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Easy Suguru Tutorial

Suguru, a puzzle created by Naoki Inaba, involves filling a 6x6 grid with unique digits in containers, where adjacent cells cannot share the same number. The book provides a tutorial on solving these puzzles, emphasizing strategies such as identifying small containers and using elimination techniques. The puzzles are arranged by difficulty, with each having a unique solution, encouraging players to develop their skills progressively.

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5 views

Easy Suguru Tutorial

Suguru, a puzzle created by Naoki Inaba, involves filling a 6x6 grid with unique digits in containers, where adjacent cells cannot share the same number. The book provides a tutorial on solving these puzzles, emphasizing strategies such as identifying small containers and using elimination techniques. The puzzles are arranged by difficulty, with each having a unique solution, encouraging players to develop their skills progressively.

Uploaded by

pd.pop.dan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ABOUT THESE PUZZLES

Suguru, also known as Tectonics, Number Blocks, or


(Nanba Burokku), were first created in Japan by prolific
puzzle designer Naoki Inaba. While the rules of Suguru are
extremely simple, the spectrum of puzzle difficulties is extremely
wide – from super easy to crazy-insane-impossible, which makes
for an unusually deep puzzle.

In this book, all the Suguru are subdivided into a grid of 6 by 6


cells (a cell is an individual square which holds a single digit). The
cells are grouped into containers, with thicker borders, each of
which is one to five cells in size (most are five). You need to fill
each container with unique digits, counting up from 1. So, for
example, a two-cell container always contains the numbers 1 and
2. A five-cell container contains each of the numbers 1 through 5.
Adjacent (touching) cells may never contain the same number, and
this includes diagonally adjacent cells. That’s it for the rules!

Like all my puzzles, every puzzle in this book has only one unique
solution. I've arranged the puzzles in this book roughly in order of
difficulty so that the first page contains the easiest puzzles, and
the last page the hardest. If you've never tried these puzzles
before, you should definitely try them in order.
SUGURU TUTORIAL

In this tutorial, we’ll start solving the puzzle on the previous page,
and learn the basic rules-of-thumb you can use to solve these
puzzles. First, some nomenclature.

When I say cell I mean an individual square in the puzzle. In the


diagrams below, I’ve labeled the rows and columns, so that I can
use “battleship notation” to refer to individual cells. For example,
A1 refers to the cell on the upper left, and F6 refers to the cell on
the lower right.

When I say container, I mean a group of cells that are enclosed in a


thick line. The puzzles below have a four-cell container that
includes the cells A1, B1, C1, and A2.

When I say enclosed cells I am referring to cells that occupy the same
container, such as A1, B1, C1, and A2.

When I say E3=1, I mean you should write a 1 into the cell E3.

Okay, enough nomenclature, let’s solve the puzzle!

One of the first things I do when


starting Suguru is to look for the
smallest containers to exploit. We can
see a short one (E2, E3) which must
contain only the digits 1 and 2. One of
those cells, E3, is diagonally adjacent to
the 2 in D4, so it can’t be 2, so E3=1,
and E2=2.
There's another short container on the
upper left (containing the cells A1, B1,
C1, and A2). Since it contains four cells,
it must contain the digits 1 to 4, and
cannot contain a 5. All four of its cells
are adjacent to the cell B2, which means
that B2 cannot contain any of the digits
1 to 4 that will be used in that four-cell
container. Therefore, B2=5.

On the upper right, there are four


enclosed cells (D1, E1, F1, and D2)
which are adjacent to the 2 in E2. None
of these four enclosed cells, therefore,
may contain a 2. But, a 2 must go in
that container! C2 is the only place to
put it, so C2=2. This is a common
pattern, and you’ll find it useful to look
for containers in which all but one cell
are adjacent to the same digit.

Now there are a few cells which have


four unique solved numbers adjacent to
them, leaving only one possibility. For
example, D5, not yet solved, is adjacent
to the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 5. D5 can't
be any of those digits, so it must be the
one that's missing: D5=4.

Can you find any other cells like this?


If you look closely, you'll see that D3=5,
because of its neighbors. Once you’ve
filled that in, you’ll find that D2=3,
using the same kind of logic.

In both cases there are 4 neighbors


which eliminate all but one number as
possibilities.

Now, since C4 is the only unsolved cell


in its container, C4=1. Easy!

Going back to the container on the


upper left (A1, B1, C1, and A2) with
only four cells, two of those cells, B1
and C1 are adjacent to a 2, which means
there is only one space left to put a 2:
A2=2.

B1 and C1, the remaining unsolved cells


in a four cell container, must contain
the numbers 1 and 3. Since C1 is
adjacent to a 3, it must be 1. C1=1 and
B1=3.
Once you‘ve filled those in you’ll find
that D1 has four unique adjacent digits
(1, 2, 3, and 5), so we can put in the
missing D1=4, and then fill in the last
remaining cell in that cage with F1=1.

We can now complete the plus-shaped


container which contains B2, A3, B3,
C3, and B4. Its center cell, B3, is
adjacent to all the numbers but 3, so
B3=3.

Then you’ll see that the container's


bottom cell, B4 (which must be 2 or 1)
is adjacent to a 1, so B4=2, and A3=1.

Now we’ve put the 2 in B4 adjacent to


four enclosed cells (A4, A5, B5, and
C5), so we can add a 2 to A6, the only
cell in its container where a 2 is now
possible. A6=2.

Similarly, the bottom right three


squares (D6, E6 and F6) are all adjacent
to the 5 in E5, so the remaining cell in
that container is the only place where
you can put a 5. B6=5.
We can place the 4 in the same
container using similar logic, F6=4.

If you continue using these techniques, you can complete the puzzle without too
much trouble.

Give it a try! The answer is shown on the next page.


To recap:

1. Find small containers - they have fewer digit possibilities and


can often be solved early.

2. Look for cells that are surrounded by all but one number.
Either the numbers are explicitly filled out, or they are implicit
(because they belong to the same container).

3. Look for containers in which all but one remaining cell are
adjacent to the same number (the nonadjacent cell must be that
number).

4. And of course, don’t forget to look for cages in which all but one
value are already filled.

These strategies will help you solve many of the puzzles in this book, but we’ve
barely dipped into the tactics you can use to solve these puzzles.

When you get stuck on a more difficult puzzle, you’ll probably find it useful to
mark each unsolved cell with the possible numbers that it might contain.
These markings can help you make further progress, and as you erase these
numbers, you can solve cells using the process of elimination.

Over time, you’ll develop more skills, as you encounter new challenges.
Discovering how to effectively solve these puzzles is half the fun!

Happy Solving!
LOOK FOR THESE
insanely addictive puzzle books
by Krazydad!
EASY SUGURU VOLUME 1
EASY SUGURU VOLUME 2
EASY SUGURU VOLUME 3

CHALLENGING SUGURU VOLUME 1


CHALLENGING SUGURU VOLUME 2
CHALLENGING SUGURU VOLUME 3

AND COMING SOON...

KAKURO
BATTLESHIPS
KILLER SUDOKU
FUTOSHIKI

AND MORE!
Available at Amazon and other fine retailers.
View the complete catalog at
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TINY LOBSTER LOS ANGELES

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