Roux

Example Solves

Example 1

Face green with white on top, and do this scramble:

F R L' F R' U L U2 D' B' U F L' U' D L F U2 D' R U2 B' U' L' B

Now face the blue center with the orange center on top. This puts the blue/white edge in its DL spot, so we already have a head start on the first block.

1st block: RuF' r'DB'D'B

• R gets the blue/red pieces out of the way so we can move the blue center without separating them
• uF’ corrects the blue center and inserts the blue/red pieces
• r’D aligns the blue/orange pieces. We do r’ instead of R’ to preserve the connected green/red pieces on top
• B’ makes room for the whole block to come together
• D’B finishes the 1st block

2nd block: rUr' U' r'U'r

• The green/white edge is already in place at DR
• rUr’ is a standard insert for the red/green pieces, and it also paired up the green/orange pieces
• U’ r’U’r inserts the green/orange pieces
• This was an unusually easy 2nd block

CMLL: U R'U' RUR'F' RUR'U' R'FR2

EO: U MU'M

• Back Arrow case. The last turn is M rather than M’ because we want the UL/UR edges on the bottom.

UL/UR: U M2 U'

• Since UL/UR were on the bottom, this is a quick solve. Note that the BU color is orange.

M Slice: M' U2 M U2 M2

• This is a 3-edge cycle. Since FU & BU are the same, we know we’ll start with M or M’. Here it is M’ because it keeps the unique edge on top.

(41 moves total)

Example 2

Face green with white on top, and do this scramble:

L B' R' L B F' U L D' L2 R2 U2 L D2 B R2 D2 F2 B U B L R' U R

Now face the red center with the yellow center on top. This puts blue center in place, and the blue/white edge is only a D2 away from its DL spot.

1st block: D'B D'rF U'r U2rB'

• D’B pairs up the blue/red pieces
• D’ inserts the blue/white edge
• rF inserts the blue/red pieces
• U’r pairs up the blue/orange pieces
• U2rB’ inserts the blue/orange pieces, completing the 1st block

2nd block: R2U'r'U'r2 R'U'R2U'r' U2rUr'

• R2U’r’U’r2 inserts the green/white edge
• R’U’ inserts the green/orange pieces
• R2U’r’ pairs up the green/red pieces
• U2 rUr’ inserts the green/red pieces, completing the 2nd block

CMLL: U' R'F2RU2 rU'r' F

EO: M'U M'U'M U' M'U'M'

• Front Diagonal case. We end with UL/UR on the bottom.

UL/UR: U M2 U'

M Slice: skip

(45 moves total)

Example 3

Face green with white on top, and do this scramble:

L' U L R2 F2 U' F' U' F B' L' R' U2 R2 U' B' L B2 F2 R' D2 L' R2 U2 F

Now face the green center with the yellow center on top. This puts the blue/white edge in its DL spot.

1st block: r'D2 r'R'U FUr'f

• r’D2 pairs up the blue/orange pieces while shuffling the blue/red pieces around
• r’ pairs up the blue/red pieces. I don’t normally recommend pairing up both pairs before inserting either of them.
• R’U re-inserts the blue/white edge next to the blue center
• FU inserts the blue/red pieces
• r’f inserts the blue/orange pieces and anchors the block in the lower left

2nd block: U'r'U' rU'r RUR2U'R UrU'r'

• U’r’U’ prepares to insert the green/white edge
• rU’r inserts the green/white edge, and the U’ in the middle prevents the red/green corner from being stuck in the BR slot
• RUR2 pairs up the green/orange pair
• U’R inserts the green/orange pair
• U prepares the green/red pair for a standard insertion
• rU’r’ inserts the green/red pair

CMLL: U' RUR'U' R'FR2U'R'U RUR'F'

EO: M'U'M' U2 M'UM'

• Neighbors case. M’U’M’ gives us an arrow. U2 points the arrow toward the bad D edge.
• We end with M’UM’ instead of M’U’M’ so that the UL/UR edges end up on the bottom.

UL/UR: U M2 U

M slice: U2 M2 U2 M2

(53 moves as written; the last U of UL/UR and the first U2 of the M slice step combine into one U’, so it is 52 in practice)

I’ve covered the basics of the Roux method, but this rabbit hole goes deeper.