Hardest Sudoku — SE grade 7.5–8.7
SE grade 7.5 to 8.7
By The Hardest Sudoku Team · Last updated
TL;DR
Simple techniques run dry early; you lean on forcing chains and careful candidate logic to break the puzzle open.
What is a SE grade 7.5–8.7 puzzle like?
Simple techniques run dry early; you lean on forcing chains and careful candidate logic to break the puzzle open.
Which techniques does this band need?
Puzzles in this band typically require:
What this band actually requires
We publish 27 puzzles in this band, and a full logical solve takes 74 steps on average. These are measured from our own solver, not estimated.
- · Naked Single — needed by 27 of 27
- · Hidden Single — needed by 27 of 27
- · Claiming (Locked Candidates) — needed by 18 of 27
- · Pointing (Locked Candidates) — needed by 27 of 27
- · Naked Pair — needed by 24 of 27
- · Hidden Pair — needed by 7 of 27
- · X-Wing — needed by 2 of 27
- · XY-Wing — needed by 7 of 27
- · Forcing Chain — needed by 27 of 27
Technique counts come from running our step-by-step solver over every published puzzle in the band.
Puzzles in this band
Where does this sit on the scale?
See the full ladder on the SE grade page. The hardest puzzles — the monsters — live at the top of the scale; meet them on What is the hardest Sudoku?
Play puzzles at this grade →