Purpose

This site is dedicated to the Rubiks cube; The most addictive toy ever invented. The discussions and methods on this site are based on the Friedrich method, which revolves around initially solving the cross, the first two layers (F2L), orienting the Last Layer (OLL) and permuting the Last Layer. Other methods, such as the one developed by Lars Petrus, start out by solving a 2x2x2 block. The sections on this site also contain thoughts on advanced F2L, fingertricks and blindfold cubing. Besides that, i discuss a F2L-Light edition, which is mainly for people who...

  1. are able to solve the cube using a method that involves solving "the cross" before all else, like in the one described here.
  2. want to take their cubing endeavors a step further and improve their solve times without diving head first into the more demanding methods.

Just another cubing site?

There are a lot of cubing sites out there for both the beginners and the trained. Many sites will teach you how to solve the cube using few algorithms, while some will teach you how to solve the cube faster using a slew of algorithms. The learning curve from from beginners methods to more advanced methods is steep.

The intention of the F2L-Light portion of this page is to present a technique which is simply a subset of known F2L algorithms coupled with intuition, and which will enable you to easily bridge from beginners techniques to advanced techniques by touching ground with an intuitive way of solving the first two layers (F2L).

Perspective

Using the Friedrich method you would be required to memorize a minimum of 119 different algorithms in order to solve the cube. The first two layers require algorithms for atleast 41 known cases, whilst solving the last layer requires atleast 78 algorithms (Orientation of the Last Layer and Permutation of the Last Layer). This can be an overwhelming task if you're just starting out, which is why F2L-Light is helpful since it builds on the same principes as F2L but doesn't require you to memorize every single algorithm.

Introducing "F2L-L" (F2L-Light)

The F2L-Light method described on this site will teach you an intuitive way of solving the first two layers, using intuitive measures and a mere 12 algorithms (of which 6 are mirror versions). Once you've learned this method, you'll be able to easily learn the rest of the 41 algorithms for the F2L at your own pace, while still using your beginners method for the last layer. If you feel the intuitive way is good enough for you, there's no stopping you from learning how to solve the last layer using the Friedrich method, and saving the rest of the F2L algorithms if you're hungry for something new.

Let's begin. Good luck!