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Match the yellow cross side colors

Match all four yellow edge side colors to their centers.

Top

Use U turns to find two or four side colors matching their centers. Four means this step is done. With two, check if they are adjacent or opposite.

Interactive example
Watch one move at a time.0 / 8
See another side

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

The yellow cross has matching side colors only at the back and right edges.

Hold it like this

Hold the matched pair at back-right and the unmatched pair at front-left.

Read the moves
  1. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  2. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  3. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  4. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  5. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
  6. Turn only the top face halfway.
  7. Look straight at the right face. Turn only that face a quarter turn counterclockwise.
  8. Look straight at the top face. Turn only that face a quarter turn clockwise.
RUR'URU2R'U

Check all four side colors. You can continue even if corners still differ.

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

Is the yellow cross intact, with every top edge’s side color matching its center?

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

Checked, next
Stuck? Review this step

This lesson uses R U R′ U R U2 R′ U, including the final U. It swaps the top-front and top-left edges while preserving the yellow cross. For two adjacent matches, hold them at back-right; one group then matches all four sides. For opposite matches, put them at front-back and finish the longer case, or do one group, use U to find two matches again, and regrip for the adjacent case. If two edges remain wrong, check that yellow is up and the final U was completed.

  • For two adjacent matches, regrip the whole cube so the matched edges are at back and right.
  • Corners may still differ. Look only at the edge directly above each center.
Read every case

Back and right match

The yellow cross has matching side colors only at the back and right edges.

Hold the matched pair at back-right and the unmatched pair at front-left.

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

R U R' U R U2 R' U

Check all four side colors. You can continue even if corners still differ.

Front and back match

The yellow cross has matching side colors only at the front and back edges.

Hold the matched pair at front-back. Keep the same front through this longer example.

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

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

You used U2 between the groups and U at the end. Check all four side colors now.

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.