Sudoku is one of the most fascinating games to hit the puzzle scene in decades. It's addictive, challenging and if you want to learn how to solve sudoku you need to have patience. While there are many tips and techniques you can use to help you start solving the puzzle, only a few are really worth learning.
You start sudoku on a 9×9 game board that is divided into smaller grids, the idea of the game is to enter the digits 1 through nine onto the board so that each digit (or candidate) only appears once in each line row or mini grid.
The above picture shows a typical sudoku board with the standard 9×9 layout. While different variations of the game exists such as samurai sudoku, most players will be familiar with the standard version of the puzzle. As you begin to learn how to solve sudoku you will start off with a few of the more basic techniques that help you eliminate possible candidates from each of the cells. Later as you move up to the more difficult levels such as killer sudoku you will need to apply more advanced techniques to successfully complete the game.
There are tons of different sudoku tips you can apply on the harder levels that will help make the game much easier. While most players begin at the easier levels you can move to the medium or harder puzzles if you feel you are up to the challenge.However The best idea is to start at an easy puzzle and master each of the different solving techniques before moving up to the more difficult puzzles.
For beginners "scanning" is one of the most valuable strategies you can learn that will not only help you with the easier puzzles but is a solving strategy that you can apply to any puzzle regardless of the level of difficulty.
Here are some suggested strategies you should learn first for a more detailed explanation of each check out our sudoku tips page.
- Scanning
- crosshatching
- Only Choice Rule
- penciling in
- slicing and dicing
Over time as you gain more experience solving sudoku puzzles you will find that these basic solving tips become second nature and when that happens you are ready to move up to the more difficult puzzles. Just remember learning how to solve sudoku shouldn't be a chore but rather a fun part of enjoying the worlds greatest puzzle!