Hardest Sudoku — SE grade 3.2–4.9
SE grade 3.2 to 4.9
By The Hardest Sudoku Team · Last updated
TL;DR
Pairs and locked candidates (pointing and claiming) begin to matter — you eliminate candidates rather than place values directly.
What is a SE grade 3.2–4.9 puzzle like?
Pairs and locked candidates (pointing and claiming) begin to matter — you eliminate candidates rather than place values directly.
Which techniques does this band need?
Puzzles in this band typically require:
What this band actually requires
We publish 87 puzzles in this band, and a full logical solve takes 64 steps on average. These are measured from our own solver, not estimated.
- · Naked Single — needed by 87 of 87
- · Hidden Single — needed by 87 of 87
- · Claiming (Locked Candidates) — needed by 49 of 87
- · Pointing (Locked Candidates) — needed by 83 of 87
- · Naked Pair — needed by 72 of 87
- · Hidden Pair — needed by 2 of 87
- · X-Wing — needed by 9 of 87
- · XY-Wing — needed by 42 of 87
- · Forcing Chain — needed by 33 of 87
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 →