Expatriate Malaysia - Sudoku Puzzle Solution Tips

Sudoku Solution Examples

Sudoku grid consists of 81 squares divided into nine columns marked a through i, and nine rows marked 1 through 9. The grid is also divided into nine 3x3 sub-grids named Boxes, which are marked Box 1 through Box 9.

Scanning Techniques

The easiest way starting a Sudoku puzzle is to scan rows and columns within each triple-box area, eliminating numbers or squares and finding situations where only a single number can fit into a single square. The scanning technique is fast and usually sufficient to solve easy puzzles all the way to the end. The scanning technique is also very useful for hard puzzles up to the point where no further progress can be made and more advanced solving techniques are required.

Here are some ways of using scanning techniques:

1. Scanning in one direction

In our first example we will focus on Box 2, which like any other box in Sudoku must contain 9.

Looking at Box 1 and Box 3 we can see there are already 9s in Row 2 and in Row 3, which excludes the two bottom rows of Box 2 from having 9. This leaves Square e1 as the only possible place into which 9 can fit in.
 

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