Sudoku only focuses on the squares, rows, and columns in the grid. In a Magic Square, you also have to take into account the diagonal portion of the puzzle. Are Sudoku Puzzles And Magic Squares The Same Thing? That entire space is a column, and as you already know, columns must not repeat any of the allowed numbers. You won’t be able to put a 1 in both the top left corner of the grid and the bottom left corner of the grid, for example. So while you may be focusing on a square, you’ll also have to remember other squares are affected by your choices. While solving the sudoku puzzle you can only use each number one time in the square, column, and row.Ĭolumns and rows are not limited by the thicker boundaries of the square (also sometimes called a region.) They run from the top of the puzzle to the bottom of the puzzle (as pictured in blue above). The objective of Sudoku is to fill a 9x9 grid made of squares (shown above circled in blue) so that each row, each column, and each full 9x9 square use the numbers 1-9.

No one becomes a sudoku genius overnight but these strategies will definitely help. It’s all about knowing how to work the game and enjoying it in the process. You might just be able to solve a higher level of puzzle by the time you’re done reading. (It was invented in 1979 by Howard Garns who based it off of similar games dating back to the 18th century in case you’re curious.)īefore you pick up your pencil or open your app, take some time to read about the strategies and tips here. Maybe you’ve asked yourself when sudoku took over the world as a boredom stopper. You’re about to get a deep dive into the world of sudoku, the strategies, and the answers to questions you may have wondered at some point. If you’re hoping to up your game and get some well-deserved pats on the back from yourself you’re in good hands here. It just takes some practice and research to figure out what the strategies are and how they work. Just like with solitaire or mahjong there are strategies out there that you can use to help increase your chances of solving the sudoku puzzle. No matter what level of Sudoku you’re at, you’ve most likely wondered if there are strategies you can use to improve your game. Maybe you erase and start over, or maybe you just give up. If you’ve played you’ve definitely gotten to the dreaded point where you don’t know how to solve the puzzle. This math-based puzzle has taken the world by storm and the vast majority of people are thrilled about that. Basically anywhere someone might have some downtime there’s probably someone playing sudoku. People play it online, they play it in newspapers, and they play it while they’re bored on an airplane. Sudoku has become a very ubiquitous game in our world.

Slot machine method for sudoku