How To Play Sudoku
Welcome to the world of sudoku puzzles! Before you learn how to play sudoku, you may want to know what it is! Once you try one sudoku puzzle, you will not be able to put them down. Here are a few basic things you should know about sudoku puzzles before you get started.
A sudoku is a number puzzle consisting of a large 9 x 9 square grid. In a sudoku puzzle, some of the boxes already contain numbers, which offer clues to help you solve the puzzle.
To complete a sudoku puzzle, your goal is to enter a single number from 1 to 9 in each empty box. Once you finish filling in each empty box, you have solved the puzzle.
A sudoku’s large grid is subdivided into nine smaller 3 x 3 mini-grids by thicker black lines.
The large grid also has nine rows, which run from left to right across the grid, and nine columns, which run up and down the grid. Each mini-grid, row and column contain 9 boxes, or cells.
Think you know how to play sudoku yet?
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History Of Sudoku
The sudoku puzzle was created by Howard Garns, as 74-year-old retired architect, and was first published in a U.S. puzzle magazine in 1979, under the name “Number Place.” In the mid-1980s, an employee of a Japanese puzzle magazine saw a number place puzzle and the publisher decided to offer the puzzles to their readers. In 1997, Wayne Gould, a retired Hong Kong judge from New Zealand, noticed a sudoku puzzle in a Japanese bookshop. Over several years, he developed a computer program to generate sudoku puzzles. In late 2004, Gould showed the puzzle to The Times in London, which published the puzzle. Within a short period of time, Sudoku became an international phenomenon.
What does Sudoku mean? Sudoku puzzles were introduced in Japan as “suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru,” which means “only single numbers allowed.” At a later date, the name was shortened to sudoku. “Su” means number and “doku” means single. Sudoku, sometimes spelled su doku, is pronounced sue-dough-coo.
You can find sudoku puzzles at every level of difficulty, from easy to extremely challenging. The difficulty level of a sudoku puzzle depends on how many starting numbers you are given and where the numbers are placed. To add more of a challenge, some players time how long it takes for them to complete each puzzle.
Working on sudoku puzzles and other brain teasers helps stimulate brain activity. Some teachers use sudoku puzzles to help develop children’s reasoning skills and concentration. Also consider the satisfaction children gain from completing a sudoku puzzle. For adults, solving sudoku puzzles can help prevent age-related memory loss.
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Basic Sudoku Rules
When trying to solve a sudoku puzzle, you will use the clues provided to help you determine what number to place in each empty box. There are two rules you must follow to solve each and every sudoku puzzle.
Rule #1
In a sudoku puzzle, each mini-grid must end up containing all the numbers from 1 to 9. The numbers can appear in any order.
A number can appear only once in each mini-grid. If a number appears more than once, you instantly know you have made a mistake.
Rule #2
In a sudoku puzzle, each row and column must also end up containing
all the numbers from 1 to 9. The numbers can appear in any order. A number can appear only once in each row and column. If a number appears more than once, you instantly know you have made a mistake.
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How To Play Sudoku - Scanning Rows and Columns
Get ready to start filling in numbers! You can use this easy technique to solve most easy sudoku puzzles and fill in some missing numbers in more difficult puzzles. Before you begin, consider using a pencil and eraser so you can wipe out your markings as you work through a puzzle.
Look at one mini-grid and determine which numbers from 1 to 9 do not yet appear in the mini-grid. Remember that each number from 1 to 9 must appear once in each mini-grid.
Look across the three rows that run through the mini-grid to see if any of the rows already contain the number you picked. If the number appears in a row, the empty boxes in the row cannot contain the number since a number
can only appear once in a row. Place an X in each empty box in the row. For example, the number 5 cannot appear in rows one and three in the above sudoku since the number 5 already appears in those rows.
After you finish scanning rows and columns, you will hopefully be left with only one empty box in a mini-grid that a number could go into. Congratulations! If you end up with more than one empty box, the boxes will have to remain unsolved for now.
Look up and down 6 the three columns that run through the mini-grid to see if any of the columns already contain the number you picked.
If the number appears in a column, the empty boxes in the column cannot contain the number since a number can only appear once in a column. Place an X in each empty box in the column. For example, the number 5 cannot appear in column eight in the above sudoku since the number 5 already appears in that column.
When you are left with only one empty box where you can place a number in a mini-grid, write the number in the box.
For each number from 1 to 9 that does not yet appear in the mini-grid, you can repeat steps 1 to 7, starting on page 14. When you are finished, move on to the next mini-grid until you finish working on each mini-grid in the entire puzzle.
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How To Play Sudoku - Solve One Missing Number In A Row Or Column
When working on a sudoku puzzle, you may notice that only one number is missing in a row or column. You should fill in the missing number right away. You just need to count from 1 to 9 to find your missing number.
If only one number is missing in a row or column, move your finger along the row or column to determine which number from 1 to 9 is missing. The missing number is your answer.
To complete a row or column, write the missing number in the empty box.
Remember that each row and column must contain the numbers from 1 to 9 and the same number can only appear once in a row or column.
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How To Play Sudoku - Solve One Missing Number In A Mini-Grid
When solving a sudoku puzzle, you will be happy to see a mini-grid with only one missing number. You will want to fill in the missing number straight away. Counting from 1 to 9 will instantly give you the missing number.
If only one number is missing in a mini-grid. move your finger around the mini-grid to determine which number from 1 to 9 is missing. The missing number is your answer.
Write the missing number in the empty box to complete the mini-grid.
Remember that each mini-grid must contain the numbers from 1 to 9 and the same number can only appear once in a mini-grid.
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