LinkedIn 6x6 Sudoku #422 Pro-Tips

Speed-Run Setup

LinkedIn 6x6 Sudoku #422 uses six 2x3 boxes, so the grid rewards aggressive scanning rather than tentative guessing. Start with the givens, then work by box → row → column. Every placement should immediately trigger another sweep.

Pro-Tips for This Grid

1. Cross-hatch the crowded digits

The opening clues are concentrated around 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Use those numbers as anchors. For each target digit, mark the rows and columns already containing it, then inspect the remaining cells inside its box.

The upper-left box is especially productive. Its visible 1 and 2 restrict the neighboring rows, while the 3 in the top band helps narrow the remaining candidates. Do not fill cells one at a time yet. Let the box boundaries do the work.

2. Exploit the middle boxes

The center of this puzzle is where the solve begins to accelerate. The given 1 in the middle-right area and 4 in the middle-left area create strong column restrictions. Cross-hatch those digits through the middle band.

This produces a useful hidden single: a digit may have several possible cells in a row, but only one legal home inside the relevant box. In this grid, those hidden singles are more valuable than obvious naked singles because they unlock entire columns at once.

3. The Crucial Square

The key breakthrough is in the bottom-middle box. Its given 4, together with the 5 and 3 clues in the lower band, leaves one position as the only place for 6.

That square is the turning point. Once 6 is placed, the lower rows lose a major candidate and begin resolving in sequence. The remaining values in the box collapse quickly, and the lower-right column becomes nearly forced.

4. Finish through the difficult row

Keep an eye on row 6. It looks loose at first, but after the Crucial Square is settled, its missing digits are sharply constrained by the bottom boxes and by the numbers already placed above.

Scan the row for hidden singles rather than asking which cell looks most restricted. The row eventually locks into the pattern 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 1. That completed row feeds clean placements upward into columns 1, 3, 4, and 5.

The Final Chain

With the lower band stabilized, column pressure finishes the puzzle. The middle-left column forces its remaining high value, the center column resolves around the existing 4 and 5, and the upper rows become completion exercises rather than searches.

The final grid is:

5 1 6 2 4 3
4 2 3 5 1 6
3 5 2 1 6 4
1 6 4 3 2 5
6 3 1 4 5 2
2 4 5 6 3 1

Veteran’s Takeaway

For #422, the winning route is not guesswork. Cross-hatch the repeated clues, hunt hidden singles inside the 2x3 boxes, then attack the bottom-middle box when the board seems to stall. The Crucial Square places the first serious wedge under the grid, and the completed lower row drives the rest home.