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Sudoku #40 — the solutions

The three Sudoku boards from November 9, 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

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

The solution

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

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

The board

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

The solution

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

Hard — 29 digits given

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

The board

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

The solution

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

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. 56 steps; yours need not match, and any order that never guesses ends on the same grid.

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

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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.