Beginner to Advanced · 6×6, 8×8 & 10×10 Strategies
The patterns that actually save time on Mini Sudoku. Pencil-mark discipline, hidden singles, pointing pairs, and a small daily routine.
Beginner
The fundamentals. Get comfortable on 6×6 first, then 8×8 and 10×10 follow naturally.
Naked singles: a cell where only one digit fits.
Use pencil marks. Update them every time you place a value.
Look at each region for the digit that's missing — it's often easier than scanning the whole board.
After every placement, re-check the row and column for new singles.
Intermediate
Hidden singles, pairs, and box-line reduction. The next layer once the basics feel automatic.
Hidden singles: a digit that can only go in one cell within a row, column, or region.
Naked pairs: when two cells share the same two candidates, those digits can't go anywhere else in the unit.
Compare row and column patterns to find contradictions early.
Box-line reduction: if a digit in a region is confined to one row or column, remove it from the rest of that row or column.
Speed
A short, repeatable session for getting noticeably faster within a week or two.
Use 6×6 as a warm-up before timed runs on bigger grids.
Place all candidates for one digit at a time. It's faster than scanning cell by cell.
Play daily. Pattern recognition gets noticeably faster within a week.
Advanced
These come up on harder boards. Add them once the fundamentals feel automatic.
When a candidate only appears in one row or column within a region, eliminate it from the rest of that row or column to force progress.
If a pair (or trio) of cells inside a region share the same candidate, remove that candidate from other cells in the intersecting row or column.
Assign two colours to a candidate pair across the grid. If one colour causes a contradiction, eliminate it to solve the pattern quickly.