Medium sudoku
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Medium sudoku, the everyday level
Medium grids start with 32 to 34 digits and ask for a little more than scanning. Some cells can only be found by counting what is left in them, and some digits are pinned down by where they can go inside a box. It is the level many daily players settle on.
What it takes
On top of the singles from Easy, a medium grid may need a naked single, a cell where only one digit is left; pointing, a digit confined to one row or column inside a box; or claiming, a digit confined to one box inside a row or column. Pointing and claiming don’t place a digit: they rule one out, and the next single appears.
And everything from Easy.
How long it takes
Most players take eight to fifteen minutes; fast solvers about five.
Tips
- When scanning finds nothing, count: pick a crowded cell and go through the digits its row, column and box already have.
- Notes start to pay off here: write the two or three places a digit can go in a box.
- If a digit’s notes in a box all sit on one row, the rest of that row can’t have it.
Questions
What is the difference between easy and medium sudoku?
Fewer clues, 32 to 34 instead of 36 to 40, and three more steps that may be needed: the naked single, pointing and claiming. Each has a short lesson with an example.
Should I use notes on medium grids?
They help. Many players solve medium grids without them, but pointing and claiming are far easier to see with notes. Shift and a digit writes a note from the keyboard.
Is the daily puzzle a medium grid?
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The daily is easy on Monday and gets harder through the week, up to Expert at the weekend.