LinkedIn 6x6 Sudoku #442 Pro-Tips

Speed-Run Read

LinkedIn 6x6 Sudoku #442 uses six 3-by-2 boxes, with each row, column, and box requiring the digits 1 through 6 exactly once. The opening clues look generous, but the real work begins where several blanks share the same candidates.

Pro-Tips

Start with the anchored rows

Row 1 already contains 1,2,3,4, so its two blanks are restricted to 5 and 6. Row 6 is even more valuable: 4,2,3,1 leaves only 5 and 6. Do not guess their order. Use the columns to decide it.

Cross-Hatch the upper boxes

In the top-left box, the missing digits are 4,5,6. The existing 1,2,3 already occupy the first row, which forces the lower two rows to carry the remaining values in specific columns. Repeat this scan through the top-middle and top-right boxes. On a 6x6 board, each box is small enough that a single column restriction often produces an immediate placement.

The Crucial Square

The turning point is row 5, column 3. Once the surrounding columns and the lower boxes are cross-hatched, that square cannot take 2,5,6, leaving 1 as its only candidate. Placing 1 sharply reduces row 5, then the bottom-middle box resolves around it.

Use the difficult row, not brute force

Row 5 is the difficult row because it begins almost empty and receives information from three separate boxes. After the crucial 1 lands in column 3, the row's remaining candidates collapse into a controlled sequence. The row finishes as 2,3,1,5,6,4, and those placements unlock the final column checks.

Hidden Singles finish the job

Watch for a digit that has only one legal position in a box, even when the cell itself still shows several candidates. In the lower-left box, the interaction between row 5 and row 6 creates these hidden singles. The same technique then resolves the upper-right box without any trial entries.

Final Check

The completed rows are 123456, 456123, 612345, 345612, 231564, and 564231. Every row, column, and 3-by-2 box contains 1 through 6 once. The clean route through #442 is simple: anchor the dense rows, cross-hatch the boxes, crack row 5 at the crucial square, then let hidden singles carry the finish.