Lesson 2 · 8 min

Notation: the alphabet

Read and perform any move sequence.

Every algorithm you’ll learn is just letters: R U R' U'. Master the alphabet and the whole CFOP method opens up.

Six faces, six letters

Hold the cube with one color on top. The six faces are: _R_ight, _L_eft, _U_p, _D_own, _F_ront, _B_ack. A bare letter means a clockwise quarter-turn of that face — clockwise as if you were staring straight at it.

Modifiers

R = right face clockwise (90°)
R' (“R prime”) = right face counter-clockwise
R2 = right face half-turn (180°). Direction doesn’t matter.

Rotations and slices

x y z rotate the whole cube around the R, U, F axes
r l u d f b (lowercase) are wide turns — two layers at once
M is the middle slice between R and L (turns with L direction)

Drill: pick up your cube and perform R U R' U' six times. You should land back on the start position. This sequence is called the sexy move and you’ll do it more than anything else.

What is CFOP? Next: Cube anatomy & color scheme