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How To Solve Rubik - S Revenge-Adams PDF

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k0 1 1 qIa i

lk T i 4 k2 LaI=
HOW TO SOLVE
M

I -. I G - , 'L
71(t c
HOW TO SOLVE
Rubikp SM
Revenge
FULL-COLOR STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUC-
TIONS TO SOLVE THE SUPERCUBE

JEFFREY ADAMS

The Dial Press


New York
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Matthew and
Tevin Abeshouse for the design
and graphics, and to Don Kersey
for his sage advice. Most of all to
Raymond Shapiro for much
invaluable assistance.

Published by
The Dial Press
1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
New York, New York 10017

"Rubik's Revenge" is a trademark of Ideal Toy Corporation, Hollis, New


York, for puzzles. The term "Rubik's Revenge" as used herein means the
cube puzzle sold under that mark and is used without the permission of
Ideal Toy Corporation. This book does not emanate from and is neither
sponsored nor authorized by Ideal Toy Corporation.

Copyright ©D1982 by Jeffrey Adams


Design and graphics by Amity Products Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Printing
ISBN: 0-385-27807-1
Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................... 6
2. Guide to the Solution ............. 8
3. Basic Moves .................... 14
4. Summary of Notation/Color Key . . 20
5. Step-by-Step Solution ........... 22
1. Corners ................... 24
II. Edges ..................... 32
111. Centers ................... 50
6. Shortcuts ..................... 54
7. Alternative Solution ............. 56
8. More Useful Moves .............. 60
9. Patterns ........................ 62
10. Afterword - for the Expert ....... 64
Introduction

Mastering the Cube was just the beginning - now


there's the Supercube, alias Rubik's Revenge." It's a
lot harder, but don't despair. Here is a complete, step-
by-step solution to the 4x4x4 Supercube.
This book will help you solve the Supercube, and
more. You will understand the Supercube, because
before you get bogged down in the step-by-step solu-
tion you learn the Basic Moves which alone are
enough to solve it! These are the only moves you need
to solve this mind-boggling puzzle.
The nine Basic Moves are listed for convenience on
a fold-out flap on the back cover so you can refer to
them easily as you follow the solution. You will soon be

6
able to dispense with the step-by-step solution, and re-
member only these moves. To make things even sim-
pler, the Basic Moves (with one exception) are all
based on a single Basic Basic Move, called a commu-
tator (see pg. 14). It is one of the marvels of the Super-
cube that one simple procedure allows you to solve
this fantastically complex puzzle. There is very little
memorization needed! And if you are familiar with the
original cube, you will soon see that solving the Super-
cube isn't much harder.
Don't worry about speed at first. This solution is
conceptual and easy to follow rather than fast, and re-
quires very little memorization. Anyhow, no matter
how fast you can solve it there's bound to be someone
half your age who can do it twice as fast! The beauty
of the puzzle lies in its extraordinary complexity yet
ultimate simplicity, in its symmetry and in its pat-
terns. With an understanding of the Supercube you
can begin to explore the fascinating world of Super-
cube patterns.
For those of you set on breaking records (and
wrists) there are shortcuts to help you speed up the so-
lution. We have included a sketch of an alternative so-
lution in which you solve the centers first. You may be
interested in some more advanced processes, and a
sample of possible Supercube patterns. And for the
experts there is a brief section on Supercube-theory.
Happy Cubing!

7
Guide to the Solution

We need a convenient notation to denote moves,


parts of the cube, and so forth. We use a simple exten-
sion to the Supercube of the notation developed by
David Singmaster in Notes on Rubik's Magic Cube,
(somewhat of a standard in the industry). If you are fa-
miliar with his notation you may wish to skim this sec-
tion quickly.

Parts of the cube


There are 56 sub-cubes in the cube:
24 center-cubes, 24 edge-cubes
and 8 corner-cubes.

corner-cube

edge-cube

% center-cube

8
There are 6 faces consisting of 16 visible sub-
cubes. These are labelled as follows: Up, Down, Left,
Right, Front and Back; or U, D, L, R, Fand B for short.

Lef
It

There are also 6 slices consisting of 12 visible sub-


cubes. These are labelled as follows: up, down, left,
right, front and back; or u, d, I, r,f and b for short.

left '
fl
I -i-t
IWIJL

9
Guide
We label positions within the cube as follows: the
position at the Front-Up-Right corner of the cube is
called the Front-Up-Right position, or FUR-position.
The Front-Left-Up position is called the FLU-position,
and so on.
It is not enough to refer to the ULF-position for an
edge position since there are two such; we distinguish
them by using UF(r) and UF(l).2 The same holds for
FR(u) and FR(d),X UR(f) and UR(b), and so on. We will
not bother labelling centers.
cl .| cl-

FR(u)
position

:R(d)
position _ - position

In a 3x3x3 cube the centers are fixed, so you know


where every sub-cube must go. So if a corner-cube
must go to the FUR-position, we call it the FUR corner-
cube. Similarly for edges.
Unfortunately there are no fixed centers in a Super-
cube. However, at each step some sub-cubes will be
considered fixed, so we label the other sub-cubes in
reference to them. For example after Step I the corners
are all solved and must remain fixed. Then if your
cube looks like this,3 the UF(r)-edge and the UF(1)-
edge are the two with blue and red sides. The FR(u)-
edge and FR(d)-edge are the ones with blue and green
sides. So in this example, an FR(u or d) edge is in the

10
Guide
UR(f)-position. (The FR(u) and FR(d) edges have the
same colors, and are essentially indistinguishable,
see pg. 34).
As another example in Step I you fix the FLU-
corner.4 This determines the rest of the corners. For
example, if your cube is like this one 4the FUR corner-
cube is the one with the red, blue and green sides. The
FRD corner-cube has blue, green and yellow sides.

