Easy Difficulty

Skewb Twist the Corners, Solve the Puzzle

The Skewb is a corner-turning cube puzzle where each move rotates a corner piece and the three faces adjacent to it. Unlike a standard Rubik's Cube, the Skewb rotates around the cube's four body diagonals, creating a unique solving experience. It's beginner-friendly with only a few algorithms needed.

Pieces 14 (8 corners, 6 centers)

Permutations 3,149,280

God's Number 11

World Record 0.93s (Andrew Huang)

Inventor Tony Durham

Year 1982

Interactive 3D Skewb

Interactive 3D Skewb Solver — scramble the puzzle and calculate the optimal corner-turning solution.

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Solution

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Controls

History & Background

Invented by Tony Durham in 1982 and commercially produced by Uwe Mèffert. The name "Skewb" comes from its skewed turning axis. It became a WCA competition event in 2014 and quickly gained popularity due to its low algorithm count and satisfying feel.

Notation Guide

The Skewb uses corner-based notation. Each move rotates one corner and the 3 adjacent faces 120° around a body diagonal of the cube.

R Right corner rotation clockwise (120°)

R' Right corner rotation counter-clockwise

L Left corner rotation clockwise (120°)

L' Left corner rotation counter-clockwise

U Upper-back corner rotation clockwise

U' Upper-back corner rotation counter-clockwise

B Back corner rotation clockwise

B' Back corner rotation counter-clockwise

Visual Guide & Cheat Sheet

A complete visual guide illustrating the puzzle's structure, standard layer movements, and key solving stages.

Step-by-Step Solving Guide

Step 1: Solve a Face (Intuitive)

Choose one face (e.g., white) and solve it completely — both the center and the 4 surrounding corners must show white. This step is mostly intuitive, using R and L moves to position pieces.


                                                Intuitive — experiment with R, L, U moves

Pick a face and solve the center first, then place the 4 corners around it one by one.

Step 2: Position Opposite Corners

With the solved face on the bottom, position the top 4 corners so they're in the correct locations (ignoring orientation for now). Look at the side stickers of each corner to determine where it belongs.


                                                R L R' L'


                                                R' L' R L

Look at the corner's side stickers to determine where each one belongs. Swap adjacent corners as needed.

Step 3: Orient Last Layer

Twist the remaining corners so their top-color stickers face upward, aligning all colors with adjacent centers. This uses only two algorithms: the Sledgehammer and Hedgeslammer.


                                                R' L R L'


                                                L R' L' R

The Sledgehammer and Hedgeslammer are the only algorithms you need to memorize for the entire puzzle!

Key Algorithms

Name	Algorithm	Use Case
Sledgehammer	`R' L R L'`	Core algorithm for corner manipulation
Hedgeslammer	`L R' L' R`	Reverse of Sledgehammer
4-Move Swap	`R L R' L'`	Swap corner positions
Pi Case	`R L' R' L R L' R' L`	Solve Pi last layer case

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Confusing the corner-turning axis with face-turning — the Skewb is NOT a face-turning puzzle like a Rubik's Cube.

Applying regular 3×3 algorithms — they don't work on the Skewb due to its completely different mechanism.

Not recognizing corner orientation — pay attention to which direction each corner's stickers are facing.

Rushing the first face — take time to solve it cleanly, as a messy first face makes later steps harder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Skewb different from a 3×3?

The 3×3 is face-turning (each face rotates independently). The Skewb is corner-turning — each move rotates a corner and 3 adjacent faces around a body diagonal. Completely different mechanism and algorithms.

Can the Skewb be solved in one look?

Yes! Advanced solvers can plan the entire solution during the 15-second inspection period. This is possible because the Skewb has very few possible states (about 3.1 million).

Is the Skewb good for beginners?

Absolutely! It's one of the best puzzles for complete beginners. You only need to learn 2 short algorithms, and the first step is entirely intuitive.

What makes the Skewb a WCA event?

The Skewb was added to WCA competitions in 2014. Its low algorithm count makes it accessible, but the one-look solving potential gives it a high skill ceiling for competitive speedcubing.

Pro Tips & Tricks

The Skewb only requires 2-3 algorithms to solve completely. It's one of the most beginner-friendly WCA puzzles.
Sarah's method (beginner) and Sarah's Advanced method are the two most popular solving approaches.
For speedsolving, learn the "1-Look" method — plan the entire solve during the 15-second inspection.
Practice Sledgehammer and Hedgeslammer until they're instant — these two moves solve everything.
The MoYu RS Skewb M and QiYi QiCheng Skewb are great budget options for getting started.
Skewb scrambles are short — many can be solved in under 10 moves, making planning ahead very effective.

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