How to solve a 2x2 Rubik's cube in 3 stages
This guide shows how to solve a 2x2 Rubik's cube with a beginner method: build the white layer, put the yellow corners in their places, then twist them. A 2x2 is a 3x3 with only the corners, so the method uses three algorithms from our 3x3 beginner guide; if you can solve a 3x3 that way, you already know them. Each stage has an animated example on a 3D cube (press Play). Above the guide, paint your own 2x2 and you get the same stages worked out for your cube.
Reading the moves. The letters name the six faces (R, L, U, D, F, B: right, left, up, down, front, back). Turn the named face 90 degrees clockwise as you face it; add ' to turn it the other way, or 2 to turn it twice. y rotates the whole cube around the vertical axis. Every move is animated in the notation guide.
No centers, so the first corner decides. On a 3x3 the center pieces tell you which color goes on each side. A 2x2 has none. Hold any white corner in the bottom layer with white facing down: its two other colors fix the colors of the two sides they face, and the opposite sides get the opposite colors (white is opposite yellow, green opposite blue, red opposite orange).
1. White layer
Keep white on the bottom. For each of the other three white corners, turn the whole cube so that the corner's spot is at the bottom front-right: the spot sits between the two sides of the corner's other colors. Turn the top until the corner is right above that spot, then repeat the corner trick until the corner drops in with white on the bottom. It takes 1, 3 or 5 tries, depending on which way the white sticker faces; a white corner already in its spot but twisted needs 2 or 4. A white corner stuck in a wrong bottom spot comes out with one corner trick from that spot. When the stage is done, the bottom is white and each side's two bottom stickers match.
R U R' U'Corner trick: right side up, top to the left, right side down, top to the right.
2. Yellow corners into place
A top corner is in place when it sits between the sides of its colors, even if it is twisted: the yellow, red and green corner belongs between the red and green sides. On a 2x2 you may turn the top first, so turn it until one corner is in place (sometimes all four already are). Hold that corner at the top front-right and do the algorithm once or twice: it moves the other three top corners around while the front-right one stays. If no turn of the top puts exactly one corner in place, the corners are swapped in two pairs; do the algorithm once from anywhere and look again.
U R U' L' U R' U' LTop, right up, top back, left up, top, right down, top back, left down.
3. Twist the yellow corners
Hold the cube still. With a corner that does not show yellow on top at the top front-right, repeat the twist until yellow faces up: 2 or 4 times. The bottom layer looks scrambled while you do this; keep going. Turn only the top, never the whole cube, to bring the next corner without yellow on top to the front-right, and twist it the same way. When all four show yellow on top, the bottom layer is back, and one last turn of the top solves the cube.
R' D' R DRight down, bottom counter-clockwise, right up, bottom clockwise.
Why this order
Another common order turns all the yellow stickers up first and then swaps the corners with a longer algorithm. This page places the corners first and twists them last because that is the order of the 3x3 beginner method, so the same three algorithms do the whole job. When you want to go faster, the 2x2 solver shows the shortest solution of your cube, and the scramble generator gives you random 2x2 scrambles to practice on.
How the walkthrough is made
The walkthrough for your 2x2 is computed in your browser with exactly the moves taught here. It tries each white corner as the first piece and keeps the shortest walkthrough. We tested it on 2,000 random 2x2 cubes: after every stage the stickers were checked against that stage's goal, and every full solution was replayed on a separate cube model to confirm it solves the cube. On those cubes it took 60 turns on average and 103 at most. Impossible cubes, like a twisted corner or two stickers of one corner swapped, are refused with an explanation.
Solver tested . Found a problem? Tell us.
Questions
How do I solve a 2x2 Rubik's cube for beginners?
Build the white layer with the corner trick R U R' U', put the yellow corners in their places with U R U' L' U R' U' L, then twist each one with R' D' R D until yellow faces up. Paint your cube at the top of this page to get those steps worked out for your own 2x2.
Is a 2x2 easier than a 3x3?
It has fewer pieces: 8 corners and no edges or centers, so the beginner method has 3 stages instead of 7. The missing centers make one thing harder: you decide the side colors yourself from the first white corner.
Why does my bottom layer get scrambled in the last stage?
That is normal. The twist algorithm R' D' R D moves the bottom layer while you twist one corner and puts it back once all four corners show yellow on top. Turn only the top between corners, never the whole cube, or the bottom will not come back.
What is the fewest number of moves to solve a 2x2?
Every 2x2 position can be solved in 11 moves or fewer when any turn of a face counts as one move. The 2x2 solver finds that shortest solution for your cube; this page teaches a longer method you can do from memory.
What if my 2x2 cannot be solved as entered?
Usually a sticker was painted the wrong color, often red and orange or white and yellow. The message says what is wrong, for example a corner that is twisted or two corners with the same colors. If the colors are right, a corner on your real cube was twisted in place; twist it back by hand.