Cube notation is a short way of saying which layer to turn and how far. Once you know the six face letters and two small modifiers, you can read every move this solver gives you.
For this app, hold the white centre on top, the green centre towards you and the red centre on your right. The letters refer to positions from that starting view. They do not follow the colour of an individual tile as it moves around.
| Letter | Face to turn | Centre colour |
|---|---|---|
| U | Up, or top | White |
| D | Down, or bottom | Yellow |
| F | Front, facing you | Green |
| B | Back, away from you | Blue |
| R | Right | Red |
| L | Left | Orange |
R means turn the right layer 90 degrees clockwise. To judge clockwise, imagine looking straight at that face. You are turning the entire outer layer, including its edge and corner pieces.
This viewpoint matters most for the back and bottom faces. A clockwise turn of the back face is judged from behind the cube, not from your normal front view. If you turn the whole cube to check a face, return it to the starting orientation before the next move.
R′, sometimes written R', means turn the right layer 90 degrees anticlockwise. It is the reverse of R. The small mark is called a prime. The same rule applies to U′, F′ and the other faces.
F2 means turn the front layer 180 degrees. Two quarter-turns in the same direction make a half-turn. Clockwise or anticlockwise gives the same result. In the app’s move count, a half-turn counts as one move.
For example, R U R′ U′ asks for four turns: right clockwise, top clockwise, right anticlockwise, then top anticlockwise. This is an example for reading notation, not a solution to any particular scramble.
Keep the whole cube steady while turning the named layers. In the solver, make the move shown beside the cube, then select I’ve made this turn. The display updates to show what your cube should look like afterwards.
To undo a clockwise quarter-turn, turn the same face anticlockwise. To undo a half-turn, make another half-turn. The Back button gives you the reverse instruction for the last planned move. It cannot detect a different turn you made by mistake.
Ready to put the letters to work? Open the cube solver, or read about building your first layer.