Petrus Method Tutorial - Block Building & Edge Orientation
The **Petrus Method** was invented by Lars Petrus in 1981. It is one of the earliest speedcubing methods, developed before CFOP became dominant. Petrus focuses heavily on efficient **block building** instead of building layer crosses.
By constructing blocks sequentially, you leave the rest of the cube free to rotate, which lowers the overall move count. Another key element is Orienting Edges mid-way through the solve to prevent rotations during the final slot insertion and last layer.
Petrus Method Steps
Step 1: Build a 2x2x2 Block
Solve any 2x2x2 block in one corner of the cube. This is done entirely intuitively and usually requires 5-8 moves.
Step 2: Expand to a 2x2x3 Block
Expand your 2x2x2 block to a 2x2x3 block by adding another 1x2x2 block next to it.
Step 3: Edge Orientation (EO)
Orient all remaining edges. This simplifies the rest of the solve by eliminating cube rotations and leaving only U and R turns.
Step 4: Finish the 2x3x3 Block
Expand the block into a completed 2x3x3 block, leaving only the top layer (last layer) unsolved.