All lessonsStep 4 of 7

Make a yellow cross on top

Make all four yellow edges face up.

Top

Look only at the two-color edges on top. Ignore corners. Choose your dot, L, or line.

Interactive example
Watch one move at a time.0 / 6
See another side

Only the view changes. Hold your real cube as instructed.

Only the top-left and top-right edges have yellow facing up.

Hold it like this

Keep yellow up and the yellow line running left-to-right.

Read the moves
  1. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  2. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  3. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  4. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  5. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  6. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
FRUR'U'F'

Is there a yellow cross? With all four yellow edges up, move on to matching their side colors.

My cube looks different

Not every color needs to match the example. Compare the piece you are working on and the nearby centers. If no case matches, check the step-by-step help below.

Keep the yellow center up and the white center down. Keep the same front until the whole move sequence ends.

YYYYYYYYY
Example top

Before moving on

Do the yellow center and four yellow edges make a top cross? Side colors may still differ.

The picture is an example. Check the written condition on your own cube.

Checked, next
Stuck? Review this step

With both lower layers solved, use F R U R′ U′ F′. A line needs yellow at UL and UR; an L needs yellow at UB and UL. This L becomes a horizontal line after one group; apply another. For a dot, apply one group, align the new L at back-left, then apply two groups. The dot demo’s U2 is specific to that example; on the real cube, choose U, U′, or U2 from the new pattern. If only one or three yellow edges face up, recount edges without corners and check whether a piece has been removed or twisted by hand.

  • Hold a line left-to-right. Hold an L with its arms at the back and left.
  • After six moves, inspect the new shape and set the grip again. Do not keep repeating without checking.
Read every case

A horizontal line

Only the top-left and top-right edges have yellow facing up.

Keep yellow up and the yellow line running left-to-right.

  1. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  2. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  3. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  4. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  5. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  6. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.

F R U R' U' F'

Is there a yellow cross? With all four yellow edges up, move on to matching their side colors.

An L at back-left

Only the top-back and top-left edges have yellow facing up.

Viewed from above, place the yellow arms at the back and left.

  1. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  2. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  3. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  4. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  5. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  6. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  7. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  8. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  9. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  10. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  11. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  12. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.

F R U R' U' F' F R U R' U' F'

Two groups made the cross. Notice the horizontal line after the first group.

Only a center dot

None of the four top edges has yellow facing up. Ignore corners.

In the demo, green is front and red is right. On your cube, choose the front that fits the piece.

  1. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  2. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  3. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  4. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  5. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  6. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  7. Turn only the top face halfway.
  8. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  9. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  10. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  11. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  12. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  13. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  14. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  15. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  16. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  17. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  18. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  19. Look straight at the front face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.

F R U R' U' F' U2 F R U R' U' F' F R U R' U' F'

This example uses U2 after the first group to put the L at back-left, then two more groups. Recheck and align the real cube after each group.

What do the letters mean?

R right, L left, U top, D bottom, F front, B back. Look straight at the face you turn: a letter means a clockwise quarter turn, a prime (′) means counterclockwise, and 2 means a half turn.