How to play Sudoku. Detailed guide

How to play sudoku for beginners

To begin, familiarize yourself with the rules of sudoku. If the rules are clear to you, start playing with an easy sudoku. Such a sudoku can be solved using just 3 sudoku techniques:

• Last free cell
• Last remaining cell
• Last possible number

Take your time and avoid guessing numbers. Your task is to understand the logic of the game and develop your own strategy. The fewer mistakes you make, the faster you'll be able to progress to the next level. 

How to play sudoku with numbers

At the start of the game, you are already given a certain number of known digits. All other digits must be filled in manually using logical thinking and sudoku-solving tricks.

Depending on the grid size, you can use numbers in the range of 1-4 (for children), 1-6 (for children and teenagers), 1-9 (classic sudoku), 1-12 (difficult sudoku), 1-16 (very difficult sudoku), 1-25 (mega sudoku), and so on.

The rule for all number-based sudokus is the same: each column, row, and additional block must contain only unique digit values.

How to play sudoku with letters

The rules of Wordoku are identical to regular sudoku, but instead of numbers, Latin alphabet letters are used. For a 9x9 Wordoku, fill the playing field with letters so that they do not repeat in rows, columns, and additional areas.

There are a total of 9 letters, and they may not be in alphabetical order. In some sudokus, a secret 9-character word may be hidden. The game ends when all letters in the playing field are correctly placed, and there are no empty cells.

How to play advanced Sudoku

For challenging and very challenging sudoku, you need to master basic sudoku techniques, and easy and medium sudokus should be a "walk in the park" for you.

To successfully solve professional-level sudoku, you need to be able to use the following techniques

All these strategies are based on logic, and their main goal is to narrow down the possible values in cells.

It is crucial for hard and evil sudokus to use notes. Notes are your assumptions about which number can be in a specific cell.

Best trick to solve Sudoku

If you follow the tips below, you'll be able to solve sudoku faster and with fewer errors.

1. Take your time; it's better to solve sudoku slowly but without mistakes.
2. Use logic; avoid trying to guess numbers.
3. Familiarize yourself in detail with each strategy described in this article.
4. Don't try to completely fill in only one additional area, row, or column.
5. Constantly move around the grid, checking new hypotheses.
6. In challenging or disputed situations, be sure to use notes.
7. If you get stuck, simply continue from another location on the playing field.
8. Try checking each group of digits one by one: first all digits, then 2, 3, and so on.
9. Don't forget to exclude assumptions in other cells after correctly filling the current cell.
10. If you see a mistake, step back until you eliminate the incorrect digit.