Playing Sudoku Daily can be exciting, especially, If you master the skills of playing the game. You will not only kill boredom, but it challenges you to become even better. Below are tips to help you play like an expert.
Learn the logic behind Sudoku
The Sudoku puzzle is all about logic. This means that you don’t need any arithmetic skills but the ability to think logically, pay attention to patterns and make deductions.
The aim of Sudoku Daily is to fill in all empty cells with numbers from 1-to 9 (1 number per cell). A sudoku board consists of 9×9 cells, which are divided into columns (vertical, identified by letters), rows (horizontal, identified by numbers), and boxes (3×3 squares). Each row, column, and box should contain one of each digit from 1-9.
Become a master at seeing patterns
Spotting a pattern can help you pick out numbers hidden within the puzzle. It will also make filling in the remaining squares easier once you’ve picked out a few numbers. Look for numbers that repeat in various rows, columns, and boxes to find patterns. Even diagonals can be helpful sometimes. Here’s an example:
| 1 | 2 | 3
——————–
1 | ? | ? | 2
——————–
2 | ? | ? | 1
In this example, there are two pairs of bookends around the number 3 in the second column. This means you can fill in 1s and 2s anywhere else along that column with confidence.
Look for numbers that appear the most frequently
Once you’ve become adept at identifying the single possible number for a cell, the next logical step is to employ the frequency of numbers in a row, column, or box as a guide to which numbers are most likely to fill in the remaining cells. Given that each number 1-9 will always occur nine times on the grid, you can use this knowledge to eliminate certain possibilities automatically. For example, if all but one cell in a row has been filled with 8s and 9s, then it’s a safe bet that the only number remaining must be 1-7.
Put pencil marks on your game board to keep track of your progress
An important skill for Sudoku players to learn is to use pencil marks. If a cell does not already have a number in it, you should put the candidates for that cell on the board. This allows you to keep track of your progress and will help when solving more advanced puzzles.
There are many ways you can use pencil marks to solve advanced puzzles, and they are essential for some techniques. First, they allow you to eliminate candidates as you solve the puzzle. For example, if two cells in the same row share all the same candidates, then none of those candidates can appear in any other cells in that row (since we know one of them will be the solution). Second, they allow you to check your work visually at any time by confirming that each unit contains each digit once and only once.
Candidate lists should only be used on cells that contain multiple possible solutions (i.e., cells where there is a choice about what number goes there). You should also write down confirmed numbers directly in the cell as well so it is clear which numbers are certain from just looking at the board.
Use a straightforward process to eliminate candidates across each row, column, and box
The easiest way to eliminate candidates is by using pencil marks, which are little numbers that fill in the squares that you can’t guess yet. For each row, column and sub-box, look for certain patterns. If a number appears exactly twice in one box or column but not in another, it must be in the box with two occurrences of that number.
To eliminate candidates across each row, column, and box, here’s what you need to do;
- Eliminate candidates from the rows and columns across the box as normal
- Eliminate candidates from the sub-boxes within the box
- Repeat until all candidate numbers have been eliminated
Finally, playing Sudoku comes with a handful of benefits, from killing boredom and boosting your problem-solving skills to bettering your moods. For a better playing experience, apply all the tips discussed above.