How to Solve a Picture Cube
Solving a picture cube is a fun but surprisingly challenging extension of the standard 3x3 cube. The basic solving method is largely the same, but once the colours are solved, the real challenge begins: making sure the images on every face actually line up properly.
Many brands have released their own custom picture cubes over the years, from tourist attractions to promotional gifts, and you can now create your own at speedcubing.org, with automatic bulk discounts applied for larger quantities.
In this video, I go through the full process of solving a picture cube, including the extra cases that make them more difficult than a normal 3x3.
Why Picture Cubes Are Harder
The main difference with a picture cube is that the centre pieces can be rotated in different directions. On a standard 3x3 this does not matter, but on a picture cube, every centre must be oriented correctly for the image to line up.
This increases the number of possible combinations by 1024×, making picture cubes significantly more difficult than a normal 3x3 if you do not know how to deal with centre orientation.
The good news is that the extra difficulty can still be solved with a few simple techniques.
How to Rotate Centres on a Picture Cube
There are several ways to rotate centres, but in this tutorial I focus on one of the simplest and most useful approaches using the T perm.
A standard T perm can be used to affect centre orientation, and two T perms can be used together to rotate the top centre by 180 degrees. This is very useful when only one centre appears to be flipped, although in practice the surrounding pieces often make the case more complicated.
For 90-degree centre rotations, the key thing to remember is that it is not possible to have only one centre rotated by 90 degrees. There will always be at least two misoriented centres that need solving together.
The solution shown in the video is to:
- Perform a T perm to rotate one centre by 90 degrees
- Turn the middle slice
- Perform another T perm to rotate the second centre by 90 degrees
By combining these cases correctly, you can solve any centre orientation that appears through random scrambling.
Where to Start
When solving a picture cube, I recommend starting with whichever face is easiest to recognise. Unlike a normal 3x3, this is often much more intuitive than choosing a specific colour first.
In the example used in the video, the easiest face to begin with is the NVR logo. Starting there makes it much easier to identify the correct orientation and build the rest of the solve around it.
It also helps to line up the other four centres on the cross arms as early as possible. Doing this makes the first two layers much easier and reduces the chance of needing to undo work later in the solve.
The NVR Custom Cube
The cube used in this video is the NVR custom picture cube, created for the Nene Valley Railway, a heritage railway line based in Peterborough.
These cubes are available in the gift shop at Wansford Station and make a great example of how picture cubes can be used as a fun souvenir, gift shop product, or promotional item for attractions and organisations.
If you are interested in creating custom picture cubes for your own attraction, business, or event, you can explore our range here:
Whether you are making a promotional product, museum gift, branded giveaway, or souvenir cube, custom picture cubes are a great way to create something unique — and now you know how to solve them too.
