Large print sudoku: medium

Solving tips

Start with the digit that already appears most often and look for the one cell in each box where it can go. When a cell is down to two or three possible digits, pencil them small in a corner. Pairs, pointing and box-line reduction.

What makes these medium

Medium puzzles reach a point where no single cell can be filled yet, and you need to rule digits out first. The commonest tool is pointing: if, inside one box, a digit can only go in cells that share a row (or a column), then that row or column gets its copy of the digit from this box, so the digit can be crossed off everywhere else along that line. Box-line reduction is the same idea turned around, from a line into a box.

Pairs are the other medium tool. If two cells in a row, column or box can each only be the same two digits, those two digits are used up there, and no other cell in that unit can take them. This is where pencil marks earn their place: write the two or three digits a cell could be, small in a corner, and pairs start to jump out.

Where to start on puzzle 1

These are the first moves the easiest-first method finds in puzzle 1, the same steps the hint button in Sprout Sudoku would give you:

1. Naked single. Row 4, column 6 can only be a 9: its row, column and box already hold every other digit.
2. Hidden single. The top-middle box needs a 9, and row 3, column 5 is the only place in that box where a 9 fits.
3. Hidden single. The middle-left box needs a 7, and row 5, column 1 is the only place in that box where a 7 fits.

Stuck? The key step in each puzzle

Each puzzle below has one moment where the easy steps run out and the medium technique is needed. The digit count tells you roughly where it comes: if your grid has about that many digits filled and nothing else fits, this is the step to look for. It is written out in full, so read it only when you want the help.

Show the key steps

• Puzzle 1, with 33 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the middle-left box, the 2 can only go in column 2. Whichever cell gets it, column 2 has its 2 inside this box, so no other cell in column 2 can be a 2.
• Puzzle 2, with 31 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the top-middle box, the 3 can only go in column 5. Whichever cell gets it, column 5 has its 3 inside this box, so no other cell in column 5 can be a 3.
• Puzzle 3, with 37 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the middle-left box, the 8 can only go in row 5. Whichever cell gets it, row 5 has its 8 inside this box, so no other cell in row 5 can be an 8.
• Puzzle 4, with 37 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the top-middle box, the 5 can only go in row 1. Whichever cell gets it, row 1 has its 5 inside this box, so no other cell in row 1 can be a 5.
• Puzzle 5, with 51 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the top-left box, the 9 can only go in row 1. Whichever cell gets it, row 1 has its 9 inside this box, so no other cell in row 1 can be a 9.
• Puzzle 6, with 50 of 81 digits filled (Pointing): In the center box, the 3 can only go in column 5. Whichever cell gets it, column 5 has its 3 inside this box, so no other cell in column 5 can be a 3.

Prefer a screen? Sprout Sudoku is the same kind of puzzle to play free in your browser, with hints and saved progress.

More printable puzzles

• Large print sudoku: easy
• Large print sudoku: hard
• Large print sudoku: expert
• Large print winter word search
• All free printable puzzles