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How to solve sudoku puzzles

11 January 2008. author: alexnjoy

How to solve sudoku puzzles:

Starting with the 9's, and working my way down, I first determine whether there are any obvious placements.

If I can narrow it down to 2 squares in a given box, I put my number, in very small print, in the lower left hand corner of both of the squares in that box.

If one square contains, for instance, a small 3 and a small 6, and another square in that same box also contains a small 3 and a small 6, I know that one of those boxes contains a 3, and one contains a 6. This is so obvious as to be almost silly, but it can give me clues for other placements.

When the sudoku puzzle is partially solved, I will try looking at the column or row that is the closest to completion. If it still needs a 7, and all but one of the empty squares are in boxes that already contain 7's, I know where to put my 7.

These are a few of my techniques in sudoku. When you fail to make progress with one, switch to another sudoku puzzle, and come up with some of your own.
 

Sudoku Puzzle Tips:

  • Check twice, put a number once.
  • If you're having a block, stop and take a break for a couple hours. Take a nap, do some errands, play a game, etc.
  • Another good place to practice your Sudoku skills is in a book. There are many books with Sudoku puzzles in them. Some even have step by step instructions to improve even more.
  • Have contests with your friends or coworkers. Make copies of a puzzle and try to see who can finish the fastest. Doing this once a day or once a week will help to dramatically increase your speed.
  • Use the web-pages below to help you. They are all very useful, but try to stay away from the auto-fillers. Where is the fun if the computer does it all for you?
  • Copy the sudoku puzzle onto a grid much bigger than the ones in the newspaper, using a marker. Now solve the sudoku puzzle using the bigger squares to clearly write in pencil all the possible numbers.
  • Try to find the obvious first'.
  • Go by box, then by row, then column.
 

Sudoku Rules:

  1. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each row.
  2. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each column.
  3. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each 3x3 box.
  4. A complete Sudoku puzzle contains the numbers 1 through 9 in every row, column, and 3x3 box.
 
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