Brainbashers sudoku is a simple game of logic, whose name originated in Japan. The object is to complete the grid such that every row, every column, and every 3×3 block contains the digits from 1 to 9. No mathematics is required to solve the puzzles, just pure logic and reasoning.
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How to Solve Brainbashers Sudoku Quickly and Reliably
Sudoku Basics
When your cursor is on the brainbashers sudoku grid, it can be navigated in the following way:
Ctrl + Arrows: Move around the grid
a: Auto-pencil marks
p: Show a pinned square
Shift + #: Show squares with a <#>
There are six levels of difficulty and various techniques are potentially required to solve each level, however, any particular brainbashers sudoku doesn’t necessarily require all possible techniques for that level. The difficulty level is also very tricky to gauge as one person may find certain techniques easier than others. Almost certainly the hardest of one level will be harder than the easiest of the next level up, so there is a certain amount of crossover between the levels. Each BrainBashers Sudoku has a list of the techniques required to solve the brainbashers sudoku, some of which you may not use, as you may spot something which changes the solution path.
Try My brainbashers sudoku Tips And Become A Better Sudoku Solver!
Naked Single Candidates
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Every Sudoku puzzle will have cells that have only one possible candidate. If there aren’t any other candidates showing, brainbashers sudoku players call this a naked single.
Every naked single allows us to safely eliminate that number from all other cells in the row, column, and region that the naked single lies in. The logic is simple. If there is one cell that contains a single candidate, then that candidate is the solution for that cell. Below is an example of a naked single.
In the example to the left, you can see the naked single is the nine. All the other nines may be crossed off leaving a 6,8 pair, 6,7 pair, a single 7, and a 4,6,8 triple. If you didn’t pencil in all the possible candidates, the naked nine would be less obvious.
No doubt you also noted in this example that once you solved for the naked nine, the 7,9 pair’s solution became a naked single. The 7,9 pair is called a hidden single. Below is another example of a hidden single.
Hidden Singles
n singles have only one place they can go. The extra candidates in the cell “hide” the single solution.
In this example, the third cell from the top is a seven. Likewise in the bottom cell the only number that can go there is a four.
When there is a lot of candidates showing from the surrounding rows, columns, and regions, a hidden single can be hard to spot. Hidden singles will occur often.
Now for my next brainbashers sudoku tip. Look for “naked pairs”.
Naked Pairs
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In the example to the left there is a “naked pair”. A naked pair is two identical candidates in a particular row, column, or region. This combination of candidates will occur often also.
When you see a naked pair, it is safe to eliminate those two numbers from all other cells in the row, column, or region the pair reside in.
In the naked pair example it is safe to eliminate the four and six from the two quads of 3,4,6, and 8. Doing so, leaves two 3,8 pairs. The 3,4,6, and 8 quads are really “hidden pairs”. More brainbashers sudoku tips on this.
Hidden Pairs
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In the example at the left there is a hidden pair 2 and 9. They are circled in red. Hidden pairs are identified by the fact that a pair of numbers occur in only two cells of a row, column, or region. They are “hidden” because the other numbers in the two cells make their presence harder to spot.
It is safe to remove all other digits from the two cells circled in red so that only the two and nine remain. Hidden pairs will appear often in your Sudoku puzzles and games.
Naked Triples
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Another brainbashers sudoku tip is to look for “naked triples”. Naked triples like the name suggests are three numbers that do not have any other numbers residing in the cells with them.
Unlike naked pairs, naked triples do not need all of the three candidates in every cell. Quite often only two of the three candidates will be shown.
In the example at the left, the three cells circled are the three naked triples. They are 5,6 and 9. Only a 5,6 and 9 can appear in those three locations. Therefore, you can remove all 5,6, and 9s from the other cells in this row.
When you remove the 6,9 from two cells and the 5,6 you will discover a naked pair (1,4) and a hidden single (2). See how these brainbashers sudoku tips help you solve puzzles?
Hidden Triples
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Hidden triples are much harder to spot. They will occur in harder puzzles. Hidden triples like naked triples are restricted to three cells in a row, column, or region. Hidden triples like hidden pairs have additional digits that camouflage the three candidates.
If you look at the example at the left, you will see three cells circled in red. These are the hidden triples. Can you spot them?
You are right, they are 4, 8, and 9. Remove the extra numbers from the cells circled in red. Do you think hidden triples are tough to find? Try quads.
Naked Quads
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Another brainbashers sudoku tip is to look for “naked quads”. Naked quads are like naked triples with the exception that four cells contain only four distinct candidates in a row, column, or region.
In the example at the left the naked quads are circled. They are 3, 5, 6, and 8. Remove any instance of these four numbers from the other cells in this row.
Hidden Quads
The last of my brainbashers sudoku tips for this article is to look for hidden quads. As the name suggest, hidden quads are four cells containing only four distinct candidates in a row, column, or region. These four numbers are hidden by additional candidates.
Hidden quads are very difficult to find. The good news is I have rarely seen them. (Maybe because they are hidden so well!) They occur only in a few of the more difficult puzzles.
In my example at the left, the hidden quads circled in red are 1, 5, 6, and 8. It is safe to remove the extra digits (3,4,7,9) from these four cells.
I hope these brainbashers sudoku tips will help you in your quest to become a professional Sudoku puzzle solver.
Seeing these and more advanced tips explained may be easier for you to understand. I recommend the video brainbashers sudoku Solving Techniques. This video covers the Sudoku techniques (new window opens) to solve Sudoku. Read my review and see for yourself.
