Solved
Drag to turn the cube around, and scroll to zoom.
Rubik's Cube Simulator v2.1.0
Move Catalog
Sequences from my 2003 notes, labeled as in David Singmaster's Notes on Rubik's Magic Cube. The simulator computes the effect of each in cycle notation: (uf ur ub) moves
the piece at uf to ur, the one at ur to ub, and the one at ub back to uf. Pieces are named in
lower case, as Singmaster did, so they aren't mistaken for moves. A + or - after a cycle means its pieces come back twisted or flipped.
| Label | Moves | Effect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | F2 | (uf df) (urf dlf) (ufl dfr) (fr fl) | |
| 1b | F' U' R U | (uf lf df)+ (ufl lfd)- (br dr fr)+ (dfr drb)+ | |
| 2a | D' R' D R | (urf rdf)+ (dr fr db) (dbl drb)- | |
| 2b | D F D' F' | (urf frd)- (df rf dl) (dbl dlf)+ | |
| 2c | F D2 F' D2 R' D R | (dbl dfr urf)+ (df dl) (db)+ (dlf drb)- (fr)+ | |
| 3a | L U U2 F2 U2 F2 U2 F2 U' L' | (uf ub) (ul fr) | |
| 3b | B' U R2 U2 R2 U2 R2 U2 U' B | (ur ul) (ub rf) | |
| 4a | B L U L' U' B' | (uf bu ul) (ufl urf)- (ulb ubr)+ | |
| 4b | B U L U' L' B' | (uf ul bu) (urf ufl)+ (ubr ulb)- | |
| 6bi | R2 D' U2 R' L F2 R L' D R2 | (uf ub ur) | |
| 6bii | R2 D' R' L F2 R L' U2 D R2 | (uf ur ub) | |
| 6c | R2 D2 B2 D L2 F2 L2 F2 L2 F2 D' B2 D2 R2 | (uf ur) (ub ul) | |
| 7bi | L' U R U' R' L R U R' U' | (ufl bul bru) | |
| 7bii | U R U' R' L' R U R' U' L | (ufl bru bul) | |
| 7c | B L U L' U' L U L' U' L U L' U' B' | (urf flu) (ulb bru) | |
| 7d | R' B2 F R F' R' F R F' R' F R F' R' B2 R | (urf bul) (ufl ubr) | |
| 8a | F D F' D' F D F' D' | (urf)+ (df rf dl) (dfr)+ (dlf)- (dbl)- | |
| 8b | D F D' F' D F D' F' | (urf)- (df dl rf) (dfr)- (dlf)+ (dbl)+ | |
| P1(f,u) | F2 U2 F2 U2 F2 U2 | (ur ul) (fr fl) | |
| P2(f,u) | F U F' U' | (uf ur lf) (urf ubr)- (ufl fdl)+ | |
| P3(f,u) = P2(f,u)^2 | F U F' U' F U F' U' | (uf lf ur) (urf)- (ufl)+ (ubr)- (dlf)+ | |
| P4(f,u) = P2(f,u)^3 | F U F' U' F U F' U' F U F' U' | (urf rub) (ufl dlf) | |
| R' L F2 R L' U2 | (uf df ub) |
The Basic Modern Solution
This is the simple, basic modern solution, the layer-by-layer method most people learn today. I didn't invent it; it's the one I learned and use to solve a cube by hand. With normal manual dexterity, it solves a cube in about two minutes. Choose Basic Modern Solution next to the Solve button to watch the simulator solve the cube this way; it follows the same kind of rules as the 2003 Singmaster solver.
First face
Hold the white face down, and solve it with the edges and corners matching the centers around it. (My notes skip this step as obvious.) Find a white piece on top, turn the top until it is over its place, and put it down: the edges first, then the corners. A white piece on the bottom in the wrong place, or in the middle layer, goes up to the top first.
Middle layer
Find an edge on top that belongs in the middle layer. Turn the top until its front color matches the front center, then move it down to the left or the right, where its top color matches. If an edge is in the middle layer but in the wrong place, insert any edge there to bring it to the top.
Down and to the left: The top edge is blue in front, like the front center, and red on top, like the left center.U' L' U L U F U' F'Down and to the right: The top edge is blue in front, and orange on top, like the right center.U R U' R' U' F' U FTop cross
Make a cross of the top color (yellow) on top, one step at a time, with the same sequence each time. How you hold the cube matters, as the pictures show.
Next step toward the cross:F R U R' U' F'DotLLineCrossThe top face, with the front edge at the bottom. Each arrow is F R U R' U' F'. Turn the top (U) to hold the L at the back and left, and the line from left to right, as drawn. Held any other way, the sequence doesn't move you forward.Top edges
Turn the top until two edges match their sides. If they are next to each other, hold them at the back and right, and swap the front and left edges. If they are across from each other, swap once from anywhere and try again.
Swap the front and left edges: The back and right edges match their sides; the front and left edges are swapped.R U R' U R U2 R' UTop corners
Find a corner in its place (it may be twisted), and cycle the other three around it. If no corner is in place, cycle any three first.
Cycle the corners, keeping the front right: The front right corner is in place. The others go back right to back left, to front left, and back to back right.U R U' L' U R' U' LCycle them the other way, keeping the front left: The front left corner is in place. The others go back left to back right, to front right, and back to back left.U' L' U R U' L U R'Twist the corners
Hold a twisted corner at the front right, and repeat the sequence for the way its yellow sticker faces until it's on top. The bottom layer is scrambled along the way, but comes back once every corner is done. Then turn the top (not the whole cube) to bring the next twisted corner to the front right.
Yellow facing right: The front right corner's yellow sticker faces right. (Another corner is twisted the other way: one corner can't be twisted alone.)R' D' R D R' D' R DYellow facing front: The front right corner's yellow sticker faces front. (Another corner is twisted the other way.)D' R' D R D' R' D R
Notes
I wrote the first version of this simulator in April 2003, using the WildTangent 3D browser plugin (long gone). Its solver is from Notes on Rubik's Magic Cube by David Singmaster; I have a copy of the book from 1981 (US edition). The solution isn't the most efficient known, taking well over 100 moves, but it proceeds in layers, much as a person would:
- First the top layer is solved.
- The cube is turned over, then the middle layer is solved.
- Finally the Down (now Up) layer is solved.
I also started a second solver, based on the method Frank Lee taught me, to compare the two, but never finished it.
In 2026 the simulator was rebuilt with Three.js and Svelte, with help from Claude. The permutation code and the Singmaster solver are ported from the 2003 JavaScript and make exactly the same moves, now shown in standard notation. The simulator also keeps track of the centers, so slice moves (M, E, S) can be solved too.