Dodecahedron-family rotation notation

Megaminx, Gigaminx, Kilominx and Master Kilominx — all four share a rotation notation built on the dodecahedron (12 faces). This page explains the face letters, turn amounts, wide moves, and Pochmann notation (the WCA scramble notation).

Face letters (12 faces)

Each of the dodecahedron's 12 faces has a 1–2 letter symbol. The six used most are R, U, L, BR, BL and F — turned mainly with the right hand, the same way as <RUF> on the cube. A letter alone means a 72° clockwise turn of that face (viewed face-on).

Modifiers

' (prime, e.g. R') means 72° counterclockwise; 2 (e.g. R2) means 144° clockwise (twice 72°); 2' means 144° counterclockwise. No single-move symbol (such as 3) is used for a turn beyond 180°.

Two-layer wide (Gigaminx and Master Kilominx only)

Standard-size Megaminx and Kilominx have only one layer of cuts per face, so the face letters above already cover everything. Gigaminx and Master Kilominx have two layers of cuts, so besides turning just the outer layer, there is also a "two-layer wide" move that turns the outer layer together with the layer beneath it. Wide is written by adding w to the face letter (e.g. Rw, Rw'). Adding w on standard-size Megaminx or Kilominx is an error, since they have only one layer.

Pochmann notation (WCA scramble notation)

The WCA scramble procedure uses only six symbols: U, U', and R++, R--, D++, D--. Both ++ and -- are 144° turns; a single sign such as R+ is never used. On Gigaminx and Master Kilominx, the two-layer-wide versions Rw++, Dw-- and so on are also used.

Aliases and internal labels

The face letters I, E and BF are spelled UL, UR and B in the internal (SSE-based) label system. A and DL, as well as C and DR, are also synonyms. cubepic accepts either spelling.

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