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Sudoku #3 — the solutions

The three Sudoku boards from October 3, 2026 — Easy, Medium and Hard — each with its solved grid and a path through it, step by step, that never needs a guess.

Easy — 36 digits given

Every cell falls to scanning: a digit with only one place left in a row, a column or a box.

The board

· · · | · · 2 | 1 8 4
· · 5 | · · · | · 6 ·
7 1 · | · 9 · | · · ·
------+-------+------
1 · 8 | 7 · 3 | 9 2 ·
2 · 3 | 1 · 9 | 6 · 8
· 9 7 | 8 · 6 | 3 · 1
------+-------+------
· · · | · 3 · | · 5 6
· 8 · | · · · | 4 · ·
4 5 6 | 9 · · | · · ·

The solution

6 3 9 | 5 7 2 | 1 8 4
8 2 5 | 3 1 4 | 7 6 9
7 1 4 | 6 9 8 | 5 3 2
------+-------+------
1 6 8 | 7 4 3 | 9 2 5
2 4 3 | 1 5 9 | 6 7 8
5 9 7 | 8 2 6 | 3 4 1
------+-------+------
9 7 2 | 4 3 1 | 8 5 6
3 8 1 | 2 6 5 | 4 9 7
4 5 6 | 9 8 7 | 2 1 3

A path through it

The order a solver takes — always the cheapest move left, so a pattern is only reached for when the singles run dry. 45 steps; yours need not match, and any order that never guesses ends on the same grid.

  1. Row 2, column 1 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  2. Row 3, column 6 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  3. Row 2, column 9 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  4. Row 2, column 7 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  5. Row 1, column 5 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  6. Row 6, column 1 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  7. Row 4, column 2 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  8. Row 1, column 1 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  9. Row 1, column 3 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  10. Row 3, column 4 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  11. Row 1, column 4 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  12. Row 2, column 4 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  13. Row 1, column 2 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  14. Row 5, column 2 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  15. Row 3, column 3 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  16. Row 2, column 2 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  17. Row 6, column 5 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the center box.
  18. Row 4, column 5 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the center box.
  19. Row 2, column 6 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  20. Row 2, column 5 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  21. Row 5, column 5 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the center box.
  22. Row 6, column 8 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  23. Row 4, column 9 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  24. Row 3, column 7 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  25. Row 3, column 9 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  26. Row 3, column 8 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  27. Row 5, column 8 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  28. Row 8, column 1 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  29. Row 7, column 2 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  30. Row 7, column 1 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  31. Row 7, column 4 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  32. Row 8, column 4 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  33. Row 7, column 3 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  34. Row 8, column 3 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  35. Row 8, column 6 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  36. Row 8, column 5 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  37. Row 9, column 6 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  38. Row 7, column 6 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  39. Row 9, column 5 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  40. Row 9, column 8 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  41. Row 9, column 7 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  42. Row 9, column 9 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  43. Row 8, column 9 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  44. Row 7, column 7 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  45. Row 8, column 8 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.

Medium — 28 digits given

Beyond singles, this board asks for a pointing line and a claimed box (3 times).

The board

· · · | · · 6 | · · ·
8 1 · | · 3 · | · 2 ·
· 2 6 | 4 · · | 3 · ·
------+-------+------
· 3 · | · · · | 5 1 8
7 · · | · · · | · · 6
4 5 1 | · · · | · 3 ·
------+-------+------
· · 8 | · · 4 | 1 7 ·
· 6 · | · 1 · | · 5 3
· · · | 8 · · | · · ·

The solution

3 4 5 | 2 8 6 | 7 9 1
8 1 7 | 5 3 9 | 6 2 4
9 2 6 | 4 7 1 | 3 8 5
------+-------+------
6 3 9 | 7 4 2 | 5 1 8
7 8 2 | 1 5 3 | 9 4 6
4 5 1 | 6 9 8 | 2 3 7
------+-------+------
5 9 8 | 3 6 4 | 1 7 2
2 6 4 | 9 1 7 | 8 5 3
1 7 3 | 8 2 5 | 4 6 9

A path through it

The order a solver takes — always the cheapest move left, so a pattern is only reached for when the singles run dry. 57 steps; yours need not match, and any order that never guesses ends on the same grid.

  1. Row 2, column 7 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  2. Row 4, column 1 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  3. Row 5, column 2 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  4. Row 9, column 1 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  5. Row 9, column 8 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  6. Row 8, column 7 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  7. Row 4, column 5 is 4. 4 has only one place left in row 4.
  8. Row 8, column 3 is 4. 4 has only one place left in row 8.
  9. Row 1, column 2 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  10. Row 2, column 9 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  11. Row 9, column 7 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  12. Row 5, column 8 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  13. Row 9, column 2 is 7. 7 has only one place left in column 2.
  14. Row 7, column 2 is 9. 9 has only one place left in column 2.
  15. Row 9, column 9 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  16. Row 7, column 9 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  17. Row 8, column 1 is 2. 2 has only one place left in column 1.
  18. Row 6, column 9 is 7. Nothing but 7 is left for this cell.
  19. Row 1, column 7 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  20. Row 2, column 3 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  21. Row 3, column 5 is 7. 7 has only one place left in column 5.
  22. In the middle-left box, 9 can only sit in column 3, so it leaves the rest of that column.
  23. In row 2, 5 can only sit inside the top-center box, so it leaves the rest of that box.
  24. In row 2, 9 can only sit inside the top-center box, so it leaves the rest of that box.
  25. In column 5, 9 can only sit inside the center box, so it leaves the rest of that box.
  26. Row 4, column 3 is 9. 9 has only one place left in row 4.
  27. Row 5, column 3 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  28. Row 6, column 7 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  29. Row 5, column 7 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  30. Row 6, column 5 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the center box.
  31. Row 6, column 4 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the center box.
  32. Row 6, column 6 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the center box.
  33. Row 1, column 5 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  34. Row 1, column 4 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  35. Row 3, column 6 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  36. Row 1, column 9 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  37. Row 3, column 9 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  38. Row 3, column 8 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  39. Row 1, column 8 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  40. Row 3, column 1 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  41. Row 5, column 4 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the center box.
  42. Row 4, column 6 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the center box.
  43. Row 5, column 6 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the center box.
  44. Row 5, column 5 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the center box.
  45. Row 4, column 4 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the center box.
  46. Row 9, column 5 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  47. Row 7, column 4 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  48. Row 9, column 3 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  49. Row 1, column 1 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  50. Row 1, column 3 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  51. Row 7, column 1 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  52. Row 9, column 6 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  53. Row 2, column 4 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  54. Row 2, column 6 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  55. Row 7, column 5 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  56. Row 8, column 6 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  57. Row 8, column 4 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.

Hard — 29 digits given

Beyond singles, this board asks for a pointing line (4 times), a claimed box (2 times), a naked pair (2 times) and an X-wing.

The board

· · 3 | · · · | 4 · ·
· 5 · | · · 4 | · 7 3
7 · · | · 9 · | · · ·
------+-------+------
9 2 · | 1 · · | 6 · ·
8 · · | 9 3 2 | · · 1
· · 1 | · · 7 | · 2 9
------+-------+------
· · · | · 8 · | · · 4
6 1 · | 5 · · | · 8 ·
· · 8 | · · · | 3 · ·

The solution

1 8 3 | 2 7 5 | 4 9 6
2 5 9 | 8 6 4 | 1 7 3
7 4 6 | 3 9 1 | 2 5 8
------+-------+------
9 2 7 | 1 4 8 | 6 3 5
8 6 5 | 9 3 2 | 7 4 1
4 3 1 | 6 5 7 | 8 2 9
------+-------+------
3 9 2 | 7 8 6 | 5 1 4
6 1 4 | 5 2 3 | 9 8 7
5 7 8 | 4 1 9 | 3 6 2

A path through it

The order a solver takes — always the cheapest move left, so a pattern is only reached for when the singles run dry. 61 steps; yours need not match, and any order that never guesses ends on the same grid.

  1. Row 4, column 8 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  2. Row 5, column 8 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  3. Row 8, column 6 is 3. 3 has only one place left in row 8.
  4. Row 3, column 4 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  5. In the center box, 6 can only sit in row 6, so it leaves the rest of that row.
  6. Two cells in column 1 hold only 1 and 2, so no other cell there can.
  7. In the bottom-left box, 2 can only sit in column 3, so it leaves the rest of that column.
  8. In row 3, 2 can only sit inside the top-right box, so it leaves the rest of that box.
  9. X-wing: rows 4 and 8 each have 4 in the same two columns, so it leaves the rest of those columns.
  10. Row 3, column 2 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  11. Row 1, column 2 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  12. Row 2, column 3 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  13. Row 3, column 3 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  14. Row 1, column 8 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  15. Row 1, column 9 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  16. Row 5, column 2 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  17. Row 8, column 7 is 9. 9 has only one place left in row 8.
  18. Row 6, column 2 is 3. Nothing but 3 is left for this cell.
  19. Row 7, column 1 is 3. 3 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  20. In the top-right box, 5 can only sit in row 3, so it leaves the rest of that row.
  21. In the middle-left box, 7 can only sit in column 3, so it leaves the rest of that column.
  22. In column 6, 6 can only sit inside the bottom-center box, so it leaves the rest of that box.
  23. Two cells in column 4 hold only 2 and 7, so no other cell there can.
  24. Row 9, column 4 is 4. Nothing but 4 is left for this cell.
  25. Row 4, column 5 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the center box.
  26. Row 6, column 1 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  27. Row 8, column 3 is 4. 4 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  28. Row 7, column 3 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  29. Row 9, column 1 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  30. Row 1, column 4 is 2. 2 has only one place left in column 4.
  31. Row 2, column 1 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  32. Row 1, column 1 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-left box.
  33. Row 1, column 5 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  34. Row 1, column 6 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  35. Row 6, column 5 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the center box.
  36. Row 6, column 4 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the center box.
  37. Row 2, column 5 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  38. Row 3, column 6 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  39. Row 2, column 4 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-center box.
  40. Row 2, column 7 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  41. Row 4, column 6 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the center box.
  42. Row 6, column 7 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  43. Row 3, column 9 is 8. 8 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  44. Row 3, column 7 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  45. Row 3, column 8 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the top-right box.
  46. Row 9, column 5 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  47. Row 8, column 5 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  48. Row 7, column 4 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  49. Row 9, column 2 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  50. Row 7, column 2 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-left box.
  51. Row 9, column 6 is 9. 9 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  52. Row 7, column 6 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the bottom-center box.
  53. Row 7, column 8 is 1. 1 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  54. Row 9, column 9 is 2. 2 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  55. Row 7, column 7 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  56. Row 4, column 9 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  57. Row 5, column 3 is 5. 5 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  58. Row 4, column 3 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the middle-left box.
  59. Row 5, column 7 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the middle-right box.
  60. Row 9, column 8 is 6. 6 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.
  61. Row 8, column 9 is 7. 7 has only one place left in the bottom-right box.

Previous: Sudoku #2 (Fri, Oct 2)

About Sudoku

Sudoku on Noggin is three boards a day, on the second shelf: every entry is checked at once, a hint fills the next cell a solver would and says why, and the first board finished is the day’s score, outside the daily line-up. How to play Sudoku, or play today’s.