A small puzzle with a small number of positions
The 2×2 is eight corners and nothing else: no edges and no centres. That leaves 3,674,160 possible positions, few enough that every one of them can be solved in 11 face turns or fewer. It is why 2×2 scrambles are short.
How the 2×2 scramble is generated
Like the 3×3, the 2×2 uses a random-state scramble: cubing.js picks a position at random from all of them and then finds a short sequence that reaches it. A random-state generator matters even more here, because on a puzzle this small, random turning keeps landing on the same easy positions.
Reading a 2×2 scramble
The letters mean exactly what they mean on a 3×3: U, D, R, L, F and B turn an outer face clockwise, ' turns it the other way and 2 is a half turn. With no centres to show which way is up, start from a solved 2×2 with white on top and green in front, and check your result against the preview.
Practising the 2×2
2×2 solves are short, so inspection matters even more: strong solvers plan the whole first layer, and often more, before they start. Time a batch of five and look at the average rather than the single best solve; one lucky scramble can be much easier than the rest.