Stay Sharp.
Stay Sharp.
How
To
PlaybasicsThis page will teach you about sudoku and the basic techniques on how to play Sudoku puzzles and easy games. When you get better, the puzzles can get more challenging and we will discuss how to complete more advanced puzzles in the “Sudoku Techniques” section.
First things first, every Sudoku is solvable. Every sudoku puzzle only has one solution and there’s at least one way to reach that solution (but there is often more than one way to solve a sudoku). There isn’t any need to guess when you aren’t sure. Using basic logic and eliminating candidates (potential numbers) will provide the solution in every case.
No Math is needed, you don’t have to be a numbers person to be good at sudoku, You could play Sudoku using any nine symbols or colors. Numbers just happen to be easy to recognize.
Sudoku is a 9x9 puzzle grid or table that is made of nine 3x3 blocks. Each 3x3 block, row, and column contains nine cells each and all must contain a single 1-9. See the example below.
The numbers shown at the beginning of the puzzle and in the examples are the “givens”. These numbers can not be changed in any puzzle and serve as your clues to solving the puzzle.
You solve the puzzle by filling in the empty cells with asingle number (from all the possible candidates) that allows for each row, column, and region to be completed without any duplicate numbers in them, respectfully. There is onlyone affirmative number for each cell.
Look at the “givens” search for the same number in different rows, columns, or regions. Use the process of elimination to determine what numbers can not go in the cells for consideration.
In cases where the solution isn’t immediately obvious, you markup or pencil in vacant candidates. It will also reveal answers that are not immediately obvious otherwise.
After you have identified the possible candidates it is time to apply some logic. It is necessary to eliminate all candidates to arrive at a single answer for each cell.
Complete the Sudoku puzzle so that each and every row, column, and box contains each of the numbers one through nine.
This is an easy example puzzle but you should be aware, just that it is not the number of givens that determines a sudokus difficulty. The locations and combinations of the givens are what matters.
Lets begin playing Sudoku by scanning the puzzle.
You can start your scan anywhere but it is common to look for the number that has multiple “givens”. The more givens of a particular number often mean that it will be easier to figure outthe other cells that need that number.
So as you can see here, you can see that there are four twos (2) on the board. If you select the highlight tool it makes it easier to see where they are as shown below.
As you can see there is a two (2) given in Column E and Column F. You can also see that there is a two (2) in Row 1. So if you use those givens to evaluate Box 2 (the upper middle box) You can eleminate the two (2) from cells D1, E3, and F2
Box 2 needs a two (2) to be completed and, because the cells mentioned above (and marked in red) cannot contain the two (2), Cell D3 (highlighted in green) must contain the two (2)!
Use the same scanning and eliminating technique until you fill up the sudoku board. Many beginner sudokus or easy sudokus do not require much more than this, as long as you pay close attention.
After applying techniques, you will eventually get to the end of your first sudoku puzzle. Once you fill the number into the last cell....YOU WIN!
Sudokus are able to get much more difficult and require more advanced logical reasoning techniques. The good news is, the more you play the shaper you and your skills will become. Thank you for learning sudoku with Brainsword, be sure to play every day to STAY SHARP!
The most basic way of starting a Sudoku puzzle is scanning the rows, columns, and box areas in order to eliminate numbers or squares (as described above).
However, finding situations where only a single number can fit into a single square can be more complex than just scanning for numbers. While the scanning technique is usually sufficient to solve easy puzzles all the way to the end, it is not always sufficient in solving more difficult puzzles. The following techniques will be very useful for solving medium-hard puzzles after the point where no further progress can be made from the basic scanning methods. Click below to begin learning advanced techniques from for free at the Brainsword Sudoku University!