Cube Tutorial » Basics Basics | Terminology | Animations | Physical | Mental | Downloads | Credits

Basic cube facts for true beginners

You need to understand what the parts of the cube are. It is not 54 small faces. And it is not 27 little cubes. It is 12 edge and 8 corner pieces moving inside a frame of the 6 unmovable center pieces.

If this is confusing to you, take apart your cube and look at how it is designed.Turn one side half a quarter turn and take out one of its edge pieces. The rest will fall apart easily. I will not buy you a new cube if you break it while trying this. But it is pretty hard to break it.

People who do not realize this often try to move individual faces, without understanding which other faces move with it. They may think that they have accomplished something when they have "completed one side" as in this example. This is a quite useless position. If it is not clear to you why this is so, you need to learn more.


You also have to realise that the center pieces on each side do not move. No matter how much you turn, they always remain in place. Again, if this is not obvious, take the cube apart. It will be obvious then, I promise!

Mail me at cube@lar5.com