Why Solving “One Face” Is Not Enough
If you put any four white edges and any four white corners onto the top face without checking their side stickers, the top looks completely white, but the side colors will be scrambled. Because each edge has two colors and each corner has three colors, every white piece has only one valid home slot between the centers of its other colors:
- The white-red edge must sit between the white center (
U) and the red center (F). - The white-blue edge must sit between the white center (
U) and the blue center (R). - The white-red-blue corner must sit at the corner where the white (
U), red (F), and blue (R) faces meet.
Build the Daisy Around the Yellow Center
Goal of the Daisy: Gather all four white edge pieces on the bottom layer (D) around the yellow center so their white stickers face straight down toward the floor, like four white daisy petals around a yellow center.
Why build the Daisy on the bottom first instead of putting edges directly onto the white center? Because on the bottom layer you can spin D freely to line up each edge with its side center without disturbing edges you already placed. Ignore all corner stickers for now—only look at the four edges that have a white sticker.
How to Bring Any White Edge Down to the Daisy
- Edge is on top (
U), white sticker facing up: First check the bottom slot directly underneath that side face. If there is already a white petal there, turnDuntil an empty slot is underneath. Then turn that side face 180° (for example,F2orR2) to drop the edge straight down to the bottom. - Edge is in the middle layer: One of the two side faces touching that edge will drop it directly into the bottom layer with its white sticker facing down. Free the spot underneath on
Dfirst, then turn that side face 90° (for example,F,F',R, orR'). - Edge is on top (
U) or bottom (D) with white facing sideways: Turn its side face 90° once to move the edge into the middle layer (making sure not to knock out an existing petal, or freeing the spot withDfirst), then drop it from the middle layer onto the bottom with white facing down.
Golden rule of the Daisy: Before turning any vertical side face (F, R, B, or L), glance at the bottom slot underneath that face. If a white petal is already sitting there, rotate D so an empty slot takes its place before you turn the side face.
Turn the Four Petals into the White Cross
Once all four white edges sit around the yellow center on the bottom face (with white facing down), you lift them one by one to the top white center:
- Look at one white petal on the bottom face and check its second sticker (the sticker on the side of the bottom layer—red, blue, orange, or green).
- Turn the bottom layer (
D,D', orD2) until that side sticker sits directly underneath the center of the same color (forming a vertical pair of matching squares). - Turn that side face 180° (
F2,R2,B2, orL2) to swing the white edge from the bottom to the top face. - Repeat for all four petals.
Matched petal: the white-red edge is at the bottom with its red sticker aligned under the red center. 
After F2(180°): the edge moves to the top and matches both the white and red centers.
Stage 1 Check: You have a white plus sign on the top face (U), and the side sticker of every cross edge matches the center of its side face (Red, Blue, Orange, Green).
Find a White Corner and Place It Below Its Home Slot
Rule for White Corners: Find a corner with a white sticker in the bottom layer, turn D until it sits directly below its three matching centers, hold that slot at front-right, and use R' D' R D (or D' R' D R).
How to position a corner in three seconds:
- Look at the bottom layer (
D) and find any corner piece that has a white sticker. - Read the other two colors on that same corner piece—for example, red and blue (on the white-red-blue corner).
- Turn the bottom layer (
D,D', orD2) until that corner sits diagonally between the two side centers of those exact colors (between the red center and the blue center). - Turn the whole cube horizontally (keeping white on top!) so that this working corner is at the front-right-bottom position (
DFR), directly underneath its target slot at top-front-right (URF).
The Three Corner Cases at Front-Right-Bottom
With the corner sitting at front-right-bottom, look at which way its white sticker faces:
| Where White Sticker Faces | Best Algorithm | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
Facing Right (R) |
R' D' R D (×1) |
R' drops the top slot down, D' slides the corner in from the left, and R D lifts it solved to the top. |
Facing Front (F, toward you) |
D' R' D R (×1)or R' D' R D (×5) |
Tucking the corner left first (D'), bringing the slot down (R'), and sliding it back (D R) inserts it in 1 pass instead of 5. |
Facing Down (D, toward floor) |
R' D' R D (×3) |
The first R' D' R D twists the white sticker to the side; two more repetitions bring it back underneath and insert it cleanly. |
What If No White Corner Is in the Bottom Layer?
Sometimes all remaining white corners are already stuck in the top layer (U)—either in the wrong corner slot (side colors do not match the centers) or in the right slot but twisted sideways.
How to fix it: Hold the cube (white on top) so that the wrong or twisted top-layer corner is at top-front-right (URF). Perform one bottom four-move algorithm (R' D' R D). That single pass ejects the trapped corner down into the bottom layer without hurting the rest of the white cross. Then align it below its home centers and insert it normally!
Stage 2 Check: All 9 stickers on the top face are white, and the top row of all four side faces forms a solid 3-sticker bar matching each side center.