4x4 notation is based on 3x3 notation. The normal 3x3 moves U D R L F B M S E are the same outer layer turn on the 4x4. A lowercase letter such as r or u means that you move the inner layer of that side. For example a r’ move means that you move the inner right layer in the same direction as R’, so down.

We are going to use the official NxNxN notation: F – Outer front face clockwise U' – Outer up face anticlockwise L2 – Double turn of the left face (180 o) Fw – Outer block move: the two front faces together clockwise. For NxNxN cubes we mark how many layers to grab but we can ignore this for a 4x4 cube since the numbers is always 2: 2Rw'.

Cube Notation is letters and letter character combinations to describe specific turns on a 4x4. The purpose of notation is to easily describe an algorithm or a scramble. Uppercase letters describe one 90 degree turn of one layer the letter represents. If the letter is followed by an apostrophe then the turn is anti-clockwise. - UP -

You’ll see people refer to the outside faces of the cube as “U” for up, “R” for right, etc. “L” means left, “F” front, “B” back, and “D” down. Next, “u” will represent the row just below “U”; “r” is for the row right next to “R”, and so on. Lastly in identifying what to move, some people like to move 2 or 3 rows at once.

Notation Due to the additional layer on the 4x4 we need to define some new notation to solve the cube. An upper-case letter followed by a w denotes a ‘wide’ or double layer turn of the side. A lower-case letter denotes an inner slice move.