How to Play Sudoku Step By Step

Tap to Read ➤ Dr. Sumaiya Khan

Sudoku is an interesting board game related to numbers. Read on to know some tips to play sudoku step by step.

Sudoku is a puzzle made up of 9 x 9 squares. The entire sheet consists of 9 squares, each made up of 3 x 3 squares. There are certain numbers that are present in these squares. The whole aim of the game is to fill up the rest of the empty squares in such a way that each 3 x 3 square must contain the numbers 1 to 9, all occurring exactly once.

Anyone who can count 1 to 9 can play this game. Well, it's not very difficult to solve, in the end it all boils down to speed. Everyone gets the answer in the end (for the intellectually challenged, the answer is the numbers 1 to 9 not necessarily in that order). In the end, what matters is how fast you manage to fill all the squares in the correct manner.

Tips to Play Sudoku Puzzles

Don't Guess!

One major mistake that most amateur sudoku players make is to blindly trust their instincts. Yes. If you 'feel' that you need to put a 1 in that particular square, it doesn't mean that you blindly do so. Such people just tend to rush through the game trusting their wits, sometimes adding a number without cross-checking if it's in the right place.

The last thing you want to do is after filling up all the squares on the board, realize that there are two number eights in one row. In such cases, don't just sit and keep guessing, because this isn't guess who, it's sudoku.

Scan Then Start

One of the tips to play sudoku easily, is that the first thing a person needs to do when he or she gets a sudoku board is to scan it. Look at the numbers in a pattern that you are comfortable in - it could be as rows or as columns.

There are normally at least one or two rows or columns which have most of the numbers present. You need to identify these and quickly fill them up first.

This will not only increase your confidence but will give you a great head start, as after that, the clues tend to become more clear and connected, due to which you then tend to follow more easily.

Keep At It

Once you start keep continuously scanning and checking for possibilities. That's the best part of this game - it's natural for one thing to lead to another. So once you've scanned a particular row or column, then check for that 3 x 3 square. See which number is missing.

Once you've checked the row, the column and the 3 x 3 square where the number should be placed, you'll be pretty much spot on with your answer. This way keep progressing through the game. This is the way to play sudoku as a beginner, as it is the most logical pattern to follow.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice and practice. If you really want to master this crazy yet simple mathematical game that is replete with requirements of observational skills rather than hardcore mathematical skills, then there is no way out but to keep practicing.

For this you can either buy one of those books you get which has hundreds of sudoku puzzles, ranging from easy to medium to hard, which will help you fine-tune your sudoku solving abilities.

On the other hand, there are many online versions as well of sudoku, where you can solve this puzzle after choosing the level that you are comfortable with.

Sudoku is truly an exciting game that tests more of your application skills, rather than just mathematical skills. So grab that board and start penciling in your answers, because like they say, it's a race against time!