The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[raiz]

so, is there a specific way to find canidates in a cell? is it possible to be wrong about canidates you have put down? if so why? thank you in advance

[enxio27]

Candidates are nothing more than the numbers that can go in that cell. You start with all nine digits in the cell, then delete those that are eliminated by the given numbers. What is left are your starting candidates. Then you begin eliminating those candidates by means of logical deduction.

[raiz]

thanks. and when should i actually start filling out the canidates? before i put the actual values in? or does it really matter?

[enxio27]

It depends on the puzzle. For a puzzle that I can *almost* (but not quite) solve without candidates, I put a few in as I go. For harder puzzles, I do all of the candidates first. Most of the time, I use a sudoku program such as Richard Broughton's Sudoku Solver to do the candidates for me, so that I don't make mistakes and mess up the puzzle before I've even started to solve it.