CFOP method

The CFOP method (Cross – F2L – OLL – PLL), also known as the Fridrich method, is one of the most commonly used methods in speedsolving a 3×3×3 Rubik's Cube. It is one of the fastest methods with the other most notable ones being Roux and ZZ. This method was first developed in the early 1980s, combining innovations by a number of speedcubers. Jessica Fridrich, a Czech speedcuber and the namesake of the method, is generally credited for popularizing it by publishing it online in 1997.^[1]

The method works by first solving a cross typically on the bottom, continuing to solve the first two layers together (F2L), orienting the last layer (OLL), and finally permuting the last layer (PLL). There are 119 algorithms in total to learn the full method, with 41 for F2L (though this step can also be done with 'intuitive F2L', where the solver intuitively solves the step through basic rules, a method requiring no memorisation of notated algorithms, at the expense of efficiency), 57 for full OLL, and 21 for full PLL, and there are other algorithm sets like ZBLL and COLL that can be learned in addition to CFOP to improve solving efficiency even further. However, if F2L is done intuitively, the method can be done with as few as 16 algorithms by splitting OLL and PLL into two sections each, leaving 10 algorithms for OLL and 6 for PLL.