Killer Sudoku is the name of puzzle in combining the elements of Sudoku and kakuro. Compare to the standard Sudoku, the killer Sudoku is more easier to solve. However, the success still depends on the player's knowledge in mental calculation.

This puzzle game was a famous variant of Sudoku in Japan on the 90s. The game was first known as Samunamupure which comes from an English word "sum number place. The Killer Sudoku was launched in all English-speaking countries in the world last year 2005.

What are the rules in playing the Killer Sudoku?

The aim of this game is to complete the grid with numbers from one to nine. However, the following rules should be followed significantly:

1. Each number from 1 to 9 should not appear twice or more in a grid.

2. Each grid must have only one of each number.

3. The total of all the numbers in a grid should match in the small number printed on it.

Though the Killer Sudoku have been popping up everywhere from online to offline (newspaper, magazine, etc.), still many players are finding it difficult to solve. What they do not know is that solving the Killer Sudoku is just as easy as the original Sudoku. The only difference is that the new version provides a lot more of information.

However, when playing it is still important that you have to follow some strategies that can lead you to victory. Below are some of the strategies that are proven to have worked out.

? Look at the ins and outs

You should begin with the obvious - every row, column and grid when added up will give you a sum of 45. This will not be helpful when the boxes fit accurately into every row, column or grid. However, when they cut separately then you can assume more.

? Work for the pairs

The simplest boxes to manage with are those that hold just 2 numbers. When two or more of these numbers occupy the same column, grid, or row then it is possible to begin removing possibilities of paired numbers. The easiest numbers are 3, 4, 16, and 17. But when there are many possibilities you can always work with it.

? You can try a combination but you have to be careful

Using all the potential combinations for a specific box can only be useful in a right condition: if you have many limitations on the combinations, you will surely end up with an unnecessary big list of possibilities. So, it is suggested that you should not use a strong combination for your first tactic. Instead, there are many ways which you can use to limit potential combinations. However, it is important that you should be careful for particular combinations which can be dead hits.

The list of tips will surely help players hooked on the Killer Sudoku win the game. Actually, there are many other techniques which can be used in solving the puzzles. But, the above tips will allow you to solve for more or less every killer Sudoku that you see on the internet, newspapers or magazines. However, the tips may perhaps not be sufficient for difficult puzzles.

To gain more knowledge and practice on this puzzle, there are many sites available on the internet. Most of these sites have hard level puzzles, including puzzles harder than what you see in the newspapers.

In addition, you will also have to search for other advanced techniques which are helpful in solving extremely Killer Sudoku puzzle. You must always keep in mind that you it is a puzzle that you are going to play. There maybe times that you feel you are only moving around the circle where in fact you are not. Puzzles can be very confusing so, you also need to be patient.

At the time you have mastered the basic of Killer Sudoku, try for the difficult ones. In this way, you can practice not only your skill but also your ability to adjust into a different level.