We say a corner sub-cube is correctly oriented if (it


is in the correct position and) its colors are aligned cor-
rectly (with respect to whatever is considered fixed).
Otherwise it is incorrectly oriented. For example, in di-
agrams x and, 6 the FLU-corner is considered fixed,
and the FUR-corner is incorrectly or correctly ori-
ented respectively.
We use the same terminology for edges even
though strictly speaking an edge which looks in-
correctly oriented is really in the wrong position (see
pg. 34).

Sn 11
Guide
Moves
R means: turn the Right face one turn (90 degrees)
clockwise. The clockwise move is determined by
looking directly at the face. Similarly L, F,B, U and D.
r means: turn the right slice one turn (90 degrees)
clockwise. Clockwise for the right slice is determined
by looking at the Right face. I, f, b, u and d are
similar.; Note that r and I appear to go in opposite
directions.

d
mob

12
Guide
R' ("R-prime") means: turn the Right face one turn
counter-clockwise,;also L', F', B', U', and D'; and r',
I', f', b', u' and d'. I X,

III-
i

I_

A sequence of moves is given by a string: R'URU'


means apply R', then U,then R, and finally U'.
Parentheses or brackets simply clarify the moves:
L(F'UFU')L= LF'UFU'L. Brackets [ ] will be used to
indicate that the process involves conjugation (see pg.
14). Superscript 2 means done twice: R2 = RR,
(R'URU') 2 = R'URU'R'URU'.
Note that RR' does not do anything; neither does
(FR'IU)(U'I'RF'). That is, to undo a sequence of
moves, reverse their order, change all primes to non-
primes, and vice-versa. This move which undoes a
given move is called its inverse, and is denoted by a':
(FR'IU)'= U'I'RF'.

13
Basic Moves

The catalogue of Basic Moves contains all the


moves you need to solve the Supercube. We suggest
you familiarize yourself with these moves, especially
Basic Move 5, before going on to the step-by-step
solution.
It is time we explained the unifying principle behind
these moves. Look at Basic Move 1: R'URU'. It moves
four corners and 6 edges (in three pairs) in a very sim-
ple way. A 3 x 3 x 3 cube may be completely solved
using only this move and a few variants of it! This move
is the simplest example of a commutator. An move of
the form (move A) (move B) (inverse of move A)in-
+ verse ol m-ove B) is called a commutator. Commuta-
tors are the key to the cube and to the Supercube.

(A 13Y-jA-o
Z76K=

14
They are the building blocks of the solution. It is easy
to break up any process you like into smaller ones
achievable with commutators. Although this does not
always give the fastest way to do something, remem-
ber, what we are after first is clarity, not speed. Speed
will come later.
All the Basic Moves but 7 and 8 are commutators,
and Basic Move 8 has a commutator in it. Sometimes,
,as in Basic Moves 5 and 6, we build commutators on
top of commutators and voilA: a ten-move sequence
that only affects three edges.
Another essential part of this solution (any solution,
for that matter) is a similar process - po n
This allows you to increase the usefulness of any
process. For example Basic Move 3 very conveniently
orients two adjacent corners. But what if (as happens
in Step I.C., pg. 30) you want to orient two opposite
corners? No need to find a whole new process; simply
move the two corners into adjacent positions, apply
the given move (Basic Move 3) and move them back
the way they came. That is in this case, one applies
L [Basic Move 3]L'.
Anyimove ofibtelrmi. rove A) [move Bltinverse of
move Ad is called a conitfat of move B. It has the
same effect as move Mon different parts of the cube.
Brackets [ ] are used to point these moves out-they
are used extensively in Step II.

Co)w U
JiUfrk>' -

/1\- rl ._/

15
Basic Move 1: (Steps I-A and B)

R'URU'

This moves four corners, just


like on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube. It also
moves three pairs of edges. Its
inverse is
UR'U'R.

Also
(R'URU')2
orients the FUR corner. It also
orients three corners on the
Back face, and moves three
pairs of edges. Its inverse is
(UR'U'R) 2 .

Basic Move 2: (Step I-B)

L'(URU')L(UR'U')

This moves three corners


clockwise. Basic Moves 1 and
2 are all that you need to get all
corners in place. Its inverse is
(URU')L'(UR'U')L.

16
Basic Move 3: (Step I-C)
______ ... ...... ---
move w = jRi URU')-rtUml U R

This orients two corners, and is


all you need to orient the cor-
ners. Its inverse is move W' =
F(R'URU')2 F'(UR'U'R)2 .

Basic Move 4: (Steps Il-A, B and C)

(KULr)U(I' L'U' t1')U'

This moves three pairs of adja-


cent edges as if they are glued
together. It does not affect cor-
ners or centers. Its inverse is
U(RBLF)U'(F'L'B'R').

Basic Move 5: (Steps Il-B and C)

move X = (F'rFr')U(rF'r'F)U'

This moves three edges with-


out affecting corners or cen-
ters. It is the workhorse of this
solution. It and Basic Move 6
form two halves of Basic Move
4. Its inverse is move X'=
U(F'rFr')U'(rF'r'F).

17
Basic Move 6: (Steps Il-B and C)

moveY = (FT''FI)U(Q'F'IF)U'
This also moves three edges;
see Basic Move 5. This is in-
cluded for the sake of com-
pleteness. In the step-by-step
solution we use only Basic
Move 5. We use this move in
the shortcuts;
-s invrs see Section 6.
is_move
its inverse is move Tr =
U(F'I'FI)U'(I'F'IF).

Basic Move 7: (Steps Il-A, B and C)

R'U 2R2UR'U'R'U 2-LFRF'L'

This exchanges two pairs of


edges, essentially orienting
them. It does not affect corners
or centers. It comes from the
same move on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube
which flips two edges in place.
Its inverse is itself.

