Techniques · sudoku and killer sudoku
XYZ-Wing
Like an XY-Wing, but the pivot holds all three digits {X,Y,Z}. A cell that sees the pivot and both wings cannot be Z.
In the walkthroughs, every XYZ-Wing step shades the cells of the pattern and names the cell and digit it proves, so you can see the move on the grid rather than read about it. Press “Skip to next hard step” to jump straight to it.
Worked examples
Puzzles from the books where XYZ-Wing is used. Each link opens the full step-by-step solution.
Extreme Sudoku 1 (43 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 7 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 15 · Expert 6
- Puzzle 16 · Expert 6
- Puzzle 24 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 27 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 29 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 34 · Expert 6
- Puzzle 42 · Expert 7
Extreme Killer Sudoku 1 (20 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 25 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 34 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 40 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 42 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 48 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 49 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 53 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 59 · Expert 2
Extreme Sudoku 2 (46 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 4 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 5 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 6 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 8 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 9 · Expert 6
- Puzzle 14 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 15 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 18 · Expert 5
Extreme Killer Sudoku 2 (16 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 3 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 33 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 44 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 67 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 68 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 86 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 103 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 104 · Expert 2
Extreme Sudoku 3 (48 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 1 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 2 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 9 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 11 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 12 · Expert 6
- Puzzle 14 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 16 · Expert 5
- Puzzle 22 · Expert 5
Extreme Killer Sudoku 3 (21 of 150 puzzles)
- Puzzle 7 · Expert 2
- Puzzle 9 · Expert 4
- Puzzle 10 · Expert 4
- Puzzle 13 · Expert 3
- Puzzle 14 · Expert 3
- Puzzle 26 · Expert 3
- Puzzle 37 · Expert 3
- Puzzle 40 · Expert 3
Where it sits
See the whole ladder on hard sudoku techniques and hard killer sudoku techniques, or look a puzzle up by number under solutions.