Sudoku Tips

Sudoku can be addictive, but only if you find the right level of challenge for you. If you're a total beginner, and start with one of the monstrously difficult Sudoku, you'll probably just get frustrated and give up.

Far better to start with the simplest Sudoku you can find. Mini-Sudoku in a 4 x 4 grid are probably the easiest. Once one level of puzzle is easy for you, progress to the next level of difficulty.

Always choose your Sudoku at a level that presents a challenge, without being impossibly frustrating.

Use a pencil, not a pen for your printed Sudoku. And make sure you have an eraser.

There are three stages of solving a Sudoku - scanning, marking, analysis.

You'll need that pencil to mark up the multiple possibilities for each cell.

Then you'll need the eraser as you analyse the possibilities and elminate some of them

Cross-hatching is a simple technique for solving your Sudoku. Basically, you choose a blank cell, and scan that cells row, column and region, to identify the unique number that is the solution for that cell.

Look at the bottom left-hand region in the example on the right. The number 7 already occurs in the first colum, as well as in two of the rows. And the other row already has two cells filled (with a 9 and an 8). That means there is only one location left in that region for the number 7 (circled in green).

You might find it helps your cross-hatching to visualise imaginary lines through the numbers you are checking, similar to the example.