OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer): make the whole top face yellow in one algorithm, without breaking the first two layers. There are 57 cases. Nobody learns them all at once: you start with a two-step version that needs only 10, and replace it bit by bit.
2-look OLL: ten algorithms to start with
The idea: first the edges (make the yellow cross), then the corners (finish the face). Two looks, two algorithms.
First look: the yellow edges
Look only at the four top edges. There are three situations, with one algorithm each. The corners don’t matter at all here.
| What you see | How to hold it | Algorithm |
|---|---|---|
| No yellow edge on top (a dot) | any way you like | F R U R' U' F' f R U R' U' f' |
| Two opposite edges (a line) | line horizontal, running left to right | F R U R' U' F' |
| Two adjacent edges (an L) | the two yellows pointing to the back and the left | F U R U' R' F' |
The dot algorithm is really the other two back to back: the first makes an L, the second finishes the cross. Four yellow edges on top: you have the yellow cross, so move on to the corners.
The three first-look situations, seen from above and held as in the table. Only yellow matters: the corners are greyed out.
Open the “Yellow cross” step in the appSecond look: the corners
Once the yellow cross is done, there are seven possible corner cases left. They are OLL 21 to 27 in the app, and they stay the same once you know all 57: nothing to relearn.
| Case | How to hold it | Algorithm |
|---|---|---|
| Sune (OLL 27), one yellow corner | yellow corner at front left; the front right corner has its yellow facing you | R U R' U R U2 R' |
| Antisune (OLL 26), one yellow corner | yellow corner at back right; the front left corner has its yellow facing you | R U2 R' U' R U' R' |
| H (OLL 21), no corner | two yellows face you, two face the back | R U2 R' U' R U R' U' R U' R' |
| Pi (OLL 22), no corner | two yellows on the left face | R U2 R2 U' R2 U' R2 U2 R |
| Headlights (OLL 23), two corners | the two corners to twist at the back, their yellows facing the back | R2 D' R U2 R' D R U2 R |
| Chameleon (OLL 24), two corners | the two corners to twist on the left, one yellow facing you, one facing the back | r U R' U' r' F R F' |
| Bowtie (OLL 25), two corners | corners to twist on a diagonal, one yellow facing you at front right | F' r U R' U' r' F R |
To find your way quickly: count the yellow corners on top. One corner: Sune or Antisune. None: H or Pi. Two: Headlights, Chameleon or Bowtie. The page Recognising all 57 OLLs goes through the clues in detail.
The seven second-look cases, in the orientation of their algorithm. One yellow corner, none or two: that is the first sort.
Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the appIn the app, the “2-look CFOP” method (method picker in the header) follows exactly this path: a “Yellow cross” step for the edges and a “Yellow face” step for these seven cases, with the animated algorithm and the instructions on how to hold the cube. The same cases are in the “OLL” step of the full CFOP method.
Moving on to all 57
2-look costs two algorithms and two looks where full OLL needs only one. The saving is two to three seconds per solve: real, but not urgent. Start on the 57 once your F2L no longer makes you think and you know your 21 PLLs.
By shape family
The 57 cases are sorted by the shape the yellow stickers make on top. The app gives each case its usual name, the one from the speedsolving wiki (Kite, Fung, Mario…); the shape families are there to help you recognise them and learn them together.
| Family | Cases | Yellow edges on top |
|---|---|---|
| Cross (the 7 from 2-look) | 21 H, 22 Pi, 23 Headlights, 24 Chameleon, 25 Bowtie, 26 Antisune, 27 Sune | four |
| Dot | 1 Runway, 2 Zamboni, 3 Anti-Pinwheel, 4 Pinwheel, 17 Slash, 18 Crown, 19 Bunny, 20 X | none |
| T | 33 Tying Shoelaces, 45 T | two opposite |
| C | 34 City, 46 Seein’ Headlights | two opposite |
| Knight move | 13 Gun, 14 Anti-Gun, 15 Squeegee, 16 Anti-Squeegee | two opposite |
| Big lightning bolt | 39 Fung, 40 Anti-Fung | two opposite |
| Line | 51 Bottlecap, 52 Rice Cooker, 55 Highway, 56 Streetlights | two opposite |
| Corners oriented | 28 Stealth, 57 Mummy | two (28 adjacent, 57 opposite) |
| Square | 5 Lefty Square, 6 Righty Square | two adjacent |
| Small lightning bolt | 7 Lightning, 8 Reverse Lightning, 11 Downstairs, 12 Upstairs | two adjacent |
| Fish | 9 Kite, 10 Anti-Kite, 35 Fish Salad, 37 Mounted Fish | two adjacent |
| P | 31 Couch, 32 Anti-Couch, 43 Anti-P, 44 P | two adjacent |
| W | 36 Wario, 38 Mario | two adjacent |
| L | 47 Anti-Breakneck, 48 Breakneck, 49 Right back squeezy, 50 Right front squeezy, 53 Frying Pan, 54 Anti-Frying Pan | two adjacent |
| Awkward | 29 Spotted Chameleon, 30 Anti-Spotted Chameleon, 41 Awkward Fish, 42 Lefty Awkward Fish | two adjacent |
The families come in mirror pairs (OLL 33 Tying Shoelaces and 45 T are both T shapes; 7 Lightning and 8 Reverse Lightning are two mirrored small lightning bolts). Learn a whole family at a time: the cases look alike, and above all your eyes learn to tell them apart at the moment you need to.
One case per family: the shape the yellow stickers make gives the family its name.
Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the appIn what order
By payoff: short algorithms and frequent cases first.
- The six-move algorithms, some of which you already know: OLL 45 (
F R U R' U' F'), OLL 44 (F U R U' R' F'), OLL 43 (F' U' L' U L F), OLL 33 (R U R' U' R' F R F'), OLL 37 (F R' F' R U R U' R'). They are part of 2-look or follow from it: five OLLs in one week. - The T, P and C shapes: easy to spot, short algorithms.
- The Squares and Small lightning bolts (5 to 8, 11, 12): algorithms built on
randl, very fast once you have the fingertricks. - The Fish, W, Knight move, L and Awkward shapes.
- The Lines and Big lightning bolts.
- The Dots last: their algorithms are long, and the 2-look solution (two short algorithms) does a decent job. Plenty of cubers keep it for a long time.
Every OLL has the same chance of coming up (1 in 54), except the symmetrical cases: OLL 1, 21, 55, 56 and 57 come up half as often, and OLL 20 a quarter as often. So the order above really does follow the ratio of effort to gain.
How to work on an OLL algorithm
- Follow the method in How to learn an algorithm: break it into triggers. Most OLLs are made of sexy moves and sledgehammers.
- After the algorithm, an OLL often brings you back to the same case if you repeat it from the same position: handy for drilling. If not, the inverse of the algorithm (read backwards, with every turn reversed) sets the case up again.
- Practise on a cube with the first two layers solved. To get one quickly: do a normal solve and stop before OLL, or apply any OLL to a solved cube.
- Check your recognition as much as the algorithm: knowing OLL 13 is no use if it takes you two seconds to tell it apart from OLL 14. See Recognising all 57 OLLs.
Allow three to six months for all 57 at two or three algorithms a week, while revising the old ones. It takes a while, and that’s fine: every algorithm you learn is a second saved for good.