How to Solve Skewb Cube?

The Skewb cube is a fun and exciting puzzle that turns in a unique way. It might look tricky at first, but learning how to solve the Skewb cube is easy if you follow the right steps. In this guide, I will show you how to understand the puzzle and solve it quickly, step by step!

How to Solve Skewb Cube?

Step 1: Understanding the fundamentals of a Skewb

It is highly recommended you spend some time understanding how to move intuitively as this would give you a huge boost during the learning process. 

Colour Scheme of a Skewb

The Skewb follows the standard six-colour scheme of a 3×3 Rubik’s cube: with white opposite yellow, red opposite orange, and blue opposite green.

Pieces in a Skewb

There are only two types of pieces on a Skewb, the first one being the centrepiece (there are a total of 6), and the second being the corner pieces with a total of 8.

Notations for a Skewb

We simply need to learn two notations to solve the Skewb. Since the Skewb is a corner-turning puzzle, it is crucial to learn these two notations before you begin:

Right (R) and Right Prime (R’)

The right move indicates the clockwise rotation of the top right corner piece, whereas the right prime move represents the counterclockwise rotation of the same piece.

Left (L) and Left Prime (L’)

The left move indicates the clockwise rotation of the top left corner piece, while the left prime move represents the counterclockwise rotation of the same piece.

Step 2: Solving the first layer

Let’s start with the white side and the objective here is to insert the corners in the correct spot and it’s exactly like solving the first layer of a standard 3×3 Rubik’s cube.

Solving the 1st  corner

The very first step is to identify a corner and insert it near the white centre. Now this corner acts as a reference point to solve the rest of the corners and the colour scheme with reference to this corner to be strictly followed.

Solving the 2^nd & 3^rd corner

Note: Before we move on with solving the rest of the corners we must understand how the corners work on a Skewb. Each corner has three orientations hence, while inserting the corners two and three, the following must be ensured:
– The corners are correctly oriented.
– Corners are in the correct spot. 

Now that you’ve found the second corner piece, make sure it’s in the correct alignment. This is as simple as inserting the corner piece into its designated location and seeing if it fits precisely; if not, undo the change.

Corner on left top

If the corner piece is in the left top and needs to be moved to the right bottom, execute L R’ to see if it matches; otherwise, perform R L R’. Now, the corner should fit correctly.

Corner on right top

If the corner is at the right top and has to go to the left bottom, execute R’ L and see if it matches; otherwise, perform L’ R’ L and it should match perfectly.

Solving the last corner

Now, solving the final corner can be challenging because if you follow the ideas outlined earlier, you will wind up messing up a previously solved corner. So, in order to solve this without harming other pieces, we must perform a setup move that allows us to orient the last corner. 

The first step is to position the corner in its intended spot; now hold the cube such that the unsolved corner is at the bottom left.

Now, perform R’ L’ R L and see whether it solves the corner. If not, repeat this step one more time to solve your first layer. 

Step 3: Solving the Centre’s

Now we need to solve the other centres, which is fairly straightforward. Moving forward, we would only need one algorithm to solve the rest of the puzzle, which is R’ L R L’.

First determine which centre is on the top side, for example, if it’s red, rotate your cube such that you are facing the red side of the first layer, and then perform R’ L R L’.

This will solve the red, and you may have another colour on top; repeat the technique until the yellow is on top.

Special case:

Sometimes you’ll see yellow at the top with unsolved canters. In this scenario, choose any side and perform R’ L R L’. You should now have a different colour on top. You can now solve the remaining centre’s by following the instructions given above.

Step 4: Solving the yellow corners

Case 1: Two diagonally solved corners 

If you find this scenario in which two yellow corners are solved along the diagonal, you must hold the cube so that one yellow corner points towards you and is on the left top, while the second yellow corner points to the right.

After holding the Skewb in the above-mentioned position, use the algorithm (R’ L R L’) (R’ L R L’) to proceed to the next step.

Case 2: No solved corners and one headlight 

You are one step closer to solving the Skewb when you have this case with no yellow corners solved and a headlight. Hold the Skewb such that the headlights are pointing to the left and apply the algorithm (R’ L R L’) (R’ L R L’).

Congratulations! You just solved the Skewb Cube!

Details About the Skewb puzzle:

• Tony Durham invented the Skewb, and Did you know that the Skewb’s mechanism is based on Pyraminx? It uses the same four axis system. 
• Carter Kucala (United States) holds the current single and average world records of 0.75 seconds and 1.52 seconds, respectively. (accessed on September 18, 2024). 
• The Skewb is one of the fastest events in WCA contests, and many cubers like it since it’s enjoyable, easy, and quick to solve. 
• To improve your skills in Skewb and get quicker, you can learn advanced techniques like Sarah’s or NS; nevertheless, it is recommended that you learn Sarah’s advanced first, followed by NS for efficient solves.