Tips for solving Sudoku: Sudoku is one of the most popular mind puzzle games in the world that is both challenging and rewarding. We’ve all seen the printed version of Sudoku in newspapers and magazines.
Sudoku is published by a French newspaper called Number Place. It became popular in 1986 after it was published by Japanese puzzle company Nikoli as Sudoku, which means a number. In 2004, Sudoku was published in The Times (London).
What is Sudoku?
Sudoku is a puzzle based on logic, the combinatorial arrangement of numbers. In Classic Sudoku, the goal is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits such that each row, each column, and each of the nine 3×3 subgrids make up the grid (also known as “boxes”, “blocks”) or “region”) contains all the digits from 1 to 9.
Sudoku puzzle difficulty level can be easy, medium, hard or very hard. The easier the puzzle, the more numbers are pre-filled in the grid. The more difficult the puzzle, the fewer numbers that are pre-filled in the grid.
Sudoku is a game of logic and reasoning and requires you to think carefully about the placement of each number. No math or math is required, but you must be able to see patterns and draw conclusions. Sudoku is a great way to improve your brain. It can help improve your memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills. It can also be very enjoyable and a great way to relax and de-stress.
Let’s solve Sudoku
We will solve rows, columns and grids from a1 to i1, a2 to i2 and a3 to i3 to explain how to solve Sudoku puzzles.
- We start with grid a1 to i3. After scanning through the rows and columns we have 1 in i2 and 2 in f3. So we will endure and move forward. Now we see that g2 has 3 and e3 has 3, so we conclude that c3, c2, b2 and a2 cannot have 3. So we put 3 in cell b1.
- Moving on, we notice that a3 has 4 and 31 has 4. So, g1, i1, g3, h3, i3 can’t have 4. So we put 4 in h2.
- Moving on, we notice that we have 5 in cell c1. However, we don’t see anything more than that. So we continue on. Then we see 6 in a1 and another 6 in cell f2. So, using the same logic as before, we conclude that g1, i1 and h2 cannot have 6 of them. Thus, the possibility of 6 remains in cells g3, h3, and i3. However, we don’t have a 6 in the surrounding columns, so we keep that possibility and move on.
- Next, we only have 8 in cell h1. Moving on, we have 9 in b3 and another 9 in d2. So we play on this. This tells us that 9 cannot be placed in cells g3, h3, i3, and h2. We are left with the possibility of 9 in cells g1 or i1. Looking further down the columns, we see 9 in cells g4 and h7. So we further know that 9 cannot be placed in cell g1. So we will put 9 in cell i1.
Currently, our Sudoku looks like this:
- Moving on, we revisit the numbers 1 through 9. Now we see that there is 2 in cell f3. Now we rescan the rows and columns and see that there is a possibility that there are 2 other possible cells in cells a2, b2, c2 because there are already 2 in the 3×3 grid from cells d to f and cells g2, h2 , i2 is filled.
- Therefore, after horizontal scanning, we see that there is a 2 in cell b8, so we think that the number 2 can only be placed in cell a2 or c2. Moving on, we conclude that there is 1 in i2. After further scanning, we observed 1 in cells a4 and d6. So we’ve removed cells a1, d3, and e2 to put 1. We’ll put 1 in cell f1.
- Then we notice that there is 5 in cell c1 so d1,f1,g1 can’t have 5. After removing we are left with e2 so we put 5 in cell e2 and keep the possibility of having 5 in cells g3, h3, and i3 .
Now our Sudoku looks like this:
- In cells from a1 to i1 we are missing only one candidate in cell d1 which is number 7. Next number 7 will go to cell g3 because looking at we see number 7 in cell h6 and i7. Moving on, we conclude that 8 cannot go into g3 because there are 8 in cell h1 while cells a3, b3, c3 are already filled. So we put 8 in cell d3.
- Now we have concluded that 7 is in d1 and 7 is in g3 so we can find the remaining 7. After scanning we find that there are 7 in cell b4 and another 7 in cell c9. Therefore, using the elimination method, we can put the remaining 7 in cell a2.
- Now we go back to the other 2 cells, we see that cell b8 has 2 so we are left with cell c2. We put 2 in cell c2. Now we can fill in the only candidate left in cell b2 as 8. Now we are left with cells h3 and i3. These two cells can only be imagined after solving the remaining rows, columns and grids.
Here we will share a solved Sudoku puzzle for you to learn and practice.
See more quizzes to test your IQ
Also, check: you are totally on the lookout if you can spot the tiger within 6 seconds!
Also check out: Optical Illusion Challenge: Only eagle eyes can spot another eagle within 6 seconds!
Also check out: Optical Illusion Challenge: Only 1% with sharp eyesight can spot another horse in 6 seconds!
Also check: Which tank will fill up first? Answer in 5 seconds, 98% fail this test!
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education