Tetrahedron-family rotation notation
Pyraminx (3 layers), Master Pyraminx (4 layers) and Professor Pyraminx (5 layers) all share a rotation notation built on the tetrahedron (4 faces). A higher layer count simply unlocks more symbols; the notation itself stays the same.
Base orientation and vertex letters
Hold the puzzle with yellow on the bottom and green facing you, and red is on the left, blue on the right. In this orientation, the vertices are labelled U (up), L (front-left), R (front-right) and B (back).
Symbols (layer depth)
Layers are counted from the vertex. Lowercase (u l r b) turns just the tip (depth 1). Uppercase (U L R B) turns the tip together with the next layer (depth 2) — this is exactly the WCA notation for the 3-layer puzzle. On the 4- and 5-layer puzzles, deeper layers are added with w (wide): Uw (depth 3, from 4 layers up) and 3Uw (depth 4, 5-layer only). 2Uw is the same move as Uw.
| Tip only (depth 1) | Tip and next layer (depth 2) | Depth 3 | Depth 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
u l r b | U L R B | Uw Lw Rw Bw | 3Uw 3Lw 3Rw 3Bw |
| 3, 4 and 5 layers | 3, 4 and 5 layers | 4 and 5 layers only | 5 layers only |
Direction of rotation
The symbol alone means a 120° clockwise turn of that vertex, viewed from outside. Adding ' gives a 120° counterclockwise turn. Since 240° is the same as a 120° turn the other way, 2 is never used.
J-style notation (alias)
The vertex letters also have J-style aliases: t = U, e = R, w = L, n = B. A single layer (the letter alone) is the same move as the depth-2 uppercase letter; a compound layer (adding &) is the deepest layer that puzzle can turn (equivalent to U on the 3-layer, Uw on the 4-layer, 3Uw on the 5-layer). Counterclockwise adds - (a minus sign) instead of '. The canonical form and the J style can be mixed within the same string of symbols.
What you can do on cubepic
This notation works in the net form for tetrahedron-family puzzles (Pyraminx, Master Pyraminx, Professor Pyraminx). Pick one from the figure picker and try out rotation symbols and scrambles.
→ Pick a figure on the top page© アサラボ