Sudoku Techniques for Beginners: From Easy to Hard
Solitaire Craft guide. Updated 13 November 2026.
You never need to guess in Sudoku. Every puzzle on Solitaire Craft has exactly one answer, and each can be reasoned out with a small set of techniques. Here they are in the order to learn them.
Scanning
Pick a number, for example 5. Look at every box that does not yet hold a 5, and check which rows and columns already contain one. Often only one square in a box is left. Repeat for each number from 1 to 9, and go round again after each new number, because every number you place removes possibilities elsewhere.
Single candidates (naked singles)
Look at one empty square and list the numbers that can still go in it, based on its row, column and box. If only one number is possible, that is the answer. Easy puzzles can be solved with this alone.
Hidden singles
Look at one row, column or box and ask where a particular number can go. If only one square can hold it, it goes there, even if that square could also hold other numbers. This is what Medium puzzles need.
Pencil notes
When you can no longer find a single, write small numbers in each square for the possible candidates. Notes let you see patterns that are invisible otherwise. On Solitaire Craft, switch on Notes and use them freely.
Naked pairs
If two squares in the same row, column or box both have only the same two candidates, say 3 and 7, then those two numbers must fill those two squares. You can remove 3 and 7 from every other square in that unit.
Pointing pairs
If a number can only go in squares that lie in a single row within a box, then it cannot go anywhere else in that row outside the box. You can remove it from those other squares, which often opens a new single.
Do not guess
A guess that is wrong costs a mistake and, worse, can send you off on a long wrong path. If you are stuck, add notes and look for pairs. If you are still stuck, ask the Sudoku solver for a hint, which names the next step and the reason.
Ready to practise? Play Sudoku at Easy, or move up to Hard when singles are not enough.