What Is Online 3x3 Cube and What Can You Do on It?

Online 3x3 Cube (onlinecube.com) is a free browser-based site built around the standard 3x3 Rubik's Cube. It combines four tools on one page: a 3D simulator you can drag and turn, a one-click solver that returns a solution in about 20 moves, a speedcube timer that tracks your best time and averages, and a seven-step beginner tutorial. It works with any physical 3x3 cube, so you can use it alongside a GAN, a MoYu, an original Rubik's brand, or a budget cube.

The 3D simulator: drag, scramble, and turn

The cube at the top of the page is a real 3D model, not a video or image. You interact with it directly:

• Drag a sticker and that layer follows your finger. It snaps into place once you pass about a third of a turn.
• Drag the background to spin the whole cube and inspect the back faces.
• Scramble mixes the cube for you.
• Full screen gives you a larger view.
• Keyboard turns: use U, L, F, R, B and D for face turns. Hold Shift for a counterclockwise turn.

This is useful if you don't have a cube in hand, want to visualize an algorithm before trying it, or need to check what a move sequence actually does.

The solver: enter your colors, get a move list

The solver is designed for a scrambled physical cube you want to solve. The workflow is:

1. Copy the colors of your scrambled cube onto the flat net shown in the solver.
2. Press Solve.
3. Step through the returned moves one at a time — the 3D cube turns along with you.

A few details worth knowing before you rely on it:

• The answer comes back in about twenty moves. The calculation runs in your own browser using the Kociemba two-phase algorithm.
• Orientation doesn't matter. The six center stickers name the faces, so you paint them as you see them and the solver works out the rest. You don't need to hold the cube a particular way.
• Impossible patterns are flagged. If a color arrangement could never exist on a real cube, the solver tells you which piece looks wrong instead of returning a solution that can't work. This is handy for catching a mistyped sticker or a physically twisted corner.

The timer: best time, averages of 5 and 12

The timer is set up for speedcubing practice rather than casual timing:

• Hold the space bar, then release to start. Press again to stop. On a phone, tap the clock instead.
• Every solve gets a fresh 20-move scramble.
• It tracks your best time, your average, and your averages of 5 and 12 — the numbers speedcubers use in competition.
• Inspection mode gives you the WCA's 15 seconds.
• Your times stay saved in your browser, so they persist between visits.

If you're preparing for competition-style practice, the ao5 and ao12 tracking is the main reason to use this over a plain stopwatch.

The tutorial: layer-by-layer in seven steps

The tutorial teaches the layer-by-layer method, the approach almost every cuber learns first. The sequence is:

1. Build the white cross.
2. Finish the white face.
3. Fill in the middle layer.
4. Make the yellow cross.
5. Put the last layer in order.

There are only a handful of short sequences to memorize, and according to the site most people get through it in a weekend. If you're completely new, the layer-by-layer route is the right starting point — it's slower than advanced methods but far easier to learn and remember.

A bit of context: why 20 moves matters

The 3x3 has 20 moving pieces that can be arranged in 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different ways. Despite that number, any arrangement can be solved in 20 turns or fewer — a limit called God's Number, which researchers only proved in 2010. The solver's "about twenty moves" answer sits right at that theoretical ceiling, which is why it can handle any valid scramble you give it.

Who each tool is for

All four tools live on the same page, so you can move between learning, solving, and timing without switching sites.