Want to play with your Rubik's Cube regularly but not sure what to do each day? This post gives you a Rubik's Cube practice routine of about 20 minutes a day, split into three levels: still getting the hang of solving it, able to solve it but still slow, and working on CFOP.
Find your case fast
Look at your cube from above and tap the picture that matches it to see how to solve it. Grey cells are stickers you can ignore.
Every session has the same three parts: a warm-up, one main task, then a few timed solves. Only the main task changes with your level.
Every move sequence in this post has been tested on EasyRubic's cube simulator, and every drill comes with a picture.
How long should you practise each day?
About 20 to 30 minutes. That is what Cameron recommends for one focused session a day in a guide to getting faster on the SpeedCubeShop blog (SpeedCubeShop). That post also mentions something easy to forget: decide what you will practise today before you pick up the cube.
Short and regular beats a three-hour session crammed into the weekend. Akshaansh Chilakapati writes on the Cubelelo blog that doing lots of solves without thinking does not help much; you improve when each session aims at exactly the spot where you are still weak (Cubelelo).
Outside those 20 minutes, solve just for fun whenever you like. That is the reward, not the practice.
What a 20-minute session looks like
| Part | Time | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 3 minutes | One short move sequence, repeated until your hands feel at home |
| Main task | 12 minutes | One single step, the one you are slowest at |
| Timed solves | 5 minutes | 5 solves, write down the average |
The minute split above is our own suggestion and does not come from any source. The main idea comes from SpeedCubeShop: practise only one step per session, and drill one case for about 10 to 15 minutes, until your hands can do it without stopping to think.
Warm-up: R U R' U' six times
Hold the cube with the white face on top. Do R U R' U' over and over, at a steady pace, no need to be fast. This four-move sequence turns up in a huge number of algorithms, so the more at home your hands are with it, the better.
Here is the fun part: after 3 times, only 4 corner pieces are out of place. Do it 3 more times, 6 times in total, and the cube is back exactly how it started. The left picture below is the cube after 3 times, the right one after 6 times:
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Because the cube always comes back to how it was, you can warm up on a solved cube without worrying about mixing it up. If the cube is not back to normal after 6 times, you turned one move wrong somewhere. That is a handy way to check yourself too.
For a more thorough warm-up, see the post Finger trick Rubik to practise turning with your fingers instead of your whole wrist.
Timed solves: look at the average, not the fastest solve
At the end of the session, do 5 timed solves on the 3x3 timer page (see how to use an online Rubik's timer) and write down your ao5: the average of 5 solves, leaving out the fastest and the slowest. SpeedCubeShop recommends keeping an eye on your average instead of chasing one lucky solve. How to work it out is in the post How to calculate ao5 and ao12.
Write your results in a notebook or spreadsheet, one line per day. Being slower today than yesterday is completely normal; compare week by week.
Four moves.
One at a time.
Tap each symbol and follow one piece. This is an exercise in watching the movement.
Routine if you cannot solve the cube yet
If you have never finished the cube, your main task each day is to get the hang of one step of the 7-step guide. Do not take on two steps in one day. Feliks Zemdegs writes on the CubeSkills guide page that beginners should practise each algorithm until they can do it quickly with no mistakes, and only then move on (CubeSkills).
At this level you do not need the timed solves yet. Instead, solve from the start up to the step you have just done.
Days 1 to 3: layer 1
Day 1 is the white cross (step 1), day 2 the four white corners (step 2), day 3 the middle layer (step 3). The pictures below show where you start and where each step takes you.
- You start with (input)A scrambled cube
- Result you will get after finishing this stepWhite cross done
- You start with (input)White cross done
- Result you will get after finishing this stepFirst layer all correct
- You start with (input)First layer all correct
- Result you will get after finishing this stepFirst two layers all correct
Days 4 to 7: layer 3
Day 4 is the yellow cross (step 4), day 5 turning the whole top face yellow (step 5), day 6 putting the four yellow corners in place (step 6), day 7 putting the last four edges in place (step 7).
- You start with (input)First two layers all correct
- Result you will get after finishing this stepYellow cross on top
- You start with (input)Yellow cross on top
- Result you will get after finishing this stepWhole yellow face on top
- You start with (input)Whole yellow face on top
- Result you will get after finishing this stepYellow corners in place
- You start with (input)Yellow corners in place
- Result you will get after finishing this stepCube solved
Each day, before starting a new step, solve through all the earlier steps once. If you have not finished a step in one day, just stay on it for another day. A more detailed one-week plan is in the post Solve a Rubik's Cube on your own in 1 week.
Routine if you can solve it, but take over 1 minute
You can already solve the whole cube with the beginner method. Now your main task each day is to drill one algorithm from the step you are slowest at. To find out which step that is, do a few solves and notice where you stop to think the longest.
| Day | Main task (12 minutes) |
|---|---|
| Monday | Middle layer: inserting an edge |
| Tuesday | Yellow cross |
| Wednesday | Making the top face yellow |
| Thursday | Middle layer, round two |
| Friday | The step you found slowest this week |
| Saturday | Lots of solves, just timing |
| Sunday | Rest, or solve for fun |
How to drill an algorithm: set the cube up in the exact case shown in the left picture, do the algorithm, check it against the right picture, then repeat. Once your hands can do it without your eyes having to watch, you know it by heart. The three pictures below hold the white face on the bottom and the yellow face on top, just like in the step-by-step guide.
