Sudoku Strategies For Sure Success
Sudoku is a popular puzzle game in Britain and the United States. The word Sudoku means “single number” in Japanese. A Sudoku consists of a 9 x 9 grid with 9 subgrids and 81 cells to be filled in with the numbers 1 to 9. However, there is one basic rule: each number can be placed only once in each row, column and subgrid.
To avoid being trapped by this rule, what should a player do? You must have strategies to solve the puzzle correctly and effectively.
How do you start? Everybody has their own ways of solving the game. However, the following strategies are arranged from the easiest to the most difficult to prepare yourself to unlock even the most difficult puzzle ever made.
1. Use a pencil
Pens are for professional players. Though the puzzle may seem to be very easy, you will still need a little scratch work which you will need to be able to erase as you solve the cells.
2. Guessing should be avoided, if at all possible. Instead, think! Most Sudokus have only one solution. This means that they can be solved using logic. Never place a number if you are not sure that it is the correct number to go in that cell. Trial and error is not a good technique in Sudoku.
3. Begin with the most common numbers
Examine the puzzle to know which of the given numbers are the most frequent. Choose one of these numbers and scan the puzzle to find blank cells where that number can be placed. As you begin to try this, draw imaginary lines across each row and column that holds the number. Then look in each subgrid that does NOT have that number. If you find a single empty cell that is not crossed by an imaginary line, put the number in that cell.
4. Then go on to the nearly filled subgrid or line
As you begin filling in the numbers, watch out for the rows, columns, or the 3 x 3 subgrid that are nearly filled in. Once you have found one, decide which of the numbers that remain should be placed in that cell. Know the numbers that are not yet placed, then check if there is a suitable position. If there is only one, place the number.
5. Are you puzzled? Start making notes
The easy numbers have already been placed. Your eyes are focused on the page and you realize that you are not using your pencil again. This means you are puzzled by the puzzle. What should you do?
Work out each blank cell. Make small notes of the probable answers within each cell. Choose a cell and record in small print any of the numbers from one to nine that do not appear in its row, column or 3 x 3 subgrid. In this way, you will eventually find that each cell has only one possible answer. Place that number in the cell. Then, remove it as a possibility from the other cells in that row, column and subgrid.
6. Search for other options
There will be times when you will reach the point where all the empty cells have many possible solutions. If this happens, the puzzle becomes more difficult. Now, your plan is to look for the several cells in a row, column or subgrid that have similar options. For example, if you can locate two cells within a row, column or subgrid that have only the same two options, the two numbers should be placed in those two cells. They should not be placed anywhere else within the related row, column or subgrid. This should cut down the options in the remaining cells to a point where you can fill in some more numbers.
This strategy will work if the options overlap in two cells or more. If the total number of different options does not go beyond the number of cells, you can presume that each of those numbers is placed somewhere within that group of cells.
7. Start again if you duplicate
Lastly, if you find an illegal duplicate, stop, and try to figure out the step where you went wrong. If you cannot reverse your steps, it would be better to start the puzzle again.
By following the seven strategies given above, you are assured of victory – whether it be the easy level or the most difficult level of Sudoku.
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