EXTREMEPUZZLE BOOKS

Extreme Killer Sudoku 3, puzzle 134: step-by-step solution

Step through the whole solution, or skip to the hard parts. Blue digits are placed by the walkthrough; red strike-through marks a candidate being ruled out.

Puzzle
Killer sudoku, number 134 of 150 in Extreme Killer Sudoku 3
Difficulty
Expert 2 (expert and beyond), from the final, hardest third of the book
Key technique
Coloring/Multi-coloring
Hard steps
7 of 94 steps need an advanced or expert technique

Blue digits are placed by the walkthrough. Red strike-through marks a candidate being ruled out. Cells are named by row and column: R3C5 is row 3, column 5. Arrow keys step too.

The key technique: Coloring/Multi-coloring

Following one digit’s strong links, cells get two colours: one colour is true and the other is false. A cell that sees both colours cannot hold the digit.

Other advanced and expert techniques in this solve: Advanced Innies (3+ sectors) (×2), 2-String Kite, Forcing Chains, Multi-Sector Locking.

Every move above the basics is listed on the killer sudoku techniques page, each with a one-sentence explanation and worked examples from the books.

The hard steps, in text (7)
  1. Step 13 · Multi-Sector Locking advanced
    Rules out 1 from R7C7, R7C9, R8C7, R8C9 and 1 more.
  2. Step 14 · Forcing Chains expert
    Rules out 2 from R1C3.
  3. Step 55 · Advanced Innies (3+ sectors) advanced
    Rules out 4 from R9C3; 8 from R9C3; 9 from R9C3.
  4. Step 67 · Advanced Innies (3+ sectors) advanced
    Rules out 7 from R6C2; 8 from R6C2; 9 from R6C2.
  5. Step 71 · Coloring/Multi-coloring expert
    Rules out 2 from R9C2.
  6. Step 73 · Coloring/Multi-coloring expert
    Rules out 6 from R7C5, R8C7.
  7. Step 80 · 2-String Kite advanced
    Rules out 9 from R6C5.

The book

Volume three: 150 new killers, none repeated from books 1 or 2. No starting digits, just cages and their totals, ramping from hard to brutal.

150 new puzzles. Expert and beyond. Puzzles by M. J. Bailey. Paperback, 5 × 8 in, 196 pages, £9.99 / $11.99. Every solution in the book carries a QR code to its own walkthrough, so you can check one step without seeing the whole answer.

Try a free sample puzzle (PDF) · prints on A4 or US Letter