2x2 Ortega Trainer
12 algorithms selected · flashcard practice
How to solve the 2x2 with Ortega
Ortega (also called Varasano) is the most popular intermediate 2x2 method. It solves the cube in just three short steps using only 12 algorithms total.
- Build one face.
Pick a colour and make all four stickers on one face match — usually white on the bottom. The side colours do not need to line up. This is the key insight of Ortega: you only need a solid face, not a solved first layer.
- Orient the last layer (OLL).
Flip the four top corners so the top face is all one colour (usually yellow). There are 7 cases — the same OLL shapes you may know from the 3x3, but only the corner-orientation ones apply on the 2x2.
- Permute both layers (PBL).
In one algorithm, permute the top corners AND fix the bottom corners that were never properly aligned in step 1. There are only 5 PBL cases to learn.
Tips for learning Ortega
- Learn the two diagonal-swap PBL cases first — they're the shortest and most common.
- If you already know 3x3 OLL, you already know Ortega OLL — they're the same shapes.
- Recognise PBL by looking at the side stickers of each layer separately: same colour = adjacent swap, different colours = diagonal swap.
- Once Ortega is comfortable, look into CLL and EG-1 / EG-2 for sub-3 times.
The 12 algorithms
Ortega is split into two short algorithm sets. Use the group filter below the progress bar to drill one set at a time.
- Ortega OLL7 cases
- Ortega PBL5 cases
OLL flashcards are shown from the top (last-layer view). PBL flashcards are shown in 3D so you can see both layers at once.
Keyboard: ← prev · → next · space to flip · Algorithms from jperm.net