Basic Move 8: (Step Il-C)

C 12D2 [uF'u' F]D 212 .(LUL')u'(LU' L'

This switches just two edges


(which is impossible on a
3 x 3 x 3 cube). It also moves I
X, 5r For aomove
fifnot affect centers
see Section 8. This move is
only used once in the solution.
It-,
..- inve-rse
itself.
is (PqssenfialIv)
....- .- -_.- \---
T. ,
6 O

V 18
Basic Move 9: (Steps IIl-A and B)

R'(fr'f')R(frf')

This essentially switches two centers on adjacent faces


without affecting corners or edges. That is, it moves three
centers as shown, but if you ignore centers shuffling
around a single face you can think of it as above. This is
all you need to solve the centers. Its inverse is
(fr'f')R'(frf')R.

19
Summary of Notadon

Faces:
F- Front L- Left U - Up
B- Back R - Right D - Down
Slices:
f - front I - left u - up
b - back r - right d - down
Sub-cubes and Positions:
FUR: Front-Up-Right corner (cube or position)
UF(r): Up-Front-(right slice) edge (cube or
position)
Moves:
R: turn the Right face one turn clockwise
R': turn the Right face one turn counter-
clockwise
r: turn the right slice one turn clockwise
r': turn the right slice one turn counter-clockwise
RB'I F: R,then B', then 1,then F
(RB') (IF): RB'IF
(RB'IF)': RB'IF "Inverse" = F'T'BR'
(RB'IF) 2 : =RB'IFRB'IF
R[UD]R': = RUDR' (same as parentheses but
only used in conjugation)
t:see shortcuts (Section 6)

20
Color Key

etc. ................ denotes diagrams


t ............... shortcuts (see Section 6)
...................... face movement
................... rotation of whole cube
- ................. (sub)-cube movement
................... (sub)-cube orientation
. .......................... indicator
Remember:
* Follow all formulas exactly.
* Watch for the use of Basic Moves, and refer to
them on the fold-out.
* Do not skip steps. You may do some steps your
own way as long as you make sure to do exactly
the right thing without messing up what has al-
ready been done. In particular you may want to
do all of Step I (corners) by yourself. You may
also find it easier to get the first few edges in
place in Step II by yourself.
* Don't lose your place.
* There are no fixed centers!
* Do not move the cube as a whole unless instructed
to do so - this changes the meaning of U, F, etc.
* Don't worry about sub-cubes you will solve later
until you get there. Step IlIl is the easiest one, you
may wish to try it first for practice.
* Have fun!

21
Step-by-Step Solution aU...
OUTLINE OF THE SOLUTION

STEP I
SOLVE THE CORNERS

A. Solve the
Front -corners
B. Put remaining
corners in place,
not oriented

C. Orient
remaining corners

22
STEP If
SOLVE THE EDGES

A. Solve the
Right-edges
B. Solve the
left and right
slice-edges

C. Solve the
remaining edges

STEP III
SOLVE THE CENTERS

A. Solve the
Front-centers

B. Solve the
remaining centers,
one face at a time

23
STEPl WM
SOLVE THE CORNERS

In this step, you put all of the corners in their correct


positions, correctly oriented. As explained in the intro-
duction, since at this point there are no fixed centers to
refer to, what this means is that the corners should be
lined up like this:

If you wish, you may ignore all edges and centers


and pretend you are solving a mini (2x 2 x 2)-cube.
You probably know how to do this yourself. If you do,
then go ahead and solve the corners, and go right to
Step II (pg. 32). If not, follow the bouncing ball:
A. Solve the four corners in the Front face.
1. Look at the corner-cube in the FLU-position;
(somewhat arbitrarily) consider this corner-

24
cube solved, i.e. in its correct position and orientation.
This completely determines what the final position of
every corner-cube must be.
FLU-
corner

2. Solve the FUR-corner.


The corner-cube which belongs here is the one
having two sides the same colors as the Front and
Up sides of the FLU-corner.
a. Find the FUR corner-cube.
There are three possibilities:
i. The FUR-cube is already in the FUR-position.
Go to step b.
ii. The FUR-cube is in the Front face, but at the
FDR position or the FDL-position. Apply R or
DR respectively to put it at the FUR-position.
Go to step b.
iii. The FUR-cube is in the Back face. Rotate the
Back face to put it at UBR.5 Apply D'R'D to put
it at FUR. Go to step b.

25
I.A. Up-corners
b. The FUR-cube is at the FUR-position, possibly
incorrectly oriented. If it is correctly oriented, i.e.
the Front and Up sides of it match the Front and
Up sides of the FLU-corner, go to step 3. If not,
and it wants to turn counter-clockwise, apply
(R'URU') 2 ,; if it wants to turn clockwise apply
(UR'U'R)2. Go to step 3.

bz

3. Rotate the whole cube counter-clockwise one


turn, keeping the Front face Front. Repeat step 2
twice more, to solve the remaining two Front
corners The four Front corners are now
solved. Go to step B.

B. Put remaining corners in place, not oriented.


1. Move the whole cube to put the Front face with its
solved corners Down, so you are now solving
the four Up-corners.

26
L.B. Remaining corners, position
Rotate the Up face to put the FUR corner-cube
in its correct position.2
FUR

I 2

Examine the three remaining Up-corners.


There are three possibilities:
i. The other three corners are also already in the
correct position. Go to step C.
ii. The other three Up corners are all in the wrong
position. If they want to move clockwise,';
apply L'(URU')L(UR'U'). If they want to move
counter-clockwise, apply (URU')L'(UR'U')L.
All Up-corners are now in the correct position.
Go to step C.

iii. There are two Up-corners in the correct


position, and two wrong.

27
I.B. Remaining corners, position
If the other correct Up-corner is adjacent to the
FUR-corner (i.e. at FLU or UBR) apply U.
There is now one correct Up-corner (UBR or
ULB) and three wrong; rotate the whole cube
keeping the Up face Up, to put the correct one
at FUR.' You are now in the situation of step ii
so go to step ii.

