Sudoku Tips for Beginners

The best Sudoku tips for beginners are habits, not tricks: scan the grid in a fixed order, place digits by crosshatching, write pencil marks once singles run out, check every placement, and never guess. Follow these six habits and an Easy puzzle should fall to simple single-digit deductions. This page is for new players who know the rules and want to stop getting stuck. For a full method with a complete worked solve, see how to solve Sudoku step by step.

1. Start with Easy puzzles

Easy puzzles are built so that every step is a single-digit deduction. On Sudoku69 the Easy band covers Sudoku Explainer ratings 1.0 to 1.9. In our classic 9x9 Easy catalogue the hardest puzzle is rated 1.7 and the average is 1.26, and the puzzles have between 30 and 36 given digits. That is enough clues to keep you moving without any advanced pattern. Move to Medium once you finish Easy puzzles without notes. The difficulty levels page explains what each band asks of you.

2. Scan in a fixed order

Do not stare at the grid waiting for an answer. Scan one digit at a time:

Pick a digit, starting with 1.
Find every place it already appears.
In each box, row and column, check where it can still go.
Place it wherever only one cell is left, then move to the next digit.

Digits that appear many times on the board are the best ones to scan first, because each copy rules out a whole row, column and box.

3. Use crosshatching

Crosshatching is the scan applied to one box. Take a digit missing from a box, cross out every cell in that box that shares a row or column with an existing copy of the digit, and see what is left. If one cell remains, the digit goes there. This is the hidden single technique.

Worked example: an Easy puzzle from our catalogue

Here is a classic 9x9 Easy puzzle (Sudoku Explainer rating 1.2). Rows are named A to J from the top (no I) and columns 1 to 9 from the left.

3

6

5

1

7

8

1

7

8

2

4

9

8

1

8

9

8

6

8

3

4

2

7

5

6

8

4

7

8

2

4

7

8

9

5

8

3

6

3

8

1

4

5

6

1

4

3

1

4

5

7

1

4

7

9

1

5

9

8

2

5

6

9

1

4

8

2

1

4

5

7

8

1

4

7

8

6

1

3

7

1

3

5

3

5

6

8

7

6

8

3

2

1

5

8

9

1

6

9

1

5

4

7

8

4

8

1

2

4

8

9

3

5

6

8

9

4

6

8

5

4

6

8

1

4

8

1

4

8

9

7

1

3

9

1

3

4

8

2

3

8

9

2

3

4

8

9

1

4

5

8

6

1

5

8

1

3

1

3

4

8

7

Box 1 still needs a 9. The 9 in C4 rules out row C, so C1 and C3 are out.
The 9 in J3 rules out column 3, so B3 is out. Only B2 is left: B2 is 9.

Box 1 still needs a 9. The 9 in C4 rules out row C, so C1 and C3 are out. The 9 in J3 rules out column 3, so B3 is out. Only B2 is left: B2 is 9.

Look at box 1 (top left). It holds 3, 6, 5, 1 and 2, so it still needs 4, 7, 8 and 9. Try the 9:

Its empty cells are B2, B3, C1 and C3.
Row C already has a 9 (in C4), which removes C1 and C3.
Column 3 already has a 9 (in J3), which removes B3.
Only B2 is left, so B2 = 9.

The engine confirms this is the very first step of the solution, and that the whole puzzle solves with singles only: 45 steps, none harder than a Hidden Single. That is what Easy means here.

4. Write pencil marks when scanning stalls

When a scan finds nothing, write the possible digits in each empty cell as small notes (candidates). Notes stop you forgetting options and show cells that have only one candidate left. That is a naked single: the cell can hold only one digit, so place it. Naked and hidden singles covers both kinds in detail.

Keep notes current. Each time you place a digit, remove it from the notes of every cell in the same row, column and box. On Sudoku69, switch on the notes icon and tap digits to mark candidates. The game clears notes for you when you place a digit.

5. Check every placement

A wrong digit stays hidden for a long time and then breaks a whole region. Before you place a digit, confirm it is absent from the row, the column and the box. If a cell ends up with no candidates, an earlier digit is wrong: go back to your last certain move and re-check from there.

6. Never guess

Every valid Sudoku has exactly one solution, and a logical path to it exists. If you feel the urge to guess, you have missed a deduction. Instead:

Rescan the digits you skipped.
Update your notes after the last placement.
Switch to a different part of the grid. One placement often opens another area.
Look for a pair of cells sharing the same two candidates, which lets you clear those digits from their neighbours. Learn these after singles.

Common mistakes

Skipping notes. Trying to hold every candidate in your head slows you down. Strong players use notes too.
Forgetting a constraint. Check all three: row, column and box.
Tunnel vision. Staying on one region for minutes rarely helps. Rotate through digits and boxes.
Jumping levels. A Hard puzzle can need patterns you have not met yet. Build speed on Easy first, then try other types of Sudoku when the classic grid feels routine.