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Rubik's Cube Patterns

A Rubik’s cube pattern is a short sequence of turns that takes a solved cube to a decorative position: a checkerboard, a spot on every face, a smaller cube nested in one corner. Below are nine, from the six-move checkerboard to the twenty-move superflip. Each net is drawn by running the algorithm on the same cube model as the solver, so what you see is exactly what the moves produce.

Which patterns can you make, and how?

  • Checkerboard

    6 moves

    Every face alternates between its own colour and the colour of the opposite face.

    F2 B2 R2 L2 U2 D2

    The easiest pattern there is: six half turns, and running it a second time puts the cube back. With slice moves it is just M2 E2 S2.

    Undo: D2 U2 L2 R2 B2 F2

  • Six spot

    8 moves

    Each face is one colour with a different-coloured spot in the middle.

    U D' R L' F B' U D'

    No centre moves. Every edge and corner travels together to a new face, so each face is filled by one other colour and its own centre is left showing as the spot.

    Undo: D U' B F' L R' D U'

  • Four spot

    8 moves

    Top and bottom stay solved; the four side faces each get a spot in the middle.

    F2 B2 U D' R2 L2 U D'

    The six-spot idea applied to the four sides only. A good first pattern if you are still learning to read notation.

    Undo: D U' L2 R2 D U' B2 F2

  • Plus signs

    11 moves

    A plus sign on every face, with the four corners in a different colour.

    U F B' L2 U2 L2 F' B U2 L2 U

    Only the corners move. The edges and centres all stay home, which is what draws the plus.

    Undo: U' L2 U2 B' F L2 U2 L2 B F' U'

  • Vertical stripes

    17 moves

    Top and bottom solved; each side face shows three vertical stripes in three colours.

    F U F R L2 B D' R D2 L D' B R2 L F U F

    Long at 17 moves, but the result is one of the cleanest-looking patterns on the cube.

    Undo: F' U' F' L' R2 B' D L' D2 R' D B' L2 R' F' U' F'

  • Zigzag

    12 moves

    Top and bottom solved; the four side faces each carry a diagonal zigzag of two colours.

    R L B F R L B F R L B F

    The same four turns three times over, so it is easy to remember and easy to perform quickly.

    Undo: F' B' L' R' F' B' L' R' F' B' L' R'

  • Cube in a cube

    15 moves

    A smaller 2×2×2 cube appears to sit in one corner of the big one.

    F L F U' R U F2 L2 U' L' B D' B' L2 U

    Repeat it three times and the cube comes back to solved, which is a quick way to check you performed it correctly.

    Undo: U' L2 B D B' L U L2 F2 U' R' U F' L' F'

  • Cube in a cube in a cube

    18 moves

    Three nested cubes in one corner: 1×1, inside 2×2, inside the whole 3×3.

    U' L' U' F' R2 B' R F U B2 U B' L U' F U R F'

    Like the single version, it has order three: run it three times to return to solved.

    Undo: F R' U' F' U L' B U' B2 U' F' R' B R2 F U L U

  • Superflip

    20 moves

    Every corner solved, every edge in its home position but flipped the wrong way round.

    U R2 F B R B2 R U2 L B2 R U' D' R2 F R' L B2 U2 F2

    In 1995 Michael Reid proved this position needs 20 face turns, the first position shown to need that many. Fifteen years later 20 was proved to be enough for every position, so the superflip sits at the very edge of God's number.

    Undo: F2 U2 B2 L' R F' R2 D U R' B2 L' U2 R' B2 R' B' F' R2 U'

How do you read the moves?

Each letter is a face: U up, D down, R right, L left, F front, B back. A letter alone is a quarter turn clockwise as you look straight at that face, an apostrophe makes it anticlockwise, and a 2 is a half turn. The full rules, including the direction trap on D and B, are in the Rubik’s cube notation guide.

Hold the cube with white on top and green facing you before you start, and keep it that way. Every net on this page is drawn from that orientation, unfolded with the front face in the middle.

Why do some patterns undo themselves?

Run the checkerboard twice and the cube is solved again. Run either cube-in-a-cube pattern three times and the same thing happens. That number is the sequence’s order: how many repetitions bring the cube back to where it started. Any sequence, repeated enough, eventually returns to solved — the longest any sequence of face turns can take is 1,260 repetitions.

Low-order patterns are the friendliest to learn, because a wrong turn shows up immediately: if your checkerboard does not undo itself on the second run, one of the six turns went the wrong way.

See any pattern turn by turn

Paste a pattern’s moves into the “Or paste a scramble” box on the Rubik’s cube solver and press Apply. The 3D cube plays the sequence onto a solved cube, and pressing Solve then shows a short way back.

Common questions

What is the easiest Rubik's cube pattern?
The checkerboard: F2 B2 R2 L2 U2 D2. It is six half turns, there is nothing to get the wrong way round, and doing it a second time solves the cube again. Six spot and four spot are the next easiest, at eight moves each.
Do I have to start from a solved cube?
Yes. A pattern algorithm is a sequence of turns that takes a solved cube to a pretty position, so starting anywhere else just gives you a different scramble. Solve the cube first, hold it with white on top and green in front, then perform the moves.
How do I get back to solved after making a pattern?
Run the algorithm backwards: reverse the order of the moves and swap every clockwise turn for an anticlockwise one, leaving half turns alone. Each pattern below lists that undo sequence. Or enter the cube on the solver, which will find a short way home from any position.
What is the superflip?
The position where every piece is in its home slot, every corner is solved, and every edge is flipped. In 1995 Michael Reid proved it needs 20 face turns to solve, the first position known to need that many. In 2010 it was proved that no position needs more than 20, so the superflip is as far from solved as a Rubik's cube can be.
My pattern came out wrong. What happened?
Almost always a D or B turn done the wrong way. Clockwise for those faces is judged looking at them directly, from below and from behind, which feels backwards while you are holding the cube. The notation guide covers this in detail.

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