If, on the other hand, the other correct corner


is opposite the FUR-corner (i.e. at ULB),A
apply U'-L'D'[R'URU'] DL . All Up-corners
are now in the correct position. Go to step C.
III 0
UR

C. Orient the Up-corners.


All corners are now in the correct position, with the
Up-corners possibly not oriented. It is easy to use
Basic Move 3 and its inverse:
moveW = (R'URU') 2 F(UR'U'R) 2 F'
move W' = F(R'URU') 2 F'(UR'U'R) 2

28
I.C. Remaining corners, orientation
to orient the Up-corners one or two at a time. This
is a spot where it is easier to do this yourself than
describe it explicitly, but nontheless:
There are four possibilities:
i. All Up-corners are already correctly oriented.
Go to step 11.
ii. All four Up-corners are oriented wrong. If the
FUR corner-cube wants to be turned counter-
clockwise, apply move W; if it wants to be
turned clockwise, apply move W'. There
are now two or three corners oriented incor-
rectly. Go to step iv or iii.

iii. Three corners are oriented incorrectly, and


one correctly. Rotate the whole cube, keeping
the Up face Up, to put the correct corner at
UBR. - If the FUR-corner wants to be turned
counter-clockwise, apply move W; if it wants
to be turned clockwise, apply move W'. There
are now two adjacent corners wrong. Go to
oafs 'v \ ' i
--tp-n iv.(1

29
I.C. Remaining corners, orientation
iv. There are two corners wrong, and two correct.
There are two possibilities:
(1). The two incorrect corners are adjacent.
Rotate the whole cube, keeping the Up face
Up, to put the incorrect corners at FLU and
FUR. If the FUR-corner wants to be
turned counter-clockwise apply move W; if
it wants to be turned clockwise, apply
move W'. All corners are now completely
solved. 8 Go to step 11.
(2). The two incorrect corners are opposite.
Rotate the cube, keeping the Up face Up, to
put the incorrect corners at FUR and
ULB. Apply L to put these at FLU and
FUR as in (1). If the FUR-corner wants to
be turned counter-clockwise, apply move W;
if it wants to be turned clockwise, apply
move W'. Apply L' to return the cube to its
previous position. That is, apply L[move W
or move W']L'. All corners are now com-
pletely solved. Go to step II.

30
I.C. Remaining corners, orientation

III L
OR

31
STEP I1 EM g a
SOLVE THE EDGES

All corners are now solved and you have come to


the only difficult step:solving the edges. Here this is
done in essentially the same manner as on a 3 x 3 x 3
cube. On an ordinary cube you only need one process
(a commutator): F'UFU', which moves three edges.
On the Supercube F'UFU' looks the same, with pairs
of edges glued together.

First of all, when you solve the edges on a 3 x 3 x 3


cube using F'UFU' you leave the corners till last so it
doesn't matter that this moves some corners. But on
the Supercube you have already solved the corners
and you don't want to mess them up. So instead use
the following commutator (Basic Move 4) which has
the same effect on edges but does not move corners:
yI. 5jEF('LB')'

32
fti

Secondly, you need to accomplish this on single


edges (not pairs). So on a Supercube you use:

! '\ move X =
i /K\ (F'rFr')U(rFYrF)U'

move Y =
(F'I'FI)U(I'F'IF)U'

Thus X and Y are two halves of Basic Move 4:


(move X) (move Y) = (RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U'. It is
useful to remember that X moves one "inner" and two
"outer" edges (meaning adjacent to the pivotal corner
FUR or not), and Y moves one "outer" and two "inner"
edges.
Note that moves X and Y are commutators. For ex-
ample move X is a commutator of a commutator
(F'rFr') and a face move (U).
Incidentally, a
centers!
In principle (and in fact!) moves X and Y may be
used to solve the edges much like on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube.
Of course inverses and conjugates are used repeat-
edly (see pp. 13 and 14).

33
II.A. Right-edges
As indicated in the Basic Moves, we actually only
use move X in the step-by-step solution. We eliminate
the need for move Y by the use of move X in conjunc-
tion with Basic Move 7. The solution is less compli-
cated this way, with fewer cases to analyze; but possi-
bly takes a few more moves to execute since Basic
Move 7 may be used a few extra times. Places where
move Y may be used are indicated by at and given as
shortcuts in Section 6.
Generally when the first of a pair of adjacent
edges is placed, you may be sloppy and use
Basic Move 4. However, when doing the second one
you must be more careful and use move X.
One last comment before getting down to business.
Unlike on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube, it is impossible to flip edges
in place. What happens is, if the FR(d) edge is in the
correct (FR(d)) position, it is necessarily correctly ori-
ented. But remember the FR(u) edge looks identical to
the FR(d) edge - if it is put in the FR(d) position, it will
necessarily be oriented wrong. So if an edge looks ori-
ented wrong, it's not, it's in the wrong position! We will
still use the term 'incorrectly oriented" to mean an
edge which looks likle it wants to be flipped in place (but
actually wants to change places with its neighbor).
So without further ado:

({A.Solve the Ri ht - sege 4


t(i) 5)So the UR~and UR(b) edges.
The general plan is: put the UR(f) and UR(b)
edges into the I and/or r slices (steps a and b),
put them at UF(l) and UF(r)f -(step c), and then
into UR(f) and UR(b), (step d), ignoring orienta-
tion. Then orient them if necessary (step e).

34
II.A. Right-edges
landr
)elstoe

F(I)
id UF(r)
)sitions

a. Put one UR(f or b) edge in the I or r slice.


Find a UR(f or b) edge. If it is already in the I or r
slice, go to step b.
Otherwise, there are two possibilities:
i. It is in the Right face. Rotate the Right face
enough times to put it at UR(f or b),Sapply
F[(RBLF)U(F'L'B'R'IUF' to put it in the
or r s ice, and rotate the Right face back to
where it was (thus fixing the corners).
Go to step b.

35
II.A. Right-edges
ii. It is in the Left face. Rotate the Left face enough
times to put it at UL(f or b), apply
IF FBLU(,B'R' F')' to put it in the I or r
slice, and rotate the Left face back to where it
was (thus fixing the corners). Go to step b.
UIL(f orb)

b. One UR(f or b) edge is now in either the I or r slice.


