Sudoku is a fun and challenging game that has taken the world by storm. With its simple rules and easy-to-understand gameplay, it’s no wonder that Sudoku is one of the most popular puzzle games of all time. While Sudoku puzzles are a relatively easy game to learn, they can be quite challenging to master. If you’re looking for tips on how to improve your Sudoku skills, then you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll share with you some of our top tips on how to save time while solving Sudoku online.
What is Sudoko?
Sudoku puzzles are a ton of fun and a great way to sharpen your logic skills. The goal is to fill a 9×9 grid with numbers so that each row, column, and 3×3 sub-grid contains all of the numbers from 1 to 9. Sudoku is a great way to improve your problem-solving skills, abstraction abilities, and overall thinking processes.Tips To Save Time While Solving Sudoku Online
No matter what your level of Sudoku expertise is, you’re sure to benefit from reading this. Even if you already know some of these techniques, it’ll be a good refresher. Let’s get started!
How To Start
When you’re starting out, it can be tough to know where to begin with a new Sudoku puzzle. Sometimes the hardest part is placing the very first digit. To make things easier, there are some things you can look for. This will help you narrow down the possibilities for what values the empty cells can contain.
First, look for rows, columns, or 3×3 blocks that have more given digits. When you find one of these areas, it means that the other empty cells within the same row, column, or block will have fewer possibilities.
Secondly, when you’re looking at the given numbers, pay attention to which numbers appear more often. For example, say you’ve got a new Sudoku puzzle with five 7s already given and no 3s. In this case, it’ll usually be easier to place one of the four remaining 7s into the grid than it will be to place one of the nine 3s.
Look For Single Number Candidates
Single candidates, also known as naked singles, occur when a particular cell can only have one possible candidate. This happens because all the other digits from 1 to 9 will have been ruled out by other numbers in the grid. This is usually because all the other numbers from 2 to 9 appear in either the same row or column or the 3×3 block.
For example, let’s say you have a sudoku online grid with the following given digits:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
And you see that in the second row, fifth column there is a ‘5’ given. You know that this means that the possibilities for that cell are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9. But then you notice that in the same row there is already an ‘8’ and in the same column there is already a ‘7’. This means that the only possibility for that cell is a ‘9’. So even though you don’t have all the numbers from 1-9 in that row or column, you can still rule some out because they appear elsewhere in the grid.
Use Scanning Techniques
Try not to look at the whole Sudoku grid at once. It’s better to scan different rows, columns, and 3×3 blocks one at a time. This will help you identify which areas are easier to solve, so you can start with those.
Once you feel confident, you can try scanning multiple areas at once to see how they interact. For example, if you scan a row and column and notice that they have a lot of digits between them, then you’ll know that the cell where they intersect will be constrained.
You Shouldn’t Spend Too Long Staring At One Part Of The Grid
If you’re finding that you’re stuck on one area, it means you probably need to place digits in other areas of the grid first before you can solve it. So it’s important to be able to quickly scan the whole grid to see what needs to be done first. Then you can come back to the more difficult stuff later.
Keep The Momentum Going
Sudoku is all about momentum. You might have to place a digit in one area of the grid before you can solve other empty cells. This is why it’s important to scan along rows, columns, and within the 3×3 blocks whenever you place a new digit as that might unlock new cells.
Use Pencil Marks
When you’re solving a Sudoku puzzle, it can be helpful to mark possible candidates in empty cells. This will help you work through the puzzle and narrow down your options. Plus, it can also help you refine your scanning techniques and identify naked pairs and hidden pairs (which we’ll talk about next).
Solve Sudoku Puzzles By Looking For Naked Pairs
Naked pairs are when you have two empty cells that can only contain the exact same candidates. For example, if you have two empty cells in row 8 that can only contain a 2 or a 3, then that means 2s and 3s are ruled out of the remaining empty cells in both the 3×3 block and the entire row. This is because, no matter what, there’s no way you can place a 2 or 3 elsewhere in the box or row.
Identifying naked pairs can be really useful because it allows you to place new digits and solve the puzzle more easily.
Look For Hidden Pairs
If you see a pair of numbers that are only candidates for two cells, that’s a hidden pair. For example, if the bottom right box doesn’t have a 7, then there’s no naked pair. But we could still put the 6 in the first cell of the grid.
Use Advanced Sudoku Strategies
Who doesn’t love a good Sudoku puzzle? As you move up from the easier levels to the harder ones, you’ll need to learn and deploy new Sudoku strategies. Some of the more basic ones include pencil marking and X-wings. But don’t worry, the more difficult the puzzles get, the more fun they are to solve. And if you ever find yourself stuck, you can always enter your puzzle into a Sudoku solver. They’ll tell you what strategies you need to use to solve it.
Never Guess
Sudoku is a logical deduction puzzle, which means you can solve it without guessing by eliminating possibilities until you arrive at a unique solution. So while playing Sudoku online be patient, think carefully about the puzzle, and use the tips and tricks above. You’ll get there eventually!
Conclusion
So there you have it, some tips to help you improve your Sudoku online. Now it’s time to put them into practice. The only way you’ll get better at solving Sudoku puzzles is by actually doing it and learning as you go. In addition, you can have more fun learning games at Playmania. The more you play, the more you’ll learn what works for you and develop your own methods.