There will be prefilled cells on every game board that already have numbers in them. These numbers are called “clues. ”[2] X Research source The game board will probably have prefilled numbers or “clues” that are over 9, but the player cannot use anything over 9.
For example, 1 horizontal column might have a total 6 boxes. 3 of the boxes could be blank and 3 could be shaded. You can enter numbers in the blank boxes only. The shaded boxes break the column into separate chunks. Some shaded boxes have diagonal lines across the middle to create 2 triangles. A clue will appear in the top right triangle (above the diagonal line) or in the bottom left triangle (below the diagonal line). Horizontal clues always appear in the top right triangle. Vertical clues always appear in the bottom left triangle. Some bisected boxes will have a clue in the top and bottom boxes. This means the box is part of a horizontal and a vertical run simultaneously.
For example, say the provided clue is 6 and you have 3 empty boxes on that horizontal cluster. You could use the following combinations since they all add up to 6: 1-2-3, 1-3-2, 2-3-1, 2-1-3, 3-1-2, or 3-2-1.
For example, say you have a horizontal row with 3 blank boxes and the clue is 22. The first blank box is also part of a vertical row of 2 blank boxes with a clue of 6. The first box in the horizontal row must also match up with that vertical row to equal a sum of 6. A solution for the horizontal row could be 5 + 8 + 9. Since the vertical row has 2 boxes and the clue is 6, 1 would be the answer to complete the vertical row since 5 + 1 = 6.
For example, if the “clue” is 6 and you need to input 2 numbers, you can’t use 3 + 3 since that would be repeating the number 3 in the same run. You can repeat the same number in the same row or column as long as there is at least 1 “clue” or shaded box between them.
You would enter “9” in the blank box and move on to the next box to solve. Another example: Suppose a horizontal sum of 23 with 3 blank boxes intersects a vertical sum of 28 with 7 blank boxes. The horizontal row can only be 6 + 8 + 9. The vertical row can only be 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7. The only digit in common is a 6, so that must be in the intersection.
The sum 3 (across two cells) will always be 1 + 2 The sum 4 (across two cells) will always be 1 + 3 The sum 17 (across two cells) will always be 8 + 9 The sum 6 (across three cells) will always be 1 + 2 + 3 The sum 24 (across three cells) will always be 7 + 8 + 9
When you’re down to 1 digit left as a possible solution, you’ll know that’s the number you need to “officially” enter in the blank box.
For example, if a horizontal clue of 27 with 4 boxes crosses a vertical clue of 16 (with all of the boxes filled) and the intersecting box contains a 3. You can erase any penciled-in combinations for the horizontal box that don’t include a 3 since that digit is already in place.
Go ahead and fill those numbers in as you figure them out.
These puzzles will only have 1 correct way to solve them. There won’t be any variation in the number combinations. Basically, there’s only 1 correct and unique solution to every game. [13] X Research source