Rotate this slice to put this edge in the FD(I or r)
position. Now repeat step a once to put the
second UR(f or b) edge into the I or r slice.
Go to step c.

FD(Ioi

c. Both UR(f or b) edges are in the I and/or r slices.


Now you put the UR(f or b) edges at UF(I) and
UF(r). There are two possibilities.
i. If the UR(f or b) edges are in different slices (one
in I and one in r) rotate these slices to put them at
UF(I) and UF(r).t "Go to step d.

36
II.A. Right-edges

ii. If the UR(f or b) edges are in the same slice,


rotate that slice to put one of them at
UF(I or r),1 and apply Basic Move 7:
R'U2 R UR'U'R'U 2 LFRF'L' to move this edge to
A R to step i.

dt The UR(f or b) edges are now at UF(I) and UF(r).


Apply F[U(RBLFU(F 'L'B'R')1F'to put them at
UR(f) an ; . Go to step e.

37
II.A. Right-edges
e. If both UR(f or b) edges are correctly oriented, go
to step 2. If they are both incorrectly oriented,
apply Basic Move 7: R'U 2 R2 UR'U'R'U 2LFRF'L',
and go to step 2.

2. Both UR(f or b) edges are now solved.;Rotate


the whole cube, keeping the Right face to the
Right.` 'eeat son 1. After four repetitions the
Right edges will all be solved.^

38
l1.B. Slice-edaes
() B. Solve the I and r slice edqes.
Allthe edges on one face are now solved. Move
.* the whole cube to make this the Left face. You now
solve the I and r slice edges.^

landr
slice edges

)7Solvethe UF(l) and UFr Ledqes.


Th~iss sortposi1o step A: put the desired
edge into the Right face, and then into the
UF(I or r) position.> Do this for each edge (steps a
and b), ignoring orientation. Then orient them if
necessary (step c).^:s
-

a. Put one UF(I or r) edge in the UF(I or r) position.


Find a UF(I or r) edge. If it is already at UF(I or r),
go to step b. Otherwise, there are two
possibilities:

39
II.B. Slice-edges
i.: It is in the Right face. Rotate the Right face
enough times to put it at FR(u or d)." Apply
(RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U' to put it at UF(I or r),g;
a rotat~ee igi ace back to where it was.
Go to step b.

FR(u 4

ii. It is in the I or r slice. Rotate this slice enough


times to put it at UF(I or r), and apply
9qb ',= to put it in the Right
fa-ce inand rotate the I or r slice back to where it
was. Go to step i.

UF( or r)
I
I
biOne UF(I or r) edge is now in the UF(I or r) position,
possibly incorrectly oriented. To minimize the num-
ber of decisions you have to make, it is best to
have this at UF(l). If it is at UF(l), fine; if it is at
UF(r),- apply Basic Move 7:
R:U!H2RIUPRU'R U2LFRF'' to put it there.

40
II.B. Slice-edges

You now put the other UF(I or r) edge at UF(r).


Find this edge.
There are two possibilities:
i. It is in the Right face. You can rotate the Right
face to put it at either UR(b) or FR(d),'O but not
both, so rotate the Right face to either put it at
,* UaIL and apply m ix l _
Fix),
Mtd* and apply m U(,
to put it at UF(r); and rotate ei7ight face back
to where it was. Go to step c.

ii. It is in the I or r slice. (If it is already at UF(r), go


to step c). Rotate the whole cube keeping the
Right face to the Right to put it at UF(I or r)B2
(and to put the edge already at UF(l) out of the

41
II.B. Slice-edges
way). Apply (RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U' to put it in the
Right face, anro a e`tee cube back to where
it was. Since the UF(I or r) edge in question is
now in the Right face, go to step i.

c. Both UF(l or r) edges are now at UF(I or r). If they


are both correctly oriented, go to step 2. Ifthey
are both incorrectly oriented, apply Basic Move 7:
R OF' ' 2 lFRL and go to step 2.
Both Or r edges are now solved. Rotate the
whole cube, keeping the Right face to the Right.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat. After four repetitions all of
the edges in the I and r slices are solved.

C. Solve the remaining edges.


All of the edges are now solved except those on a
) single face. Wlt_%-I-e cube to make this face
the Upfac.
(ithe UF(I) and UF(r) edges.

42
II.C. Remaining edges

a. Find a UF(I or r) edge. If it is already at


UF(I or r), go to step b. Otherwise, there are
three possibilities:
i. It is at UR(f or b).2
Apply 9 =R Bw F
to put at l(Iorr).
Go to step b.

ii. It is at UB(lorr).
Apply .BRUfffLF1UiFRL)BB
to put iTaueUF(orr).,
Go to step b.
(Ior r)

43
II.C. Remaining edges
iii. It is at UL(f or b).
Apply R'UI(RBLF)gF'L'B'RJ')UR
to put it at UF(l or7T
Go to step b.
UL(f or

,,

bTOne UF(I or r) edge is now in the UF(I or r) posi-


tion, possibly incorrectly oriented. To minimize
the number of decisions you have to make, it is
best to have this at UF(I). If it is at UF(I), fine;
if it is at UF(r),9apply Basic Move 7:
RI j 2RUR'U'R'U 2LFRF'L'to put it there.
-

UF(

You now put the other UF(I or r) edge in the


UF(r) position.
Find this other edge.
There are three possibilities:

44
11.C. Remaining edges
i. It is at UR(f or b). If it is at
k *VRU1L apply B'R'[move X]RB,
. U
* apply FU[move X']U'F',
and go to step c.

UR(f)

ii. It is at UB(I or r). If it is at


* UBjBQJ apply FU[move X]U'F'," -
* UALrj apply B'R'[move X']RB,'-
and-go to step c.
IRVNI
IJ J'v*1
P

45
II.C. Remaining edges
iii. It is at UL(f or b). If it is at
* A apply R'U'[move X]UR, 4
* b)applyLF[moveX']F'L',5
and go to step c.

c. The UF(I or r) edges are now at UF(I) and UF(r).


