead means noticing the next pair while working on the current one. You do not need to do both at once yet. Focus only on this case's white-green-orange corner and green-orange edge. Pause whenever you lose track, find both pieces and check their sticker directions before pressing Next. Do not guess a formula just to keep moving.
First pass: name the face that moved and where the target pieces went after each step. Second pass: stop before insertion, point to the front-right slot and compare the pair's green and orange stickers with this case. Finally check that the white corner is on the bottom, the green-orange edge is above it, side colors match their centers and other solved slots remain intact. Only after you can explain and finish the case independently should you practise finding another pair on a physical cube. These three prepared cases do not cover every F2L situation.