How to get faster at Sudoku
Already solving? Cut your times with a fixed scanning order, pencil-mark discipline, and the techniques that pay off most.
Scan in a fixed order
Speed comes from routine. Sweep digit by digit and box by box the same way every time, so your eyes stop re-checking the same cells. Many fast solvers go 1 through 9, top-left to bottom-right.
Delay your pencil marks
Full pencil marks are slow to maintain. On easier grids, solve as far as you can by scanning alone; only mark candidates once you genuinely stall, and then only in the unit you are working.
Master the high-value techniques
Hidden singles and locked candidates (pointing pairs and box-line reduction) resolve the most cells per second of effort. Fish and chains are satisfying but rare — learn them, but do not hunt for them first.
Practise daily
A daily puzzle at a steady difficulty trains pattern recognition faster than the occasional hard one. The GridDay app’s daily challenge is built for exactly this.