How do you find the answers to Sudoku?
There are more than a few techniques to solve a Sudoku puzzle, but per Conceptis Puzzles, the easiest way to a Sudoku solution is to, “Scan rows and columns within each triple-box area, eliminating numbers or squares and finding situations where only a single number can fit into a single square.”
- 1 Use a pencil.
- 2 Note potential candidates in open squares.
- 3 Scan the board to process the puzzle.
- 4 Start with the obvious singles.
- 5 Revisit your candidates after you solve singles.
- 6 Identify naked or hidden pairs.
- 7 Move on to triples and quads.
Sudoku is a puzzle involving logic – no arithmetic or guessing is required! The basic idea of completing puzzles is to find cells (the small squares) where you are sure that only one value is a valid placement. If you've not played Sudoku before, take a look at our guide to how to start.
The Rule of 45
All the numbers in a given row, column or nonet should add up to 45. This rule can also be used smaller puzzles: the number is 21 for a 6x6 puzzle and 10 for a 4x4 puzzle. Take a look at the Killer Sudoku grid below.
A well-formed Sudoku puzzle is one that has a unique solution. A Sudoku puzzle can have more than one solution, but in this case the kind of logical reasoning we described while discussing solving strategies may fall short.
The rules for sudoku are simple. A 9×9 square must be filled in with numbers from 1-9 with no repeated numbers in each line, horizontally or vertically. To challenge you more, there are 3×3 squares marked out in the grid, and each of these squares can't have any repeat numbers either.
It can be incredibly challenging to solve a Sudoku puzzle. That's what makes it fun. It is believed that the average Sudoku player spends approximately 20 minutes solving a typical Sudoku puzzle.
- Each row should have numbers 1-9, no repeats.
- Each column should have numbers 1-9, no repeats.
- Each 3x3 quadrant should have numbers 1-9, no repeats.
A Swordfish is a 3 by 3 nine-cell pattern where a candidate is found on three different rows (or three columns) and they line up in the opposite direction. Eventually we will fix three candidates somewhere in those cells which excludes all other candidates in those units.
"Hidden pairs" technique works the same way as "Hidden singles". The only thing that changes is the number of cells and Notes. If you can find two cells within a row, column, or 3x3 block where two Notes appear nowhere outside these cells, these two Notes must be placed in the two cells.
What is the Knight's rule in Sudoku?
Anti-knight rules: no two squares that are a knight's move apart can have the same digit. (The knight's move is 2 along and 1 to the side, as in chess.) 2. Anti-king rules: no two squares that touch either horizontally, vertically or diagonally can have the same digit.
Now Gary McGuire, a mathematician at University College Dublin, has come up with what he says is a proof that finds the minimum number of clues, or starting digits, needed to complete the game is 17. That's been a long-held assumption for quite some time.

You can use only numbers from 1 to 9. Each 3×3 block can only contain numbers from 1 to 9. Each vertical column can only contain numbers from 1 to 9. Each horizontal row can only contain numbers from 1 to 9.
Can a Sudoku puzzle have more than one correct solution? A well constructed sudoku has only one unique solution. And many solvers actually use this uniqueness to eliminate possibilities while solving as well. So the answer to your question is "No."
Sudoku keeps your brain active and reduces the risk of Alzheimer's, a most common cause of dementia that affects a person's thinking and behavioural skills. Stimulates your mind: The game works on your logical thinking process as you are absorbed in solving a puzzle and eventually improve your number skills.
In one case, a programmer found a brute force program required six hours to arrive at the solution for such a Sudoku (albeit using a 2008-era computer). Such a Sudoku can be solved nowadays in less than 1 second using an exhaustive search routine and faster processors.
An ordinary puzzle with a unique solution must have at least 17 clues, but this is not mathematically proven. There is a solvable puzzle with at most 21 clues for every solved grid, with the largest minimal puzzle found so far has 40 clues in the 81 cells. Similar results are known for variants and smaller grids.
The easiest way starting a Sudoku puzzle is to scan rows and columns within each triple-box area, eliminating numbers or squares and finding situations where only a single number can fit into a single square. The scanning technique is fast and usually sufficient to solve easy puzzles all the way to the end.
- Set a Timer. If you don't want to lose too much time to playing Sudoku, start with just 5 minutes. ...
- Focus on a Single Row, Column or Square. An entire 9-by-9 Sudoku grid can be overwhelming. ...
- Practice One New Technique for 5 Minutes. ...
- Get a Fast Start.
Who can play Sudoku? Anyone can play Sudoku because it uses a universal numerical digit language that is well-known and well-used by all. Anyone who knows numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 can have fun solving Sudoku. We can group people who can play Sudoku into 3 groups: Beginners, Intermediates, and Experts.
Which is harder Sudoku or chess?
A chess problem is much more complicated than a Sudoku, because the number of possibilities could be astronomical. Such problems are generally infeasible unless White can force checkmate in a few moves.
The scores for each puzzle are determined not just by how many cells there are to fill in, but also how many different techniques it takes to complete them, and how many times each one is used.
"Hidden triples" applies when three cells in a row, column, or 3x3 block contain the same three Notes. These three cells also contain other candidates, which may be removed from them.
"Hidden triples" applies when three cells in a row, column, or 3x3 block contain the same three Notes. These three cells also contain other candidates, which may be removed from them.
The Sashimi pattern is very similar to the traditional Sudoku X-Wing configuration. In this case, the player also finds one digit with only two possible solutions within two rows/columns. Yet, one of the cells is not connected to another by row or column.
If a particular candidate is present in four or less Cells in four Rows and if these Cells belong to the same four Columns, then whichever Cells the candidate is the solution for in any of these four Rows, these Cells must be in different columns.
Ghost numbers are empty cells in a row, column or box that are the only cells that can hold a specific digit. Ghost numbers can be used to narrow down the possible places in other rows, columns or boxes where the same digit can exist.
Odd. Place a digit from 1 to 9 into each of the empty squares so that each digit appears exactly once in each of the rows, columns and the nine outlined 3x3 regions. The grey squares must contain odd digits. Sudoku. Solution.
That's an impressive feat. There are exactly 6, 670, 903, 752, 021, 072, 936, 960 possible solutions to Sudoku (about 10^21) .
Level | Lowest Difficulty Score | Highest Difficulty Score |
---|---|---|
Medium | 5300 | 6900 |
Tricky | 6500 | 9300 |
Fiendish | 8300 | 14000 |
Diabolical | 11000 | 25000 |