Cube Moves

In this app, the moves are named as shown in this section. Whilst there are a few different ways of naming moves, this is probably the most widely used system, and for beginners to the 3x3 cube, worth learning.

Outer layer moves

Also known as face moves. Clockwise rotations for R (Right), L (Left), F (Front), B (Back), U (Up) and D (Down) faces. Anti-clockwise rotations for R' L' F' B' U' and D'.

   
R

   
R'

   
L

   
L'

   
F

   
F'

   
B

   
B'

   
U

   
U'

   
D

   
D'

Slice moves

Slice moves move the central layer. These slice moves are also referred to as Equatorial (E), Standing (S) or Middle (M) moves.

   
E

   
E'

   
S

   
S'

   
M

   
M'

Double Layer moves

Double layer moves are denoted with a lower case of the equivalent single layer move. For double layer moves, the central layer is moved along with the outer layer.

   
r

   
r'

   
l

   
l'

   
f

   
f'

   
b

   
b'

   
u

   
u'

   
d

   
d'

Cube Rotations

Triple layer moves just rotate the cube. These are not necessary in order to solve the cube, but can make algorithms easier to perform.

   
x

   
x'

   
y

   
y'

   
z

   
z'

180 degree moves

All of the above 36 moves can be rotated by two quarter turns (180 degrees / half a turn). 180 degree moves are counted as one move in this app.

If the move letter has a 2 after it, then that move is applied twice, i.e. a half turn is made. For example R2, will rotate the right face 180 degrees clockwise.

It doesn't really matter which way half turns are made (for example R2 and R2' move both result in the same cube state after the move). However the rotation direction is often chosen based on which direction is easiest/fastest.