Six letters, two symbols, that's the whole alphabet.
You don't need this to use the solver on this site — it hands you plain English, one move at a time. You do need it for the handbook, and for reading any pattern, algorithm, or tutorial anywhere else. It takes about two minutes to actually stick.
Hold the cube still and name each face from where you're sitting right now. The names never change, even as the stickers do.
| U | Up | The face pointing at the ceiling. |
| D | Down | The face pointing at the floor. |
| F | Front | The face looking straight at you. |
| B | Back | Directly opposite the front — hidden from view until you turn the cube around. |
| L | Left | The face on your left. |
| R | Right | The face on your right. |
Every letter on its own is a quarter turn clockwise, looking straight at that face. Two small marks change that default.
| R | (none) | A quarter turn clockwise, looking straight at that face. |
| R' | ' | A quarter turn anticlockwise — the opposite direction. Say it "R prime." |
| R2 | 2 | A half turn — two quarter turns. Clockwise or anticlockwise makes no difference. |
A sequence is just a list of these, read strictly left to right. Nothing is implied — every move is written out.
Four moves, read left to right, exactly as written: right face clockwise, top face clockwise, right face anticlockwise, top face anticlockwise.
Rule one, the only one that matters: never re-orient the cube in the middle of a sequence. Finish it, then turn.