Basic Cube Notation: Read the Six Face Turns
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 the six face letters, inverse turns and half-turns through manual examples. This lesson covers basic face turns; whole-cube rotations, slices and wide turns in other resources need separate explanations, not guesses.
Complete Lesson 1: centers identify colors, and R followed by R′ returns to the start. Now extend one action to six faces. Orbiting the model camera does not rename R, U or F; after regripping a physical cube, re-establish the front.
Each case starts separately from solved. Read the token before Next; inspect the completed sequence, then step through undo if desired. Nothing auto-resets. This teaches reading moves, not solving arbitrary scrambles.
Hold the cube. The face towards you is F (Front), its opposite is B (Back); U (Up) and D (Down) are top and bottom; R (Right) and L (Left) are your two sides. The letters mean position relative to you, not colour — turn the cube and F becomes another colour.
A letter alone means: turn that face 90° clockwise, as seen when looking straight at that face. This is where most mistakes happen — clockwise on B looks counter-clockwise from the front. Play R and watch the right face.
Algorithm
R
Right face, 90° clockwise.
An apostrophe (R', said "R prime") means 90° counter-clockwise; a 2 (R2) means 180°, direction irrelevant. So each face has exactly three moves: R, R', R2.
U' R2 here means: top face counter-clockwise, then right face a half turn. Always read left to right, and don't regrip the cube halfway through.
Algorithm
U' R2
R2 turns the right face 180°, not two different faces. Follow it with R prime twice, one move at a time.
The total is 180 minus 90 minus 90 degrees, returning to the start. Keep your reference orientation: orbiting the camera does not redefine the model's R and U axes.
Algorithm
R2 R' R'
R U R′ U′ turns right, up, inverse right, inverse up. Interleaving moves changes which pieces participate, so the result is not solved. A recurring consecutive group is a trigger: a memory aid, not permission to reorder or omit moves.
Inspect the four-move result rather than assuming an error. Undo in reverse order with each move inverted: U R U′ R′. Learn to undo lists these four steps, each requiring Next, and ends with six solid faces. Six full trigger repetitions return to the starting state, which is still scrambled if you started scrambled; this is not a general solve.
Algorithm
R U R' U'
One four-move group; afterwards undo one step at a time.
R′ F R F′ is another four-move trigger, called the sledgehammer. Read inverse right, front, right, inverse front before stepping through it; do not repeat the previous exercise from button-position memory.
You have practised basic turns of six outer faces, not every 3x3 notation. Before using wide turns such as r or Rw, slices M/E/S or whole-cube rotations x/y/z, consult that resource's definitions, viewing direction and demonstrations. Do not guess that they mean ordinary R/U/F turns. Also check the starting case and grip orientation when switching tutorials.
Algorithm
R' F R F'