Discover the Best Way to Identify Mistakes in Sudoku

Are you a Sudoku enthusiast looking to improve your game?

In this article, we will explore the basics of Sudoku, including how to play and common mistakes to avoid.

We will discuss strategies for finding errors in your puzzles and provide tips to help you avoid making mistakes in the future.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned player, these insights will take your Sudoku skills to the next level.

What Is Sudoku?

Sudoku is a number puzzle that originated in Switzerland. The term itself is derived from su or suu meaning nine, and doku or dokuji meaning single number. Literally translated, sudoku means ‘single number’. These puzzles are known as nanzhu, nanpure, number place, fill-in, or crossword in various countries.

Sudoku is played with different numbers of Sudoku grids ranging from 2×2 to 9×9 sub-squares and differing by degree of difficulty and design. Rules of Sudoku: The object of the game is to fill the grid so every column, row, and sub-square contains digits from 1 to 9 without repetition. It is a game of logic and does not require advanced mathematics. The more ambiguous the starting layout of a Sudoku puzzle, the more complex the logic required.

In general, there are three requisites for a symmetrically shaped, properly functioning sudoku puzzle:

1. Unique solvability. Each sudoku puzzle must have a single solution.
2. Specific givens. Sudoku puzzles should adhere to a specific, centuries-old arrangement of clues called The Minimum Number of Givens Theorem. Developed by Finnish mathematician Olli Niemela in 2005, the Theorem shows that puzzle difficulty substantially grows within a certain range of original clues. Less than 17 clues leads to unsolvable puzzles. More than 30 clues creates overly simple puzzles that require very basic logic.
3. Symmetry. Authors of valid Sudoku puzzles typically create a symmetrical layout of clues, aiming to provide solvers with a satisfying game or puzzle solving experience. However, if you make your own puzzle without symmetry it is still valid. It will just have a different aesthetic appeal.

Difficulty of Sudoku: Finnish mathematician Arto Inkala’s grid from 2012 is recognized as one of the hardest sudoku puzzles created. It is said to have a higher complexity than any others and apparently contains a pattern of numbers that makes it fiendish to solve but provides the basis for specific logic that underpins its rules.

How To Play Sudoku?

Play sudoku by finding the numbers to solve each row and column and each individual box of a sudoku grid. Each sudoku puzzle begins with a certain number of numbers placed in the grid. You must use process-of-elimination trial and error to find the missing correct numbers. Once the three rules of sudoku are understood and the solver has practiced with different levels of puzzles, one can find their own method of playing sudoku.

Printed Sudoku Sheets

1. Print out a sudoku puzzle to work on.
2. Select a group of three columns and/or three rows to start with.
3. Find all of the numbers that are already filled in all groups of those columns and rows.
4. Step-by-step try each one of the nine numbers in their appropriate squares that could fill in the rest of that group of three columns and rows from left to right, recording the numbers you find.
5. Fill in the missing squares throughout the rest of the puzzle until the solution is found.

Sudoku Game Apps

1. Open the sudoku app of your choice and choose a difficulty level. Novices should start with easy and advance when they are ready.
2. Find a square with only a few options and try each step one at a time.
3. Look for columns or rows with almost every number filled.
4. If a game provides them for the level you are playing, make one guess using a hint.
5. When all else fails, cheat your way to the solution.

The Basic Rules

The basic sudoku rules are simple and few. One must have the digits from 1 to 9 in each row, column, and 3×3 square/box. If any of these constraints are not met, then there is an error in Sudoku. If any of these basics is missing, then the puzzle is surely not a normal sudoku puzzle.

Solving in traditional format, where if you find that the same digit is missing in more than one region (column, row, or 3×3 square), then you know for sure what digit goes there. In the screenshot you can see that this region has a 5 replaced because it violates the only one number per row/col/square rule.

The Strategies

The following strategies are some of the more popular strategies you might want to check again.

1. The Crosshatching System: By eliminating numbers from rows and columns the cross-hatching strategy helps us narrow down what the potential numbers are in each square.
2. Naked Single Strategy: This is the most basic method of identifying potential numbers, but in practice is the most commonly used.

If the mistake in your sudoku is related to not seeing the number 4 in the first column, then you need to check your cross-hatching strategy. If the mistake is due to a complex relationship in a specific triple, pair, or single and number that caused a wrong number selection, then you should review your smarter AI-aided tips.

What Are The Common Mistakes In Sudoku?

Some common mistakes in Sudoku include assuming the initial board is correct, applying different hypotheses simultaneously, missing elimination opportunities, neglecting larger regions simultaneously, and failing to maintain an organized approach.

If you assume the initial board is correct but it isn’t then every new number you add in will compound the error and none of your finished boards will match the solution board when you finish. Keep track of the numbers you think go in each space and consider their implications for the board as a whole to avoid this.

If you place different numbers based on different hypotheses for which number goes where at the same time it’s difficult to know which hypothesis was correct if you find a mistake further along. Try to stick with one hypothesis at a time and test it to completeness before moving to the next hypothesis for which number should go where.

