All you need to know about the Rubik’s cube
Did you know there are over 43 quintillion possibilities when it comes to solving a Rubik’s cube? Sounds mind-blowing, but there are some hacks to help you succeed – plus lots of fun facts about this magic cube that’s over 50 years old.
Where does the Rubik’s cube come from?
The Rubik’s cube was invented by an architecture professor from Hungary in 1974. Erno Rubik wanted to help his students learn about three-dimensional (3D) movement. He created a prototype for the cube and then got a patent for the structure – which is a way of getting exclusive permission to make, use or sell a product – the following year. It didn’t take long for the ‘magic cube’, as it was called then, to take off – its popularity spreading from Hungary to the rest of the world at toy fairs. In 1980 the magic cube was renamed Rubik’s cube.
5 fun facts about Rubik’s cubes
1. The cube has created some of the whackiest world records
Competitors attempt to break world records relating to the Rubik’s cube almost every year, with some of the whackiest attempts being:
- Fastest time solving Rubik’s cubes whilst juggling them
- Most cubes solved whilst on a unicycle
- Most cubes solved underwater
- Fastest time solving a cube blindfolded
- Fastest time solving a cube whilst skydiving
Other records include solving a Rubik’s cube simultaneously with hands and feet in the fastest time, solving a Rubik’s cube upside down and solving cubes of different sizes – the largest currently being 33x33 cubes. Robots created by humans have also competed to be the fastest to solve a Rubik’s cube – beating us mere mortals easily.
2. A seven-year-old holds the current world record
A Chinese boy called Xuanuyi Geng currently holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to solve a 3x3x3 rotating puzzle cube – solving one in 3.05 seconds at an event in China on 13th April 2025.
3. The largest cube is 3 metres tall
The current largest Rubik’s cube is three metres (m) x three metres x three metres and was achieved in Dubai in December 2023. That’s taller than an Asian elephant! A previous record holder was a British man, Tony Fisher, who made a cube that was 2.022m tall in 2020.
4. The first Rubik’s cube was made with elastic bands
Erno Rubik made his first ever prototype for the Rubik’s cube out of elastic bands, wood and paper clips. He then used coloured stickers to finish the product. When the puzzle was mass produced, plastic was used instead.
5. Rubik’s cube even had a cartoon made about it
The Rubik’s cube was so popular in the 1980s that a cartoon called ‘Rubik, the Amazing Cube’ was created in America in 1983. The cartoon ran for one season and featured a magic Rubik’s cube that comes alive and has special powers it can use to solve mysteries.
Here's how to solve a Rubik’s cube
Before you start, here are some hacks it’s worth knowing:
- The centre piece on each side of the cube doesn’t move, so that’s the colour you’ll end up with on that side; i.e. if you have a green centre square, that side will end up with nine green pieces in total.
- Each centre square has an opposite, e.g. on the original cube, yellow is on the opposite side to white, red is opposite orange and green is opposite blue (but check your cube’s colours!).
- Cubes are solved layer by layer (rather than solving one coloured face at a time). Think ‘top’, ‘middle’ and ‘bottom’ layers.
- Think of the ‘face’ of the cube as the side you’re working on, ‘edge’ pieces have two colours and ‘corner’ pieces have three colours.
- It helps to name each ‘face’ of the cube, so that you know which bit you’re turning if you follow a tutorial; e.g. front, back, left, right, up or down.
How do I solve a Rubik’s cube?
As we mentioned, there are over 43 quintillion possibilities when it comes to solving a Rubik’s cube, so we can’t name all those here. It involves a bit of experimentation and a lot of patience!
Speedcuber and 3x3 Scottish record holder Johnny Kerlaff says when he’s competing he’s looking for “the quickest way to build the first two layers” and then the last layer “is usually just a sequence of algorithms”. There’s no cheat’s way to do the algorithms: they’re a sequence of moves you’ll need to practise to get the squares in order.
Still want to try…?
These are seven steps to follow if you’re a beginner:
- Make a white cross on the top face of your cube. Ensure you have two squares of matching colour coming down from the top middle edges of your white face.
- Add the white corners. There are algorithms you can follow online to get the white squares in the right place. You should then have the white face completed.
- With the white face still pointing up, match the corner colours with the centre square colour on each side.
- Create two layers like this, so that the top two layers on each face of your cube are now the same colour.
- Turn your cube ‘upside down’ and create a yellow cross (or whatever colour is opposite to the centre colour you started with). Be careful how you do this (again there are specific algorithms), so you don’t destroy the layers you’ve already done. NB: You may end up with extra yellow squares with your yellow cross – that’s ok as long as you have the cross.
- Then add the yellow corners – there are lots of moves (‘algorithms’) to this part, but don’t despair! There’s a lot of trial and error. Once you have the yellow face completed, match up the other coloured corners with their corresponding centre piece. So, a corner that is yellow, red and green needs to be matched to the red and green sides too.
- Then match up the yellow edges with the corresponding colours on each side.
Still confused? Try these four simple steps to solve a Rubik’s cube.
