Rubik’s Cube basics
Basic moves warm-up
This page is a short practice guide for the core finger tricks you’ll use in almost every tutorial. Start with the right-hand and left-hand drills below. Once they feel natural, longer algorithms and walkthroughs are much easier to follow.
Notation recap
Reading notation is the foundation for every written solution. Learn what R, U, L, primes, and the other symbols mean before you stack longer sequences.
Notation guide: Rubik's Cube notation explainedLearn the drills
These two patterns are the bread and butter of beginner methods. Master them here and you’ll recognize them instantly inside full solves.
Hold the cube with a face toward you. One right-hand “R-turn” means: turn the right face 90° clockwise as a four-step mini-sequence (see the pictures below).
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The left-hand version is the mirror: turn the left face 90° counter-clockwise using the four steps in order.
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When you’re ready for repeating “pattern” tricks (videos and longer lists), see the repeating-moves hub on the Japanese site for now.
