Sudoku solving technique · Intermediate
Pointing Pair
If a digit in a box sits on one line only, it leaves that line outside the box.
What is a Pointing Pair?
When a candidate within a block only appears in a single row or column, it must be placed somewhere in that line inside the block. You can eliminate that candidate from the rest of that row or column outside the block.
How to spot a Pointing Pair
Look into a box and ask for each digit whether all its candidates sit in the same row or column. If they do, the box points along that line: the digit is somewhere on that line inside the box, so you can remove it from the cells of the same line outside the box.
- Difficulty
- In Sudoku Pro, this technique belongs to the Intermediate level.
- Learning path
- Technique 5 of 20 on the learning path
An example from the app
| Pattern (purple). Candidates 3, 4 | Pattern (purple). Candidates 3, 4 | Affected cell (orange). Candidates 2. Eliminated 3 | Given 1 |
| Given 1 | Given 2 | Empty | Given 4 |
| Given 2 | Given 1 | Given 4 | Empty |
| Empty | Empty | Given 1 | Empty |
Small digits are candidates. Crossed-out digits can be removed in this step.
- Pattern (purple)
- Affected cell (orange)