The Six Basic Face Turns
Each face is named by the first letter of Up / Down / Left / Right / Front / Back. A lone letter means a 90° clockwise turn of that face (viewed from directly in front of it).
Up face
Turn the top face 90° clockwise as if looking down onto the cube. From above: top-left → top-right → bottom-right → bottom-left.
Down face
Turn the bottom face 90° clockwise. Remember to look up from underneath the cube to judge 'clockwise'.
Left face
Turn the left face 90° clockwise, looking straight at the left face.
Right face
Turn the right face 90° clockwise, looking straight at the right face.
Front face
Turn the front face 90° clockwise. Almost every algorithm centers on F / R / U.
Back face
Turn the back face 90° clockwise, looking at it from behind the cube.
Three Modifiers: Prime · Double · Wide
A symbol can follow any face letter to change the turn.
Prime (')
An apostrophe after the letter means a 90° counter-clockwise turn. R' is the reverse of R. Read as 'R prime'.
Double (180°)
A 2 after the letter means a 180° turn. Clockwise 180° and counter-clockwise 180° are identical, so R2 and R'2 are the same.
Wide (two layers)
A 'w' after the letter turns the face plus the adjacent middle slice together (a two-layer turn). Sometimes written as a lowercase r. Rw turns the right two layers together.
Slice / Wide / Cube Rotations
Advanced notation also includes middle slices, two-layer turns, and whole-cube rotations.
Middle (vertical slice)
The middle layer between L and R, turning in the same direction as L. Common combo: M2 U M2 U2 M2 U M2 — the classic three-edge swap.
Equator (horizontal slice)
The middle layer between U and D, turning in the same direction as D.
Standing (front-back slice)
The middle layer between F and B, turning in the same direction as F.
Whole Cube Rotation
Rotate the entire cube as a whole. x is like R, y is like U, z is like F. Add a prime for the reverse, 2 for 180°. Used for ergonomics and transitions.
Real Algorithm Examples
Here are two real algorithms you'll meet in the tutorial, broken down move by move.
Example 1: Sune (classic OLL)
This is the Sune formula used repeatedly in step 5 to bring all the yellow stickers to the top face. Move by move:
R U R' U R U2 R'Example 2: U Perm (PLL three-edge swap)
A common last-step algorithm that cycles three edge pieces. Watch the direction of the 1st and 2nd M when practicing.
M2 U M2 U M' U2 M2 U2 M'Tip for reading formulas: memorize high-frequency combos like 'R U R' U'' as a single 'word' rather than letter by letter — it's far faster. The classic 'sexy move' R U R' U' appears again and again in F2L and OLL.
Now try these symbols yourself
Open the 3D cube and type out the two real algorithms above move by move to see what happens. Press Solve after each one — you'll be fluent in minutes.
Open the 3D Cube