Saturday, January 7, 2017

Corner's First Method 2 by 2 and 3 by 3 - The Easy Way (very little memorization needed)

If you are looking to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube in one of the simplest ways possible, you have come to the right place. It took me a long time to learn a method to solve the cube that involved very little memorization, but this method requires much less memorization than other methods. I will admit, this is not a method built for speed, however, I can solve the 2 x 2 in about 1 minute and the 3 x 3 in about 3 minutes. The algorithms you need to learn will be exactly the same for the 2 x 2 and the 3 x 3. There are 2 algorithms to memorize for the 2 x 2. You will need those 2 algorithms, plus 2 more for the 3 x 3. Let's get started.

Step 1: The White Face and the First Layer

The first step is to complete the first layer while solving the white face. This is an intuitive step that requires no memorization. You should be able to do this just by playing around. The white squares can only be in 1 of 4 possible positions.


This is what it looks like complete. The orange and blue are also paired up on the opposite side.
Watch the first video to see how to perform this first step:



Step 2: The Yellow Face

Once the first layer is complete, flip the cube over and look at the face on the opposite side of your white face. Here you will see many possible configurations. There are algorithms for each possible configuration, but that would require extensive memorization so I will leave that to the speed cubers. We will use the same algorithm regardless of what we see, but you may have to perform the algorithm more than 1 time depending on the configuration. You may need to perform the algorithm up to 4 times to complete this step, but it averages between 2 and 3.  Sometimes the yellow face will already be complete and you can skip this step altogether. Other possibilities:

No yellow - With the white face to the back and the "yellow face" (there are actually no yellow squares on it" toward you, perform the algorithm. It will give you one of the possibilities below.

Two yellow squares kitty corner: With the white face to the back and the yellow face toward you, perform the algorithm. It doesn't matter where the yellow squares are. It will give you one of the possibilities below.

Two yellow squares side by side: With the yellow face toward you, rotate the yellow squares until they are at the bottom. Perform the algorithm. You will always get one yellow square when you are done.

One yellow square: Rotate the cube until the yellow square is in the top right corner. Perform the algorithm. When finished, you will either have the yellow face finished or you will have one yellow square again. If you have one yellow square perform the algorithm again.

T = Top layer clockwise 1 turn
T' = Top layer counterclockwise 1 turn
F2 = Front face clockwise 2 turns

Others
R is the right side
L is the left side
B is the back face

The algorithms I use turn only the top, right and back.

This is the algorithm.

T', F2, T, F1, T', F1, T, F2

Top layer counter clockwise once, front face clockwise twice, top layer clockwise once, front face clockwise once, top layer counter clockwise once, front face counterclockwise once, top layer clockwise once, front face clockwise twice.

The only way I can memorize algorithms is to make a short saying that reminds me just enough to perform the move. There is a pattern to this one so it is fairly easy to remember. To memorize this I say to myself, "right 2 left 1 right 1 left 2"

Here is a video explaining how to complete this step:

Step 3 - Finish the cube

Hold the cube so the white is on the bottom and yellow is on the top. Most of the time, if you rotate the top layer, you will be able to have one of the other sides completed. If this is the case, hold the cube so that side is to the left and perform this algorithm:

R2, T', R2, T, R2, B2, T, B2, T', B2, T


If you do not have one of the other sides completed, perform the above algorithm once from any angle. Now you will have one of the other sides completed. Follow the instructions above and you're done. Congratulations.

Here is a video explaining how to complete this step:

 Now on to the 3 by 3.


1 comment:

  1. the content and structure of that blog post is really good and informative. Thank you for the posting. Rubicks Cube In Sydney

    ReplyDelete