The six faces of a cube
Move letters describe positions relative to how you hold the cube, not sticker colors. Keep the same front and top faces while following the solver. If the cube is scrambled, a layer can contain several colors.
| Letter | Face | What moves |
|---|---|---|
| U | Top | The top outer layer only |
| R | Right | The right outer layer only |
| F | Front | The front outer layer only |
| D | Bottom | The bottom outer layer only |
| L | Left | The left outer layer only |
| B | Back | The back outer layer only |
A letter, a prime, or a 2
A quarter turn
Turn the right face 90° clockwise, as seen looking directly at that face.
The reverse turn
The apostrophe, called “prime,” means 90° counterclockwise.
A half turn
Turn the face 180°. Either direction reaches the same position.
The same rules apply to U, F, D, L, and B. A half turn counts as one move in the half-turn metric used for the displayed move count.
Read R U R′ U′ from left to right
- R: right face clockwise.
- U: top face clockwise, looking down at it.
- R′: right face counterclockwise.
- U′: top face counterclockwise.
These are four separate moves. This sequence is an example of notation; it is not a complete solution for an arbitrary scrambled cube. Try it in the solver’s scramble input to inspect the result.
Keep the viewpoint straight
A clockwise back-face turn is measured while looking at the back, so it can look reversed from your usual front view. Turn only the named layer. Rotating the 3D preview changes your viewing angle; it does not redefine the front of your physical cube.
Wide turns, slice moves, and whole-cube rotations also exist, but this tool’s scramble input accepts only the six outer face letters with an optional apostrophe or 2. This is enough for both supported solvers.
Notation reference: Herbert Kociemba’s description of face turns and the two-phase algorithm.