Sudoku is a fairly simple game and is not hard to understand. The goal of the game is to fill the 9x9 grid with numbers 1-9. The catch, however, is that each row, column, and 3x3 box can only have one of each number, no repeats. Those are really the only rules, so once the whole grid is filled following those instructions, the puzzle is solved.

Now, let’s talk about techniques for solving sudoku. There are a number of different approaches that one could take when trying to solve the puzzle. Usually, people start by looking for a spot that could easily complete a 3x3 group, row or column (say there are eight numbers in one of those, it is easy to find the missing nineth number). This is called the Rule of Singles. Similarly, there is a method of looking for “forced cells.” This works by eliminating all possibilities of a number in the row, column, and subgrid until only one remains. There is also the method of looking for “only cells.” This involves picking a number and finding all nine spots for that number. For example, let’s say we are working on filling out all of the twos. If columns one and three and rows two and three all have a two in different 3x3 subgrids, then there is only one spot that two can go in the remaining subgrid. There is also the idea of limiting the range of possibilities, but this requires a pencil and paper and can be a little time consuming. This method involves writing down each possibility for each cell, then going through and eliminating numbers based on reasoning and positions of other number possibilities. There is the always trial and error when solving sudoku. Everyone has their own personal methods the use when solving sudoku, so there are many other techniques out there. Try using some of the mentioned techniques to solve the sudoku puzzle below: