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Cage Combination

Intermediate Removes candidates Used in: Killer Sudoku

Cage Combination

A cage total often allows only a handful of digit combinations. A two-cell cage summing to 16 can only be {7,9}; one summing to 4 can only be {1,3}. Listing the legal combinations prunes candidates fast and frequently leaves just one digit per cell.

How to spot it

A cage whose total allows only a few digit combinations.

What you can conclude

Keep only candidates that appear in a legal combination; often just one survives.

Worked example

A two-cell cage totalling 16 can only be 7 and 9 — every other candidate goes.

Related techniques

Cage Remainder · Single-Cell Cage · Rule of 45