Sudoku Clan › Medium Sudoku
Medium Sudoku
Medium puzzles have fewer clues and ask for one more habit: scanning rows and columns as well as boxes. You still do not need notes. Play one here.
Play a medium Sudoku
| 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 | |||||
| 1 | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 8 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 7 | ||||
| 9 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | ||||
| 7 | 2 | |||||||
| 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | |||||
| 6 | 4 | 1 |
Medium puzzle. Turn on JavaScript to play it here, or open the game.
What changes at medium
An Easy puzzle can be solved by sweeping each digit through the nine boxes. A Medium puzzle will, at some point, run out of those moves. The next digit is still a hidden single, but it hides in a row or a column: a line where one digit has only a single cell left. Every Medium puzzle in Sudoku Clan needs at least one of these.
Medium puzzles start with 33 to 37 clues, about five fewer than Easy, so the board is emptier and there are fewer moves open at any moment. There are always at least three, though, so you are never hunting for one single way forward.
How to solve a medium Sudoku
- Start exactly as you would on an easy puzzle: scan each digit through the boxes.
- When boxes run dry, pick the rows and columns that are more than half full.
- For each one, list the digits it is missing, and check where each can go. A digit already in the crossing column or in the same box is ruled out of that cell.
- When a digit has one cell left on the line, place it, and go back to scanning boxes. One placement usually restarts the easy moves.
Should you use notes?
You do not need pencil marks for a Medium puzzle. It is a good level to start practising them, though. Mark the candidates in cells that have only two options. The habit pays off at Hard and becomes necessary at Expert.
How long should it take?
The target time for Medium in Sudoku Clan is 9 minutes. If you are regularly under that with no mistakes, you are ready for Hard.
Questions
What is the difference between easy and medium Sudoku?
Easy puzzles can be solved by scanning the boxes alone. Medium puzzles start with fewer clues and also need you to find the only place for a digit in a row or a column.
Do I need to guess in a medium Sudoku?
No. Every puzzle in Sudoku Clan has one solution that can be reached by logic alone, at every level.
Do I need pencil marks for medium Sudoku?
No. Medium puzzles are solved by scanning. Notes become useful at Hard and necessary at Expert.