Failing to eliminate potential numbers efficiently and neglecting potential numbers across different regions limit the board options, which make it harder to identify mistakes. This makes the longer it takes to identify the original mistake. A lack of organization in your approach to problem-solving will also impede catching initial mistakes and thus make the overall time much longer, too long to identify what needs to be fixed.

Repeating Numbers In Rows, Columns, Or Boxes

Numbers that repeat in rows, columns, or boxes are one of the common mistakes in Sudoku. Each row, column, and nine-cell box in a 9 9 Sudoku puzzle grid must contain one and only one instance of each number from 1 to 9. The only exceptions come during the incomplete puzzles before all numbers have been identified.

Once a player identifies whether the repeating number is in a row, column, or box, that player knows there needs to be subtraction in the affected space. The player may not know all 3 places right away, but once the first subtraction is complete, the player can search to see if the other entries take shape.

Using Pencil Marks Incorrectly

If you have gone through your pencil marks and you still cannot figure out a mistake, it is possible that you are simply using them incorrectly. This happens most frequently at the beginning of a game, before you have made any preliminary moves to narrow down possible values for various units. To use pencil marks correctly, at the beginning of a game immediately put in possible values whenever possible. This will narrow down possible values and help you avoid mistakes.

Making Assumptions

To increase their efficiency, Sudoku solvers begin to make assumptions when no other solution is apparent. This guesswork begins a whole new branch of possibilities that the solver needs to eliminate until only one possibility produces a valid solution. The entire structure formed from the guess must produce a valid solution to be considered the local and global solutions. Along with this, the assumptions along with the chains of logic can be used in both Pencil Mark Saving and direct Sudoku solving. Making assumptions becomes very apparent when direct guesses remove impossible-to-fulfill Single Candidates, setting chain logic and eliminations in motion.

The figure on the right from the outer grid theory subsection shows a Swordfish structure. Red lines show Fish Candidates, blue lines show Multi Candidates affected by the Fish to be eliminated. Purple shaded squares show Multis which can be eliminated because on this path there is only one purple shaded box possible. The purple lines required a guess to create the fish which eliminated the purple candidate. This is an assumption.

Not Checking For Mistakes

A major mistake that occasionally occurs corresponds to failing to check if the solution is correct after it has been input. The longer the Sudoku puzzle and the more difficult the skill level, the more probable this is. Another commonplace error in this category is not noting if an input goes against a solution previously input or even a direct self-contradiction, where the number contradicts itself on the same line, row, or box.

How To Find Your Mistakes In Sudoku?

You can find your mistakes in up to 3 ways. Surreptitiously note down every digit and refer back to these scribbles to find the contradictions, look for the unique solution and identify which numbers are missing from each cell block, or blatantly use the check answer function of a sudoku game. The best approach is to use both the brain exercise and the automatic checking tools simultaneously.

Double Check Your Pencil Marks

Double checking your pencil marks refers to the candidate numbers you wrote in each empty cell. When you see that your answer is wrong, instead of assuming which number is correct, double check the candidate numbers in other empty cells. You may ideally have a 9×9 grid, each with a unique arrangement of candidate numbers if it is not complete. Called a unique rectangle, if you can determine the value of a cell to confirm it is wrong, you can replace all the pre-existing pencil marks with 1-9 in the cell.

If your answer is now correct in at least one cell, if the original position was not empty, there was an error in the previous cell. You can now continue the process of elimination to find the correct answer. Double checking your pencil marks does not require any advanced mathematical tricks, it just requires precision and careful elimination of wrong answers in each empty cell until the truth reveals itself.

Go Through Each Row, Column, And Box

Once you have corrected the first obvious mistake and haven’t been able to find any new ones, you can apply the following short rigid process of going through each row, column, and mini three by three box and check off potential mistakes for each cell. Iterate through all cells, ensuring that you catch every instance of potential errors from the earlier parts of the process. As you make checks and eliminate potential mistakes in cells, your confidence that a mistake is present in the puzzle will grow and the probability that you will have to backtrack will decrease.

Use The ‘Check’ Function

Some applications of sudoku puzzles have a function called ‘Check’, which automatically fills the correct number when you enter the wrong number.

This number may change according to the manufacturer’s coding to show a green background view (which means you have entered the correct number) or a red colored background (which means the number you entered is incorrect).

If you have made a mistake, the cell with the wrong number is noted with a red-colored background, to draw your attention to the changing error before correcting it.

Take A Break And Come Back To It Later

If you are having trouble, take a break and come back to the sudoku board at a later time. This was advised in a 2008 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara titled This Story is Right Under Your Nose: Akinetopsia and Spatiotemporal Mechanisms of Object Recognition by Lutz J ncke et al. In this study, late blind individual Eamon‘s slow performance without feedback and lack of accelerated performance on a task requiring object recognition after 52 days of training was found to improve only after he switched tasks and then later returned to the original task. Similarly, a 2008 study from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign on skill acquisition suggests that performance in inverted transfer tasks (where you have learned a task concept but have to respond oppositely) can sometimes be improved by allowing a period of rest after the original learning period. This confirms the general understanding that people solve puzzles more effectively after resting.

