3x3x3 CFOP Tutorial: Part 1.2
The Cross
Note: I use alg.garrron.us a lot to display my actions. It is a player, so you can just press play and watch it unfold. You can slow the speed of the turns if it gets a little fast. It is a great visual for this guide. You can also drag and turn the cube
The cross is the first part of our four step process known as CFOP. It is an entirely intuitive step. Meaning that it is the only part that you solve, and not algorithms. Because of this, it isn't very easy to "teach" you how to solve it, I can simply explain to you what you have to do and what to look for. Giving tips and whatnot.
The cross looks a little like this,
Just pretend the bottom two layers are scrambled lol
Now, there are a few concepts that are important to know.
1. Color Choice: As I stated before, the color you choose in the beginning is vital, I'll explain to you what yoiu should look for in each color but I cannot stress enough how important it is that you do not start with the same color over and over. It makes for really bad times. Do future you a favor and be color neutral.
2. You need to not view the cube as in "Sides". When people say, "I can only get one side", they don't understand that they actually aren't doing anything. They just connected all the colors on one face, but the actual side itself is not solved.
Not solved "side"
Solved "side"
This is a color based puzzle, so you actually have to have colors orient.
3. Screwing up what you already have. This mostly goes for the F2L(Which the cross is technically part of) Pay attention. Don't do moves that screw up what you have already done, otherwise you'll just be going nowhere. The algs given to you usually are commutators, or algs that break the cube, do something even more to the cube, than fix the cube again. Watch what you are actually doing.
Alright, lets get started.
If you are following along with a cube, then for now, just pick a color. I obviously can't see the state of your cube and can't tell you what is the best and if you are reading this then you can't either. So just pick a color.
I'm going to scramble a cube in the alg generator and then solve the cross and explain it.
Lets start red.
Alright, this is what it'll look like when it is done. it is important to show you this beforehand so you understand what your goal is for each cubie.
Bam.
Notice the the edges of the cross correspond with their individual side colors. This is important because we aren't able to change the center pieces. So our cubies have to align now or they never will.
Lets go back and I'll explain what I did.
Back to the start
Alright, so what I see in the above link is a single red edge already connected to red center. Which means that this piece is already done. I also see a Red/Blue edge by the red center. That red edge can easily fit by the red white through a simple F'. Like so.
Here we are.
Alright, now the corner was not planned, that was simply a bonus. We don't care about it right now though, whether it makes it to the next part or not doesn't really matter. We are focused on our cross.
Now we need to align the edges of the cross to their corresponding colors, because right now blue is touching green and white is touching yellow. But before we do that, we also see a red/green piece. However, we can't fit it into anything yet. But keep in mind that Blue is across from green. So we want the red/green edge on the opposite side of the cross from red/blue.
What I would do is this,
I would turn the top face and then bring the green up so that it is across from the blue
Now, we have only one part left on our cross. It is the red/yellow. The red/yellow is currently facing down in the D face. Which is perfect because we can just align it by a simple B2.
Like so,
Sweet!
Alright, all we have left to do is align the cross to each individual color.
A simple U turn should suffice.
Cross is done!
Well that is the cross. You will be able to handle it with practice.
Right now if you are following along what I recommend is to just solve the cross over and over until you can do it no problem. Don't even worry about the rest of the cube, just solve a random cross, then scramble and go again. It will improve your knowledge of this step.
So that is the cross, practice. Live it. Love it. It is the foundation of your solve. Just keep practicing crosses and you'll get the hang of it. Thanks for reading, any questions feel free to ask.