Middle layer: inserting an edge to the right
The edge you need to insert sits in the top layer, at the front. The algorithm from step 3: U R U' R' U' F' U F
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
This algorithm splits into two halves of four moves: the first half uses your right hand, the second half uses the front face. Practise each half until it flows, then put them together.
Yellow cross
When the top face has two yellow edges in a straight line, running left to right in front of you, one go of F R U R' U' F' gives you the yellow cross (step 4). The picture only colours the four yellow edges:
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Notice that the four moves in the middle are the same R U R' U' you used to warm up. That is why the warm-up helps.
Making the top face yellow
When you already have the yellow cross and only one yellow corner facing up, the Sune algorithm R U R' U R U2 R' turns the whole top face yellow (step 5):
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Sune is the first algorithm many people drill until it is really fast. Seven moves, all R and U, no need to switch hands. Find out more in the post Sune and Anti-Sune algorithms.
Once you are solving under 1 minute every time, see the post Solve a Rubik's Cube in under 1 minute for what comes next.
Routine when you are working on CFOP
At this level, most of your time goes into the first two layers (F2L). Feliks Zemdegs calls F2L the most important part of a solve, and recommends that intermediate cubers do slow, untimed solves to practise looking ahead and to cut down their F2L move count (CubeSkills). He also recommends picking up PLL before OLL.
| Day | Main task (12 minutes) |
|---|---|
| Monday | F2L: slow solves, hands never stop |
| Tuesday | Pick up or go over 1 PLL |
| Wednesday | Cross: plan the whole cross before you turn |
| Thursday | F2L: insert pairs in as few moves as possible |
| Friday | Go over your PLL, mixed into real solves |
| Saturday | Lots of solves, time an ao12 |
| Sunday | Rest, or film one solve to watch back |
The two pictures below hold the white face on the bottom.
F2L: slow solves to look ahead
The SpeedSolving Wiki defines look-ahead as the ability to see what is coming next: while you solve one pair, your eyes are already searching for the next (SpeedSolving Wiki). Akshaansh Chilakapati (Cubelelo) recommends turning more slowly until there are no pauses left, and only then speeding up bit by bit.
The drill for Monday: solve the whole cube at a speed where your hands never stop, however slow that is. Your times will be bad, and that is fine.
The drill for Thursday starts from the shortest case: the corner sits right above its slot, and the edge is in the top layer at the back. Three moves, R U R', and you are done:
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Every time you come across a pair, ask yourself: is there a way to turn it into this three-move case? More ways to practise are in the posts Look-ahead Rubik and Intuitive F2L.
PLL: one algorithm a week
Pick up a new PLL on Tuesday, go over it on Friday, then use it in every solve for the whole week. If you do not know the T-perm yet, start with it: R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'
See it in 3D, before and after
- You start with (input)
- After the formula
Once again, the first four moves are R U R' U'. How to spot the T-perm and finger tricks for it are in the post T-perm algorithm; the order for the remaining PLLs is in the post Solve a Rubik's Cube in under 20 seconds.
Tips for sticking with your routine
- Pick a fixed time. After dinner, before homework, whenever you like, as long as it is the same time every day.
- Decide your main task before you pick up the cube. This is SpeedCubeShop's advice, and it stops you from spending the whole session doing random solves.
- Film yourself every few sessions. Akshaansh Chilakapati (Cubelelo) writes that watching your own solves back, even just every few sessions, helps you spot pauses you do not notice while solving.
- Untimed solves count as practice too. The same Cubelelo post says solving without a timer takes the pressure off and helps you find new ways to solve unusual cases.
- Take one day off each week. No source says you must; we suggest it because a break makes you want to come back.
Mistakes that make a routine stop working
- Just doing solve after solve with the timer on. If you never drill your slow step on its own, it stays slow forever.
- Taking on too many algorithms at once. One new algorithm at a time; use it for a few days before moving on to the next.
- Turning as hard as you can every time. Fast hands with eyes that cannot keep up lead to long pauses.
- Looking at each day on its own. Times going up and down from day to day is normal; compare your ao5 or ao12 week by week.
- Skipping finger tricks. Feliks Zemdegs recommends practising finger tricks early, before bad habits turn into reflexes.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How long should I practise the Rubik's Cube each day?
About 20 to 30 minutes of focused practice, as SpeedCubeShop suggests. Outside that time, solve for fun as much as you like.
What should a beginner practise first?
Go through the beginner method step by step, one step a day, and practise each algorithm until you can do it with no mistakes. Once you can solve the whole cube, move on to the second routine in this post.
Do I need to practise every day, or can I do it all at the weekend?
Short daily sessions usually work better, because your hands remember algorithms through steady repetition. If you cannot practise every day, keep at least a few short sessions a week instead of one long one.
Should I practise solving fast or slow?
Both, but in different parts of the session. Do the main task slowly and accurately; the timed solves at the end are the time to go fast. Cubelelo and CubeSkills both recommend slow solves to practise looking ahead.
How do I know I am getting better?
Write down your ao5 every day and your ao12 every week. If your weekly average has not dropped for a few weeks, switch your main task to the step you are slowest at.