Orienting the last corners: Solved corners to the back

Introduction

Hooray! The last push.

For this last pattern, we will be doing the pattern twice, with just one adjustment inbetween them. So whilst it seems long, you are only really learning one movement pattern and then repeating it. The biggest challenge to this one is that once you have done the pattern once, the rest of the cube will appear jumbled up - trust the process!

Starting Point

Most often you will get to this point, and when you look at your cube you will have one completly solved corner.

Check out the cube opposite the solved one. Does that cube have to move left or right to be in the right spot?

This one has to move left.

This one has to move right

Once you know if it has to go left or right, turn the cube so that the two that you will be swapping are facing you.

Very occasionally you will find that there isn't actually a single solved corner. This can still be solved. Look at your cube carefully, which two cubes, if swapped, would result in 2 corners in the correct place? Their coloured squares are 'opposite' each other. You will find that the same would be true of the ones opposite these. Put one of these pairs at the front and do the first part of the pattern. After that you will have two correct corners and can just put them at the back and continue with the second half of the pattern.

Sometimes you will get solved corners opposite each other. For this, it doesn't really matter which way you hold it to start, just do the pattern once and then place the solved pair at the back as you would normally do half-way through (as you will see in the pattern below).

Key Movers

This is the first time you will be using the 'bottom' face as the ones you watch moving (instead of flipping it back to the 'top' as you have been doing for all the other patterns). The key movers for this are again the two side faces. When you are learning, it will be a little frustrating because this one and the previous pattern are fairly similar so you could get them confused. Persist, and you will soon recognises the patterns and be able to trouble-shoot them if you get them mixed up.

Method

You can do this either left or right handed, I'll show it to you both ways and you can decide which works best for you.

1 Turn your chosen side towards you.

2 As with the previous pattern, turn the bottom square in the direction of the face you have just moved.

3 This is where it will differ from the last pattern. This time you will send the two squares back to the top.

4 Turn the opposite side towards you.

5 Now turn this bottom square in the same direction you have just moved. The side-effect of this move is that you now have a row of 3 again on the side you just moved.

6 Send those 3 back up to the top.

7 Turn the other side with the two squares back towards you again.

8 Complete the row of three again, by turning the bottom towards the side you just moved.

9 Send those 3 up to the top. Then try to breath whilst your cube looks all messed up, and relax.

10 Check out your cube now. It should have two adjacent corners solved. Turn that top layer so that the solved two are at the back. Now your cube looks even more messed up. Don't worry, it very soon will appear to magically resemble a solved cube...!

Now you repeat the pattern.

11 Turn your chosen side towards you.

12 Turn the bottom square in the direction of the face you have just moved.

13 This is where it will differ from the last pattern. This time you will send the two squares back to the top.

14 Turn the opposite side towards you.

15 Now turn this bottom square in the same direction you have just moved. The side-effect of this move is that you now have a row of 3 again on the side you just moved.