Sudoku Solving Techniques

You only need to master two sudoku solving techniques, and I will briefly cover both in the following. When you apply these two techniques it will be a lot easier to solve sudoku puzzles, no matter how chalenging they may be.

Scanning

The first sudoku solving technique you must know is often referred to as scanning. Scanning is your initial analysis of a new sudoku puzzle. The first thing you want to check for is where in the grid you find the most given numbers. Because you will find it a lot easier to identify correct numbers if there are less options. So to solve your puzzle you start with the region, row or coloumn with most numbers already given.

Next you want to look for frequency of the numbers 1 to 9. Again, you are more likely to find a solution where there are fewer options. You should start with the number with the highest frequency, then the next higher frequency – and so on.

You should scan the puzzle at least once initially and again as you successfully identify and place numbers in the empty cells. However, you will soon discover that keeping track on which numbers are possible solutions in which cells, is quite challenging – especially if this your first attempt to solve sudoku puzzles. This leads in to another sudoku solving technique you should know about.

Subscript/Superscript Marking

You may use subscript or superscript marking to note possible numbers in the cells. Solving a Sudoku puzzle require a structured approach, and keeping track of your possible numbers is necessary. As you develop your skills and master the sudoku solving techniques, you will be able to solve easy puzzles without this technique.

The one disadvantage to this is that many puzzles, such as those found in newspapers, are often printed with too small grids to write more than one number in each cell. Consider making a larger copy of the puzzle so that you can read it easier or use a pencil that is very sharp so that you can write with a fine hand.

A puzzle will be classified as “easy” if you can solve it by the scanning method alone. Sudoku puzzles that are more challenging won’t be solved by scanning alone but will need multiple solving techniques.

So – when you first look at a sudoku puzzle, you should take some time to analyze the grid. The video tutorials advertised on this site demonstrate the sudoku solving techniques you need.