What Are Some Tips To Avoid Making Mistakes In Sudoku?

Some of the most helpful tips to avoid making mistakes in Sudoku include using a pen instead of a pencil, as many players find the permanency of the pen forces them to think through their answers more carefully. Do not autofill your boards in via Sudoku apps that memorize your mistakes as these can prevent you from exercising independent critical thinking skills. Always have a method for solving and constantly check your work as you go. The more frequently you perform this methodology, the more this process will become intuitive.

Note: Claims made in the paragraph about apps are unknown and unsubstantiated. Feel free to adjust the surrounding text.

Practice Regularly

Sudoku is a game of practice, and it demands that you make mistakes regularly. By making mistakes frequently and trying new tactics according to variable situations, you will enhance your understanding of Sudoku Strategies and rules. Once you are adept at spotting your sudoku mistakes early, you will be better at identifying the key factors that led to your problem.

Use A Pencil For Pencil Marks

To find a mistake in Sudoku, many solvers use pencil marks called candidates. With pencil marks in Sudoku, theorists and solvers have discovered that once you find three numbers in a row, column, or block, there is a unique way to complete the Sudoku puzzle. More information about the math behind pencil marks was provided by author and mathematician Jason Rosenhouse in his September 2020 video Sudoku and pencil marks.

If you make a mistake, it is as likely to be an error in one of these pencil marks as in a filled square. For this reason, it is important to use a pencil for pencil marks so that if you make an error, you can simply erase what was incorrect. While it is unsatisfying to erase a pencil mark that happens to be true and to replace it with an incorrect answer, false pencil marks do not invalidate the proper solution.

How To Pencil Mark In Sudoku?

• Look for pencil marks that are easily completed with logical deductions. If there is a unique number in a row, column, or block, draw a line that number.
• Use a sharp pencil and make each pencil mark as small as possible to fit in the cell. This goes for both filled entries and candidate pencil marks.
• If a completed number is the same in any row, column, or block, never erase it to replace it with something else unless your puzzle system is separate from the pencil marks used in making the mistake. You want to see two 7s if they are in Row 2 and Column 5 of a 9×9 grid.

Take Your Time

Taking time is always important when trying to find mistakes in sudoku. Leave the game until you’re not tired or mentally distracted and focus your attention fully on the puzzle. Return to the angles and patterns of the game, reassess, and try out new ideas.

For example, in the image shown, the user is sure there is a mistake on the top row. The cells might resemble a legitimate unique sudoku solution at first but cause a contradiction with other positions – whereas swapping the marked cell would create a valid sudoku with a unique solution.

Along with taking breaks and returning with refreshed, focused minds, consider coming back to the sudoku after having worked on another puzzle in between. Clive Thompson, in his book ‘Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World’, says that our passive brain frequently solves problems as if working in the background when we divert to another task.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I made a mistake in my Sudoku puzzle?

To find out if you made a mistake in your Sudoku puzzle, you can follow a few steps to help identify the error. First, check if any of the numbers you have entered are repeated in the same row, column, or 3×3 box. If there are no repeats, double check that all the numbers in the puzzle add up to the correct sum. If you still can’t find the mistake, try using the “check” or “solve” function on your Sudoku app or website.

What should I do if I can’t find my mistake using the traditional methods?

If you have exhausted all the standard methods for finding your mistake in Sudoku, it may be time to take a break and come back to the puzzle later. Sometimes, stepping away and coming back with fresh eyes can help you spot the mistake more easily. Additionally, you can try asking a friend or family member to take a look at the puzzle and see if they can spot the error.

Can I use pencil marks to help me find my mistake?

Yes, using pencil marks can be a helpful tool in identifying mistakes in Sudoku puzzles. By using small numbers to make potential guesses in each square, you can narrow down the possibilities and eventually find the incorrect number. This method may take longer, but it can be useful for more challenging Sudoku puzzles.

What should I do if I can’t find my mistake and I’m running out of time?

If you are in a time crunch and cannot spend too much time trying to find your mistake in Sudoku, you can try using the “erase all” function to reset the puzzle and start over. This may be a quicker solution than trying to find the mistake, especially if you are playing against a timer or in a Sudoku competition.

Is it common to make mistakes in Sudoku puzzles?

Yes, making mistakes in Sudoku puzzles is a common occurrence, especially for beginners. However, as you practice and become more familiar with the rules and strategies of Sudoku, you will make fewer mistakes. Remember to always double check your numbers and use the tools available to help you when you get stuck.

What can I do to prevent making mistakes in Sudoku puzzles?

To minimize the chances of making mistakes in Sudoku puzzles, it is important to take your time and double check your work as you go. It can also be helpful to start with easier puzzles before moving onto more challenging ones. Additionally, using pencil marks and other tools can also help you catch mistakes before they become a bigger issue.