How to Solve Mini Sudoku (6×6): Rules and Techniques

Mini Sudoku keeps everything people love about Sudoku — pure logic, no maths — in a 6×6 grid you can finish over a cup of coffee. The digits 1 to 6 go into rows, columns and 2×3 boxes without repeating.

The rules

• Fill every empty cell with a digit from 1 to 6.
• Each row contains every digit once.
• Each column contains every digit once.
• Each 2×3 box (outlined in bold) contains every digit once.

Select a cell, then tap a number below the grid (or type it on a keyboard). Turn on Notes to pencil in candidates. Clashing digits turn red.

Technique 1: Only one digit fits

For an empty cell, look along its row, its column and its box, and list the digits already used. If five of the six digits are taken, the remaining one must go there. This is called a naked single.

Technique 2: Only one place for a digit

Flip the question: pick a digit and a box, and ask where in that box the digit can go. Rows and columns that already contain the digit block their cells. If only one cell is left, that is a hidden single.

Technique 3: Pairs and pointing

On harder days, use notes. If two cells in a row can only be the same two digits, those digits are “owned” by that pair and can be removed from every other cell of the row. And if a digit inside a box can only sit in one row, it cannot appear elsewhere in that row outside the box.

Technique 4: A quick test

When a cell has exactly two candidates, try one in your head. If it leads straight to a repeated digit, the other candidate is correct. PuzzPik Mini Sudoku never needs more than this.

Tips

• Start with the digits that appear most often on the starting board.
• Use arrow keys and number keys for speed on a computer.
• The same-digit highlight shows every copy of the selected number.

FAQ