Advanced techniques
See the structure. Follow the logic.
Move beyond local patterns and learn to recognize relationships across candidates, cells, and houses.
Getting deeper
Advanced solving is about relationships.
Advanced Sudoku tehniques extend the same logic you have already learned across larger structures. All strategies are based on Sudoku's three simple rules. Instead of asking only what is forced in one cell or house, look for relationships between candidates across the grid.
Before exploring the technique families, learn the language of strong and weak links. It will appear throughout much of the Advanced curriculum.
Explore by family
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
01 · Advanced
Fish
One candidate. Multiple lines. A structural elimination.
Fish →02 · Advanced
Wings
Linked candidate structures that create forced eliminations.
Wings →03 · Advanced
Single-Digit Patterns
Follow one number and understand how its positions constrain one another.
Single-Digit Patterns →04 · Advanced
Chains
Connect candidate relationships so logical consequences propagate through the grid.
Chains →05 · Advanced
Uniqueness
Use the single-solution property of a valid Sudoku to eliminate candidates.
Uniqueness →06 · Advanced
Almost Locked Sets
Candidate groups that are nearly locked and can interact with other structures.
Almost Locked Sets →