Block ¶
Each of the 9 groups of 3x3 cells. The block 2 is highlighted in the following example:
Sudoku Glossary
Whether you are new to Sudoku or already solving expert-level puzzles, you will quickly encounter a rich vocabulary: candidate, house, Hidden Single, X-Wing, Swordfish, and many more. This glossary explains the most common Sudoku terms in plain English, with illustrations whenever possible.
B
C
Candidate ¶
A candidate is a digit that can still legally be placed in a cell because it is not already present in the same row, column or block. For example, in the following grid the candidates in cell g7 are 1,2,3 and 5.
When solving a printed puzzle by hand, candidates can be indicated as pencil marks on the grid.
Cell ¶
Each of the 81 places on the 9x9 sudoku grid where one has to place a digit.
Clues ¶
The clues (also called givens) are the digits initially present on the grid. The minimal number of clues is 17 because no puzzle with 16 clues or less has a unique solution.
Column ¶
Each of the 9 vertical lines made of 9 cells.
G
Givens ¶
Synonym of clues
H
House ¶
House is a generic term used to refer to either a column, a row, or a block. There are 27 houses on a sudoku grid: 9 rows, 9 columns, 9 blocks. Each cell of the grid belongs to 3 houses.
P
Pencil marks ¶
Pencil marks refers to the candidates written as small digits within one or more cells. This term comes from the fact that it is often necessary to write down the candidates with a pencil to solve a printed grid.
R
Rating ¶
The rating of a puzzle is a value giving an estimate of its difficulty. The rating is only an estimate: because everyone is different, one may sometimes find simpler a puzzle with a higher rating.
The rating system used on this website is described here.
Row ¶
Each of the 9 horizontal lines made of 9 cells.