Sudoku may seem difficult at first glance, but actually it is not as hard as it looks!

The aim is to fill in the whole grid - and depending on the difficulty of the puzzle this can be quite easy (just counting and checking), or later on for more tricky puzzles require a bit more logic and reasoning.

The Rules of Sudoku

Fill a number in to every cell in the grid, using the numbers 1 to 9

You can only use each number once in each row, each column, and in each of the 3x3 boxes

Take a look at this incomplete puzzle...

The three red questionmarks are in places where there is a missing value - but it is easy to see which number to place in each.

 If the rest of the line or box is complete, then by a process of elimination, you know which value must be left!

• In this case, the only number missing from the horizontal row is a 3.
  
• The number missing from the vertical column is a 9.
  
• The value missing from the box is a 4!
  

Getting Started - its easy!

Until you've had lots of practise filling out puzzles, here are some questions that you can ask as you play to help you to make progress:

• Where could I place the value X in this row / this column / this box ? (Go through the numbers 1 to 9, and scan to see if the number is already in that row / column / box)

• What value could I put in this cell? (If there's just one acceptable - put it in!)

• What row / column / box is nearly full, and can I fill it?

Finally some thoughts:

• Don't Panic! The solution is in there somewhere!

• Don't Guess! For everything up to expert level, you don't need to guess!

• Don't Worry! It might look hard to begin with, but as you fill in more it gets easier and easier

For lots more help and explanations about Sudoku, visit our main website : Sudoku Of The Day