Cracking Sudoku puzzles – how it works

Cracking Sudoku puzzles successfully requires patience, logical thinking and the use of various techniques

Cracking Sudoku puzzles: Here’s how

Sudoku is a popular logic puzzle based on numbers that is played by millions of people worldwide. There are several techniques that can help you solve Sudoku puzzles efficiently and successfully.

• Scanning: The first step in any Sudoku puzzle should be what is known as scanning. This involves searching the grid for obvious gaps that you can easily fill in. Look at rows, columns and sub-squares to find out where certain numbers are still missing.

• Exclusion method: This technique consists of eliminating possibilities step by step. If a number already occurs in a certain sub-square, row or column, it cannot occur again in these areas. By excluding certain positions, you can finally deduce the correct placement of a number

• Pen-and-paper method: If you are not sure about certain cells, you can write down possible candidate numbers in a corner of the respective cell. This method helps you to keep possible solutions in mind and systematically eliminate them. As you progress further in the puzzle, some candidates may eliminate themselves until only one valid option remains.

• Block and line method: In this strategy, you focus on the interaction between blocks and lines. If you find that a particular number can only be placed in one row or column of a sub-square, you can use this information to exclude other cells in that grid. This method is particularly useful if you are stuck at an advanced stage of the puzzle.

• Advanced techniques: If you play Sudoku regularly and venture into more advanced puzzles, there are additional strategies such as the X-Wing, Swordfish or Y-Wing technique. However, these require a higher level of practice and understanding as they are based on the principle of analyzing and eliminating multiple possibilities across the entire grid. You can approach these difficult techniques slowly once you have mastered the basic methods.

• If you get stuck, don’t guess a number. Even if you have a 50:50 chance, one wrong number can make the whole Sudoku unsolvable.

The basics of Sudoku

The name Sudoku stands for “Suji wa dokushin ni kagiru”, which means “Numbers may only occur once”. Despite the use of numbers, Sudoku has nothing to do with mathematics, but requires logical thinking and patience.

• A typical Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9×9 grid divided into nine 3×3 sub-squares.

• The challenge is to complete the grid so that every number from 1 to 9 appears exactly once in every row, every column and every sub-square.

• In a normal Sudoku puzzle, some of the fields are already filled with numbers, while the remaining fields remain empty and must be filled in by you.

• Although the goal is clearly defined, the solution can be tricky. To successfully crack a Sudoku puzzle, it is important to understand and apply different strategies and techniques.