Solving your first Sudoku puzzle can be challenging, but by following these tips, you'll be a Sudoku pro in no time. We suggest starting off with an easy or beginner rated puzzle and then working your way up to a more advanced challenge. You don't need to spend money to play, as there are lots of free online sudoku sites. You can find our free web sudoku here.
The basic strategy for solving sudoku is to look for a forced move. There are a variety of different situations that will force a move. The situation covered here is called the cage.
The basic idea of the cage is that a number in a section is forced into one box because every other box in the section is blocked. Take a look at the following board to see an example of the cage.
| 7 | ||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||
The seven in the lower right section can only go in the lower right square. Why? The sevens in the grid are blocking all of the other squares in that section. The seven is in the cage.
Now let's look at another variation. Can you spot the cage on this board?
| 5 | ||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||
| 3 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
| 5 | ||||||||
In this example the cage is in the center square, which must contain that section's five. Here, the 3-1-7 blocks the bottom row of the center section. The top row is blocked by the five in the left-center section, and the right and left columns are blocked by fives from above and below.
Look for the cage early in the game when other strategies are not available.