If they are both correctly oriented, go to step 2.
If they are both incorrectly oriented, apply
Basic Move 7: R'U2R2
and go to step 2.
Both UF(I or r) edges are now solved. Rotate the
whole cube, keeping the Up face Up, to put these
at UL(f) and UL(b)." fi You now solve the UF(l) and
UF(r) edges. To do this, repeat step 1 once. After
this the only edges not solved are at UR(f or b)
and UB(I or r). Go to step 3.

46
II.C. Remaining edges
'3DThe UL(f), UL(b) and UF(I), UF(r) edges are now
solved. Rotate the whole cube, keeping the Up
face Up to put the unsolved edges at UF(I or r)
and UR(f or b).

aiFind both the UF(I) and UF(r) edges.


There are three possibilities:
i. They are both already at UF(I or r). Go to step c.
ii. They are both at UR(f or b). Apply
IU'FiZU~mQY&XjILUjThere is now a
CJF(lorr)edgeatUF(l).': Gotostepb.

47
I.C. Remaining edges
iii. One is at UF(I or r), and one at UR(f or b).
* If the one at UF(I or r) is at UF(I),;ME>:;;
go to step b.
* If the one at UF(I or r) is at UF(r),;
apply Basic Move 7:
R'U2 R 2 UR'U'R'U2 LFRF'L',
and go to step b.

I
(There is now a UF(I or r) edge at UF(I) and the
other one is at UR(f or b).
If the other one is at:
UfapplybR'b'[move XbRb',
b), apply cb'[move X']bRb
arid go to step c.

48
lI.C. Remaining edges
he UF(I or r) edges are now both at UF(l or r),
and the UR(f or b) edges are both at UR(t or b).
You now orient them.
There are three possibilities:
i. All four of the UF(l or r) and UR(f or b) edges are
incorrectly oriented Apply Basic Move 7:
R'U 2 R2 UR'U'R'U 2 LFRF'L' to remedy this,
and go to Step 11.
ii. Exactly two (adjacent) edges are incorrectly
oriented. Thus you want to switch these two
edges. (This cannot be done on a 3 x 3 x 3
cube, but this is a Supercube!) Move the whole
these at UF() and UF(r).: Apply

GotoStepill. ty e-o & Il


iii. All edges are oriented correctly.% Go to Step 1l1. b

49
STEP III OME.
SOLVE THE CENTERS

The worst is over. Solving the centers is a piece of


cake. Solving the centers on each of the six faces is
identical; the procedure below is simply repeated six
times. You only use Basic Move 9.
(&Solve the Front-
5the centers on each of the faces
is identical, we illustrate this for a single color,
say blue. So move the whole cube to put the
blue face Front.

1. Move a single blue center onto the Front face


(from some other face). Find a blue center-cube
on some face other than the Front face.

50
There are two possibilities:
i. It is on the U, R, D or L face. Rotate the whole
cube, keeping the Front face to the Front, to
put this blue center-cube on the Right
face.' Rotate the Right face to put this blue
center-cube in the upper left-hand slot on the
Right face.X Rotate the Front face to put any
non-blue center-cube in the upper right-hand
slot of the Front face. (Remember how you did
these two things, you need to undo them in a
moment.) Apply ['f'Rfr'to bring the
desired blue center-cu e to the Front
face. Rotate first the Front face and then the
Right face to undo what you did a moment
ago, thus restoring all corners and edges to
their solved positions. It is easy to figure out
how to do this by looking at the corners and
@ = edges, and by remembering to move the Front
Ao face first. Go to step 2.

:@ C-

51
III.A. Front-centers
iiYThe desired blue center-cube is in the Back face.
You apply the same procedure as in step i to
move this blue to another face adjacent to the
Front face. You can then apply step i to move it to
the Front (blue) face. Move the whole cube to
put the Back face, the one with the blue center
you want, to the Right, and also some other face
whose centers are not yet solved to the
Front."' Rotate the Right face to put the desired
blue center-cube in the upper left-hand slot of the
Right face. Apply R'(frT)R(frf to bring this
blue center-cube toe Frontface, and rotate
the Right face back to where it was.
Move the whole cube to return the blue face to
the Front. Go to step i.

C-

52
III.B. Remaining centers
2. Repeat step 1 up to four times to get each of the
blue center-cubes onto the Front (blue) face one-
by-one. After four times through, the Front face
is completely solved.-

I II

C)The centers on one face (the blue face) are solved.


Now you solve the center-cubes on the remaining
faces, one face at a time.
Choose any other face to do. Repeat step A
exactly, with the color of this face in place of "blue."
Thus you solve the center-cubes on another face
without disturbing the ones you have already done.
Repeat step A four more times, doing the faces
one-by-one in any order with one restriction: the
only thing to watch out for is that you do not leave
two opposite faces till last. For example, do the
faces in this order: F, U. R B, L .
Do this five times T ercube is now solved!!!
f:-I PU-S 5 O V -a
l
'ogera -&li
Consratulationsl

53
tShortcuts

Here are a few ways to trim the number of moves in


the solution. You should only consider these when you
feel comfortable with the solution as it stands. Then
depending on your mental and physical agility you can
try to cut down your time.
Try to find your own shortcuts - there are almost as
many shortcuts as there are steps.
Il.A.1.d. (pg. 37) Put the UR(f) and UR(b) edges
in place:
If the Up sides of these edges are
* Up, apply F[U(RBLF)U'(F'L'B'R')]F',
* Front, apply FR'[(F'R'F'R'F')(RFRFR)]RF',
and go to step 2 (step e is no longer necessary).
II.B.1 .a.i. (pg. 40) Put one UF(I or r) edge in the
UF(i or r) position:
If the Front side of this edge is
* Front, apply (RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U',
* Right, apply R[U(RBLF)U'(F'L'B'R')]R',
and go to step b.
Il.C.1. (pg. 42) solving the first four Up-edges is
shortened similarly.
II.B.1 .b. (pg. 40) Putting the second UF(I or r) edge
at UF(I or r):
If a UF(I or r) edge is at UF(r), find the other
UF(I or r) edge. If it is in the Right face, you can
rotate the Right face to put it at UR(f) or FR(u), so
rotate the Right face to put it at
* UR(f), and apply move Y',
* FR(u), and apply move Y,

