How To Sudoku

How do I play Sudoku?

One of the most popular and challenging mind game around, Sudoku is a puzzle that is best solved with a strategy in mind. When you have finally decided to give it a shot, playing Sudoku is fairly simple, for the first few levels at least. The rest? Well, either luck or sheer hard work and logic can make you victorious.

The challenge of solving the puzzle, the frustration of not being able to grasp the answer and the sweet victory of finally seeing only one unique number in each row and column, can only be felt once you dive, head first, into this maze of random numbers. Even if you have never played Sudoku before, there is always a first time and this ultimate guide will help you successfully kick start your addiction to this game.

Basic Tricks Of How to Sudoku

Before starting with your first Sudoku puzzle, make a mental note of the following general tips:

Basic Trick #1

Start with the easiest puzzle. A little motivation after completing these will be good support at later stages.

Basic Trick #2

Take your time to solve each puzzle. Even if you feel you are stuck at some point, take a break and get back to it later with a clear mind. Rushing through the puzzle will lead to miscalculations easily.

Basic Trick #3

Play a number of easy puzzles several times. Once you feel you are in the ‘groove’ with these easy ones, take on bigger challenges of solving the harder puzzles.

Advanced Tricks On How to Sudoku

Expert Sudoku players have drafted a series of tricks and strategies to coach and help people win. These strategies can be learnt by applying them in various games and understanding the logic behind them. After all, Sudoku is based on the premise of logic and not knowledge. The two most widely used tricks are given below that will better equip you for victory.

Advanced Trick #1

When you start a Sudoku puzzle, try to fill in as many empty squares a possible. To make the puzzles solvable, they are set in a way that the easiest solutions can be found by everyone, filtering out the most difficult ones for which you will now apply the techniques. The first trick is called squeezing.

To apply this, take three adjust blocks and check the numbers you have put in each row of the first two blocks. For instance, if the number 3 is placed in the first row of the first block and the second row of the second block then you can safely deduce that 3 is the number to be fitted in the third row of the third block, provided only one square remains empty in this row of the third block.

Advanced Trick #2

If squeezing did not do the trick for you, cross-hatching definitely will. This trick works with the numbers column-wise, and when more than one square is empty in the block under consideration. For instance, the block in question is the third one (counting horizontally), if you see the number 5 in the first row of the second block, the first column of the sixth block and the second column of the ninth block, draw lines on all these rows and columns, that is cross hatch them. The only square left in the third block will be the last one of the third row. There you have it, another block filled.