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fifteen puzzle games for the terminal, with daily puzzles, weekly ladders and xp, built on bubble tea

feat/elo-difficulty
puzzletea / games / sudoku / help.md
help.md 1.2K source

Sudoku

Fill a 9x9 grid with digits so every row, column, and box is complete.

Rules

  • Each row must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
  • Each column must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
  • Each 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
  • Pre-filled cells (shown in bold) cannot be changed. Conflicting cells are highlighted in red.

Controls

Key Action
Arrows / wasd / hjkl Move cursor
Mouse left-click Focus a cell
1-9 Fill cell with digit
Backspace Clear cell
Ctrl+H Toggle full help
Ctrl+R Reset puzzle
Escape Return to main menu

Tips

  • Scan the most-filled groups first. Rows, columns, or boxes that already have seven or eight digits filled leave very few possibilities for the remaining cells, making them the easiest to solve.
  • Look for naked singles. If a cell has only one digit that doesn't conflict with its row, column, and box, that digit is the only option. Check the most constrained cells before guessing anywhere.
  • Use the conflict highlighting. When you place a digit, conflicting cells turn red immediately. Catch mistakes early so they don't cascade across the board.