Sudoku
Play Sudoku on Mela App

The prolonged and exciting history of Sudoku is quite a mystery in itself. The name Sudoku is derived from Japan and is made up of the Japanese characters Su (which means ‘number’) and Doku (which means ‘single’), however it was not discovered in Japan. Sudoku emerged in Switzerland and then descended to Japan via the United States of America.

Sudoku has its origins in historic number puzzles. For tens of decades, people have been fascinated in developing and solving them. Puzzles have a way to encourage new development in the field of mathematics, as seen in the movie - A Beautiful Mind featuring Russell Crowe.

Sudoku was called “Latin Squares” or “Magic Squares” and one of the first indications of puzzles to surface in France in 1895. But, Sudoku as we know it today, was conceived by Howard Garns, a puzzle enthusiast from Indiana, USA in 1979. The puzzle was famously called “Number Place” as it involved putting numbers in blank spots on a 9 x 9 grid.

The “Number Place” game first emerged in Japan in 1984 where it was renamed “Sudoku”, which is an acronym for a Japanese expression - “Suji wa dokushin ni kagiru”. It means, the numbers are limited to a single occurrence. Sudoku managed to be extremely popular in Japan, where enthusiasts purchase more than 600,000 Sudoku magazines every month.

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Rules to Play Sudoku on Mela App

Do you want to know how to solve Sudokus but are not sure where to start? If yes, then you have come to the right place. Let’s begin.

Step 1: Understand the Sudoku grid.

Every Sudoku puzzle comes with a 9 x 9 grid of squares segmented in 3 x 3 boxes. There are a total 81 squares on a Sudoku grid and once the puzzle is solved, each square will have exactly one number.

Step 2: Understand the rules

Sudoku is a puzzle game with simple rules including:

  • Each square must contain a single number.
  • Numbers to be used - 1 to 9 only.
  • Every 3 x 3 box can have the number 1 to 9 only once.
  • Vertical columns must contain numbers 1 to 9 only once.
  • Horizontal rows must contain numbers 1 to 9 only once.

To make it simple, no number must be repeated in a 3 x 3 box, row, or column.

Step 3: Identify the squares that can have only one number

As you start a new Sudoku puzzle, some squares will already be populated with numbers. Depending on the difficulty level, the numbers will block particular numbers to particular squares. It means squares where only a single number can be populated without jeopardizing the rules.

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For instance, in the above example, numbers 1,8, and 9 cannot appear as the numbers are present in the 3 x 3 box. The numbers 3 and 5 cannot appear as they feature in the same column. The same is true for numbers 4,6, and 7. Hence, the only number which can be entered in the square is 2.

Step 4: Use the numbers you enter to discover more squares
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As you begin, keep including more numbers in the grid which help you use other numbers in additional squares. For example, when we added 2 to the bottom left in Step 3, we identified that the 2 in the top left box must be shifted to the bottom-right cell.

Step 5: Redo the whole process till you have solved the puzzle.

Kudos! You have mastered the entire process to solve a simple Sudoku game. Now, you simply need to repeat the steps till you have filled in all the cells in the grid. Intermediate Sudoku games may need you to use alternate techniques, but for now, you can just practise the skills by solving beginner Sudoku puzzles.

Tips & Tricks

Here are some tricks that will establish you as a Sudoku master.

  1. Identify any definites. Definites are the numbers that definitely go well in a particular box. Begin with number 1 and use the elimination method as you proceed.
  2. Do this with all the numbers. As you go through the definites, you will fill a fair chunk of boxes. Begin a new round of definites to fill more boxes on the Sudoku board.
  3. If you are confused, use the trial and error method along with the elimination method to get rid of the numbers that are not working.
  4. Begin easy. Try not to go with the most difficult level of Sudoku. Sudoku puzzle solving is an acquired skill, so keep practising till you get better.
  5. Patience is the key. Sudoku puzzles can sometimes take a long time to solve. Try not to get impatient. Be patient and keep working on your puzzle-solving skills, which will help you exercise the brain
FAQs
Sudoku is an interesting puzzle game that requires skill and is a great workout for your brain.
Sudoku is a puzzle game typically played on a 9 x 9 grid consisting of 81 cells. In the grid, there are 9 blocks or sub-grids of 3 x 3 cells. When you successfully complete the puzzle, the 9 cells of every Column, Row and Block, will consist of the numbers 1 to 9, with no duplicates and no number left out.
No. You don’t need to use mathematics to solve Sudoku, you simply need to use logic.
No. The modern game of Sudoku was actually invented by an American Howard Garns in 1979. The game was known as Number Place and it was renamed Sudoku in Japan in 1984.
You need to know the rules and practice to be good at Sudoku as it is an acquired skill and can be mastered by anyone at any age.
Sudoku puzzles generally range from basic to advanced levels. To get to the advanced level, it is best to start small and practise your puzzle-solving skills.
Sudoku or puzzle-solving will enhance your critical thinking and help avoid Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in old age.
There is no fixed answer to this question. It totally depends on your skillset and the difficulty level of the puzzle. It can take a couple of minutes to even a few days to solve a Sudoku puzzle.
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