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How to Play Sudoku: A Fun & Easy Guide

Welcome to free online sudoku game, puzzle solver, Sudoku may look tricky at first, but it’s really just a game of logic and patterns. You don’t need to be good at math, if you can count to 9, you can play Sudoku online or offline. Whether you’re starting with play Sudoku easy puzzles or tackling sudoku hard challenges, this guide will help you understand the rules.

The Puzzle Board (Anatomy of Sudoku)

The Sudoku puzzle game board has three important parts:

  • The Grid: One big 9x9 square.
  • Cells: 81 small squares inside the grid where numbers go.
  • Regions (Boxes): Nine mini 3x3 squares, outlined with thicker lines.
A Sudoku grid with cells

The Goal of the Game

Your mission is to fill every empty cell with a number from 1 to 9.

But here’s the golden rule: Each number (1–9) must appear only once in every row, every column, and every 3x3 region.

Sudoku board showing how numbers appear in each row and column

The One Rule in Action

Let’s break the Sudoku rule into three easy parts:

Row Rule

Each row (horizontal line) must have the numbers 1–9 once.

A Sudoku row highlighted in color with numbers 1-9 filled correctly

Column Rule

Each column (vertical line) must have the numbers 1–9 once.

A Sudoku column highlighted in color with numbers 1-9 filled correctly

Region Rule

Each 3x3 region must also have the numbers 1–9 once.

A single 3x3 box highlighted, showing numbers 1-9 filled in

How to Solve (Beginner Strategy)

The best way to solve Sudoku is to use elimination, like a detective crossing out clues. You can play Sudoku easy puzzles to start, then try sudoku game medium, and finally move on to sudoku hard challenges.

  1. Pick a Number. Example: Find where the number “7” goes in the top-left region.
  2. Eliminate Options. Look at the rows and columns connected to that region. Cross out any cells that already have a “7.”
  3. Find the Only Spot. Once you cross out the impossible spots, one empty cell will remain, that’s where the “7” goes.

Winning the Puzzle

That’s it! Just repeat the elimination method for all numbers (1–9) in all regions. The more numbers you fill in, the easier it becomes.

Remember:

  • Start simple, don’t rush.
  • Sudoku is about logic, not guessing.
  • Every puzzle has a solution, if you follow the rules, you’ll find it.
A fully solved Sudoku grid