54
to put it at UF(l), and rotate the Right face back to
where it was. Go to step c.
Il.C.1 .b. (pg. 44) Solving the Up-edges:
If the UF(I or r) edge is at UF(r),
find the other UF(l or r) edge.
There are three possibilities:
i. It is at UR(f or b); apply FU[move Y']U'F' or
B'R'[move Y]RB respectively,
and go to step c.
ii. It is at UB(I or r); apply B'R'[move Y']RB or
FU[move Y] U'F' respectively,
and go to step c.
iii. It is at UL(f or b); apply LF[move Y']F'L' or
R'U'[move Y]UR respectively,
and go to step c.
II.C.3.a. (pg. 47) Solving the final four edges:
This is similar to the preceding two shortcuts. At
possibility iii, if there is a UF(I or r) edge at UF(r),
do the following. The other one is at UR(f) or
UR(b); apply f'R'f[move Y' or move Y]f'Rf
respectively, and go to step c.
Solving the Up-edges may be considerably
speeded up by the use of moves 6.a-d, pg. 61,
which give four different ways of moving three
Up-edges in only eight or ten moves.
IlI.A.1 .ii. (pg. 52) Solving the centers; the desired
blue center-cube is in the Back face:
The blue center-cube may be brought directly to
the Front face as follows. Rotate the Back face to
put the blue center-cube in the upper left-hand slot
(as viewed from the Back) of the Back face. Rotate
the Front face to put any non-blue center-cube in
the lower left-hand slot of the Front face. Apply
(Fu2 F'd2 )2 , and rotate the Front and Back faces
back to where they were.

55
Alternative Solution

Below is another method for solving the Supercube.


Its stages are:
I Solve the centers
I1.- Solve the edges
A. Solve the Right-edges
B. Solve the I and r slice-edges
C. Solve the Left-edges
I11.-Solve the corners
A. Solve the Front- corners
B. Put the remaining corners in place,
not oriented
C. Orient the remaining corners

0@
The advantages of doing things in this order are:
1. Centers, being first, go very quickly.
2. Edges are a little easier than before. You don't
have to worry about corners, and except for Basic
Move 8 and some slice moves, the moves used
before do not affect centers anyway. You need to
modify your use of slice moves, and find a
replacement for Basic Move 8.
3. Corners are just like on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube with
which you are probably familiar.

56
The disadvantages are:
1. You must make sure to solve the centers in the
correct arrangement of colors. This is not so
much a problem to do as it is cumbersome to
describe in words.
2. You don't have centers to kick around anymore.
So you may need to exchange two edges without
affecting any centers (Basic Move 8 affects some
centers). You may need to apply Basic Move 8-
once (see below).
3. You may need to exchange two corners without
affecting anything else. This is not so bad; see
Basic Move 1O.-

As Basic Moves you use:


Basic Move 1- (Steps II--A and B)
In place of R'URU', use (R'URU') 3 , so as not
to affect edges or centers.
Basic Move 2- (Step 111--B)
Same as Basic Move 2.
Basic Move 3- (Step III--C)
Same as Basic Move 3.
Basic Move 4- (Steps 1l--A, B and C)
In place of (RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U', simply use
F'UFU', since you don't need to worry about
affecting corners.
Basic Move 5- (Steps IF-A, B and C)
Same as Basic Move 5.
Basic Move 6- (Steps IF--A, B and C)
Same as Basic Move 6.

57
Alternative Solution
Basic Move 7 - (Steps IlF-A, B and C)
Same as Basic Move 7.
Basic Move 8 - (Step I--C)
Now you need u2B2[(f'I'fb'r'f')d(frbf'If)-
B'L'U2 [move X']U2 LB]B2u2 which exchanges
the FR(u) and FR(d) edges but does
not affect centers.
Basic Move 9 - (Step I )
In place of R'(fr'f')R(frf') you may simply use
F'uFu' which also essentially switches two cen-
ters. (It actually moves five centers). It moves
some edges but now you don't care about this.
Basic Move 10- (Step IIw-B)
(F2 r2 F2)(U 2 r2 ) 3 (F 2 r2 F2 )-U'.
F2 B2 D[R2 F2 B2 L2 F2 B2 D' B2 F2
This moves four corners, and nothing else.
Following it by (URU')L'(UR'U')L (i.e., inverse of
Basic Move 2), exchanges the FUR and
UBR corners.

Briefly, you solve the Supercube as follows:


I. - Solve the Centers
This is just like before, except that Basic Move 9g
(essentially) switches the upper rght-hand center-
cube of the Right face and the upper left-hand
center-cube of the Front face.
As a shortcut to this step (see pg. 55),F'u2 Fu2 es-
sentially switches the upper left-hand corner of the
Front face with the upper right-hand corner of the
Back face.
Since you don't have edges and corners to guide
you, you must decide beforehand which centers

58
Alternative Solution
belong where, that is what the final arrangement of
colors must be. You can do this by remembering what
the solved cube looks like, or by studying the corners
and one way or another imagining them solved and
hence telling you where the centers belong.

I1.- Solve the Edges


This is just like before with a few changes. Through-
out, replace (RBLF)U(F'L'B'R')U' with F'UFU'.
A. Solve the Right-edges
This is just like before, except at the end of step 1
you return the Iand r slices to where they started to
restore the centers.
B. No change is necessary.
C. Again this is the same, except that in step 3.c.ii.
replace Basic Move 8 by Basic Move 8.-
Ifyou don't like Basic Move 8,- you may use a hybrid:
use Basic Move 8, thus moving some centers, and
then solve them again following the original solution
Step 111.

