The Rubik’s Cube Google Doodle is an interactive 3D puzzle released on May 19, 2014, celebrating the 40th anniversary of one of the world’s most iconic toys. Instead of a static logo, Google replaced their homepage with a fully functional digital Rubik’s Cube that you can twist, rotate, and (if you’re patient enough) actually solve.
The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture at the Budapest College of Applied Arts. He originally called it the “Magic Cube” and built the first prototype from 27 wooden blocks. His goal wasn’t to create a puzzle — he was trying to solve a structural problem of moving independent parts without the mechanism falling apart. It wasn’t until he scrambled it for the first time that he realised he’d created something special. It took him over a month to solve his own invention.
The cube went international in 1980 after being licensed to Ideal Toys and renamed after its creator. It became an instant phenomenon, selling over 350 million units worldwide and becoming the best-selling puzzle game of all time. There are 43 quintillion possible configurations — that’s 43 followed by 18 zeros — though Google’s Doodle uses just one scrambled state.
The Doodle was one of Google’s most technically ambitious at the time. It was built using the same technology that powered Chrome Cube Lab, a collection of web experiments that reimagined the puzzle in creative ways. The cube starts displaying the Google logo, then expands into a fully playable puzzle when you click it. A move counter tracks your progress, and if you somehow manage to solve it, you can share your achievement on social media.
Speedcubers quickly figured out that the optimal solution for Google’s specific scramble was just 16 moves. For context, the world record for solving a physical cube currently sits around 3 seconds.
How To Play Rubik’s Cube Google Doodle
Click on the Doodle to expand the cube from its Google logo state into a scrambled puzzle.
Swipe or drag inside the cube to twist individual rows and columns. Each face can be rotated independently.
Swipe or drag outside the cube to rotate the entire puzzle and view different sides.
For keyboard controls, use R, U, F, B, L, D to turn the Right, Up, Front, Back, Left, and Down faces. Hold Shift to reverse the direction.
The move counter in the bottom-left tracks every twist. Try to solve all six faces — each should display a single solid colour when complete.
Click the question mark icon for a quick tutorial on the controls if you get stuck.