How to Play Sudoku: Tips

Rather than picking on the morning news, the first thing I look for when I open my newspaper is the latest sudoku puzzle. Sudoku is one of the most innovative puzzles created ever.

Sudoku Basics

Here is an overview of the basic rules. A Sudoku puzzle is all about filling numbers (1 to 9) on a 9x9 square grid, which is already partially filled with numbers. The grid is divided into 9 square boxes of 3x3 each. So, do you go on filling up numbers wherever you like? Of course not; there is a certain criteria according to which you must fill in the numbers in the right places. It is quite simple. Fill in numbers out of one to nine, in such a pattern, that every row, every column and every square box is filled with each of the numbers 1 to 9. That's it. In mathematics, such a square grid of numbers in which each row and column is filled with a specific set of symbols, is called a Latin Square. A Sudoku grid is a Latin square with extra constraints.

How to Play Sudoku: Tips & Tricks

The thing I like about a puzzle is the mystery that precedes solution and then the process of getting a solution. I myself have learned how to play Sudoku mathematically through practice. The only thing 'mathematical' about a Sudoku puzzle is that the grid is filled with numbers. The numbers could be always substituted with any kind of ordered set of symbols. It really doesn't matter what symbols are used in a Sudoku. Since numbers are easier to remember, they are used, that's all. So, don't think that you need to master some esoteric mathematical technique to solve a Sudoku. All that you need is logical thinking and an attention for details.

It is All About Eliminating Possibilities
Every Sudoku puzzle is like a mystery. You have to find the unseen by taking clues from what is seen. It is like a Jigsaw puzzle. Every piece, in the form of a number needs to be put in the right place. The numbers that are already filled in are your clues. Every square has a set of possible numbers that could be filled. The number of possibilities is 9 numbers. You must eliminate eight of them from the clues provided in the form of already filled squares. Remember once a number is filled in any row, column or box, it cannot be repeated again. That is how you eliminate the impossible and see the possible!

Check the Row, Column, Box Related to Every Square
Attack the boxes with maximum number density first, because filling them will be easier. Check every row, column and box associated with a square and eliminate the numbers that have been already filled in them. Then fill in the one that remains after elimination.

With Every Filled Square, Job Becomes Easier
With each piece of the puzzle, in the form of a number falling in place, your job of solving the puzzle will become easier as the clues will be more abundant. Needless to say, the only way to get better at anything is to practice the technique. With practice, you will develop your own technique and fun tricks of playing Sudoku.

Going for puzzles like Sudoku helps in keeping the mind sharp, which otherwise softens up due to inaction. Keep solving!