Sudoku blog

Strategy guides, solving techniques, and tips for every level. Start with the complete strategy guide, then work through the techniques. Prefer to just play? Jump in below.

• Sudoku Strategy: A Complete Guide From Basics to Expert

  A complete Sudoku strategy guide: scanning, singles, pairs, and advanced techniques like X-Wing, in the order you actually need them. No guessing required.

• Sudoku Tips and Tricks to Solve Puzzles Faster

  Practical Sudoku tips and tricks to solve faster: smarter scanning, cleaner pencil marks, and the habits that separate quick solvers from slow ones.

• How to Solve Sudoku: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

  Learn how to solve Sudoku step by step. A beginner's walkthrough of the rules, your first moves, and a full worked example, with no math and no guessing.

• Naked and Hidden Singles, Pairs & Triples Explained

  The core Sudoku techniques explained simply: naked and hidden singles, pairs, and triples. What each one looks like, how to spot it, and exactly when to use it.

• X-Wing, Swordfish & Advanced Sudoku Techniques

  Advanced Sudoku techniques explained: pointing pairs, box/line reduction, X-Wing, Swordfish, and XY-Wing. The tools for cracking expert and Einstein puzzles.

• Does Sudoku Make You Smarter? The Brain Benefits of Sudoku

  Does Sudoku make you smarter? An honest look at the brain benefits of Sudoku: what research suggests about memory and focus, and how to get the most from it.

• Types of Sudoku: 12 Popular Variations Explained

  A tour of 12 Sudoku variations: Killer, Jigsaw, Samurai, KenKen, and more. How each one differs from classic Sudoku, and where to play every type online.

• The Hardest Sudoku Puzzles Ever Created

  The hardest Sudoku puzzles ever made, from AI Escargot to the so-called world's hardest Sudoku. What makes them brutal, and how to actually approach them.

• How to Use Pencil Marks and Candidates in Sudoku

  How to use pencil marks (candidates) in Sudoku: when to add them, how to notate cleanly, and how candidates unlock pairs, triples, and advanced moves.

• Sudoku Scanning and Cross-Hatching: The First Technique to Learn

  Scanning and cross-hatching are the first Sudoku techniques every solver should master. Learn slicing and dicing to place digits fast, with a worked example.