II.- Solve the Corners


This is exactly the same as on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube with
one amusing addition: you may have to exchange two
corners.
For example, you may roughly follow Step I of the
main solution, replacing R'URU' with (R'URU') 3 . Of
course you must be more careful in getting the first few
corners in place.
If you wind up with exactly two corners in the wrong
position and the rest correct, you cannot simply apply
U (as you could in Step B.iii) since you are concerned
about the edges. In effect, Basic Move 1O-does just
apply U and then fixes the edges. As noted, following it
with the inverse of Basic Move 2 achieves the ex-
change of two corners.

59
More Useful Moves

Now that you have mastered the Basic Moves and


know how to use them to solve the Supercube, you
may want to learn some more processes. Some may
be used to speed up solving the Supercube. Others
are more specialized, and are useful for making pat-
terns. Now you are free to really play with the Super-
cube - experiment, try these moves in different com-
binations, create your own patterns!
Any process you know on a 3 x 3 x 3 cube will be
useful on a Supercube. Because there are so many of
them to be found in books on the ordinary cube we
have only included a few of these.
Some of these moves are certainly not the shortest
ones possible. See if you can improve on them. As al-
ways we prefer moves which may be a little longer but
have some method behind their madness: keep your
eyes peeled and you will see commutators and conju-
gates lurking everywhere.

1. (FU2 F'd 2 )2 = (FU2 F')d2 (Fu2 F')d2


Essentially exchanges the lower left-hand center
on the Front face with the upper left-hand one on the
Back face. See pg. 55.

60
2. F'uFu'
Essentially exchanges the upper left-hand center
of the Front face with the upper right-hand center of
the Right face, and also moves five edges. See
Basic Move 9-, pg. 58.
3. b'u'bu
This commutator cycles a pair of triplets of cen-
ters for a total of six, one on each face. Useful conju-
gates of it are:
3a. RU 2 LB2[b'u'bu]B2 L'U2 R'
3b. R'PL'D2[b'u'bu]D2 LF2 R
4. (U2r2)3 = U2r2U2r2U2r2
Exchanges two opposite pairs of Up-edges and
opposite Up-corners, and also four centers. So:
4a. (F2r2F2)(U2r2 )3(F2r2F2).U2
Exchanges just two opposite pairs of Up-edges.
4b. (F2 r2F2)(U2 r2) 3(F2r2F2).U .
F2 B2 D[R 2 F2 B 2 L2 F2B2]D'B 2 F2
Moves only four corners, following it by
(URU')L'(UR'U')L exchanges just two corners.
See pg. 58.
5. (R'F'R'F'R')(FRFRF)
Moves six edges.
5a. R'[(R'F'R'F'R')(FRFRF)]R
Moves six edges just like Basic Move 4 but with
different orientations.
6. a. (LF'L')f'(LFL')f
b. f(R'FR)f'(R'F'R)
c. b'(U'RUR')b(RU'R'U)
d. (FU'F'U)b(U'FUF')b'
Moves three edges in the Up face. See pg. 55.
7. (r'uru')R(ur'u'r)R'-F(ur'u'r)F'(r'uru')
Switches two centers on the Right face, and two on
the Front face.

61
Patterns

The fun really begins once you have learned to


solve the Supercube and can start playing with pat-
terns. Your understanding of the Basic Moves opens
up a vast territory to be explored. The Supercube has
177,628,724,197,557,644,876,978,255,387,965,784,
064,000,000,000 positions. If this is not vast I don't
know what is! The moves in Section 8 are also useful
for patterns.
Here are a few patterns to get you going. There are
literally billions of patterns on the Supercube where the
colors on the F, U and R faces intermingle, as do those
on the L, B and D faces. There are numerous "rings"
(no. 5), "paths" (no. 2), "mesons and quarks" and so
forth (nos. 3 and 4), and stripes and diagonals (nos. 1
and 6). These are but a tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Incidentally, you can make a ring around a single cor-
ner without a ring around the opposite corner.
You can find a lot of patterns by imagining the Su-
percube to be an ordinary cube or even a mini
(2 x 2 x 2)-cube. If you only move faces, never slices,
the edges stay glued in pairs and move like the edges
in an ordinary cube. Note that unlike on an ordinary
cube you can exchange just two (pairs of) edges, or
two corners. This is done in pattern 1. On the other
hand,if you always move each slice together with its
face (i.e. I and L, f and F, etc.),the Supercube behaves
like a 2 x 2 x 2 cube (whose sub-cubes are 2 x 2 x 2
cubes!).
Try combining patterns, especially patterns 3, 4, 5
and even 2.
Let your imagination go!

62
63
Afterword - for the Expert

The Supercube (to be precise the Supercube with a


picture on each face) is a splendid example of what
mathematicians call a non-commutative group. Many
abstract concepts of group theory become clear when
applied in this concrete situation. Here we discuss a
few of the simpler aspects of this particular iceberg.
Remember the commutative law, ab = ba? This
does not hold on a Supercube. If it did, a commutator
aba'b' would not do anything, but of course it does.
Commutators do so much that you can do almost any-
thing with them. More precisely, the commutator sub-
group is of index 4 (on an ordinary cube it is of index 2).
That is, there are essentially only three things you can-
not do with commutators, which is another way of say-
ing how very non-commutative the group is or, in lay-
man's terms, this is a damn hard puzzle!
Where did that number on page 62 come from?
Well, ignoring the fact that there are 4 identical centers
of each color, there are (8!24!24!/212).(38224) ways to
disassemble the Supercube and reassemble it. Not all
of these can be obtained by legal moves: since an
edge in a given position can only have one orientation
the 224/212 = 212 is spurious, and as on an ordinary cube
the 38 should only be 37. You cannot switch just two
centers, so divide by 2, to get 8!24!24!37/2. Finally be-
cause of identical centers the answer is (8!24!24!37/
2)! (4!61/2) = 8!24!24!37/4!6. Multiply this out and you
get the 48 digit number on pg. 62 (exercise).

64
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