Guide
Sudoku Puzzles for Beginners — Where to Start
Start your Sudoku journey with beginner-friendly puzzles and guides. Learn the basics, try Easy puzzles, master the first techniques, and build confidence step by step.
If you are new to Sudoku, this guide walks through the first month of solving. You will learn what to expect, which puzzles to start with, the techniques to focus on, and the common mistakes to avoid.
Start with the rules, not the techniques
Before solving your first puzzle, read the three Sudoku rules. Most beginners try to learn techniques before internalising the rules, which slows progress significantly. The rules — row, column, box — are the lens through which all techniques operate.
Your first puzzle: Kids Sudoku or Easy Sudoku
Choose between Kids Sudoku (large cells, generous clue placement) and Easy Sudoku (standard cells, 36–45 givens). Both are designed to be solvable with naked-single scanning alone — no advanced techniques required.
If you have never seen a Sudoku grid before, Kids Sudoku is the gentlest entry. If you are an adult who finds Kids puzzles patronising, jump straight to Easy.
Week 1: Master naked singles
A naked single is a cell where eight of the nine digits are eliminated by the row, column, and box. Scan each empty cell and ask: which digits cannot go here? The single remaining digit is the placement.
Solve at least one Easy puzzle per day for the first week. Time yourself. Expect 20–30 minutes initially, dropping to under 15 by the end of the week. If you take less than 10 minutes consistently, move to Medium.
Week 2: Hidden singles
A hidden single is a cell where only one digit can fit even though several candidates appear in that cell. To find a hidden single, pick a row, column, or box, then for each digit missing from that unit, identify which cells could hold it. If only one cell can hold the digit, that is your placement.
Hidden singles are the bridge from Easy to Medium. Once you can find hidden singles in under a minute, Medium Sudoku becomes solvable.
Week 3–4: Try Medium Sudoku
Start with Medium Sudoku puzzles. Use hidden singles as your primary technique. Light pencil marks help on tricky cells, but most cells should resolve through scanning alone. If you find yourself notating every cell, you are over-thinking — return to scanning.
Common beginner mistakes
- Guessing. Sudoku is solvable by pure logic. If you guess and the puzzle works out, you got lucky — you have not learned anything reusable.
- Skipping naked singles in favour of complex techniques. Always exhaust simple techniques before reaching for advanced ones.
- Notating prematurely. On Easy puzzles, notation slows you down. Scan first; notate only when scanning stalls.
- Fixating on one row. If a row resists, switch to columns or boxes. Different units reveal different placements.
How to know when to move up
Move from Easy to Medium when you complete Easy puzzles in under 8 minutes consistently. Move from Medium to Hard when you complete Medium in under 15 minutes consistently. Don't rush — enjoying a difficulty tier is more important than progressing through them.
Resources for beginners
Bookmark our complete technique guide and refer back to it as you progress. Print a few blank grids for practice notation. Once you are comfortable with Easy, browse all Sudoku formats to find your favourite.
FAQ
Sudoku Puzzles for Beginners — Frequently Asked Questions
Which Sudoku is best for a complete beginner?
Easy Sudoku, with 36–45 given clues. It is solvable with basic scanning and single-candidate elimination alone, so no advanced technique is needed to finish a grid.
How do I get better at Sudoku?
Solve easy puzzles until scanning becomes automatic, then move to medium to learn hidden singles and naked pairs. Learn one new technique at a time rather than jumping difficulty levels.
Is Sudoku hard to learn?
No. The rules take under a minute to learn — fill each row, column, and 3×3 box with the digits 1–9 exactly once. The depth comes from solving technique, which builds gradually.
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