The 3x3x3 cube pieces and notation
The pieces
To be able to solve the cube, we need to know it a bit, and to start, we will get to know the pieces of the cube. It has 26 pieces of 3 different types.
Centers
The cube has 6 centers, these are the pieces that only have 1 color. The centers never change position, they are always distributed in the same way.
Edges
The cube has 12 edges, these are the pieces that each have 2 different colors.
Corners
The cube has 8 corners. The corners have 3 different colors each.
3x3x3 cube notation
To be able to read and write series of moves, we use the notation that I will explain below.
The cube has 6 faces, and each face is assigned a different letter, which means turning the face 1/4 turn clockwise. Counterclockwise rotation is determined by placing a ' after the letter. If we need to turn a face 1/2 turn, we place a 2 after the letter.
- F: Front - Front
- U: Up - Up
- D: Down - Down
- R: Right - Right
- L: Left - Left
- B: Back - Back
Clockwise
Counterclockwise
The possible moves are as follows.
Side layers of the cube
Clockwise:
L
F
R
B
U
D
Counterclockwise:
L'
F'
R'
B'
U'
D'
Central layers of the cube
The middle layers also have an established notation, which is as follows.:
M
M'
E
E'
S
S'
Two-layer moves
There are also two-layer rotation moves, represented by placing the letter in lowercase or adding a w after it. Here are 4 examples.:
u
d'
l
l'
Cube rotation moves
There is also notation indicating full cube rotations to change the face we are looking at. These are the following.:
X
X'
Y
Y'
Z
Z'
Double moves
Double layer moves can be indicated by using the number 2 after the letter. The direction of the turn is not relevant, as whether done clockwise or counterclockwise, the result will be the same. Here are some examples.:
U2
R2
B2
