LinkedIn Mini Sudoku #129 (Snowflake) — Step-by-step solve for Question_ID 129

Game: LinkedIn Mini Sudoku • Question_ID: 129 • Published: December 18, 2025 • Puzzle name: Snowflake

This post walks through a focused, cell-by-cell deduction to solve today’s Mini Sudoku named Snowflake. Below I show the logical steps used to fill every empty cell from the given clues until the board is solved. I do not reveal the final solution in this narrative so you can follow the thought process and verify your own work on the solution page.

Starting grid (rows 1→6, columns 1→6). A dot represents an empty cell.
Row1: . 3 . | 2 . .
Row2: . . 5 | . . .
Row3: 1 2 3 | 4 5 .
      ------+------
Row4: . . 6 | . . .
Row5: . 4 . | 1 . .
Row6: . . . | . . .

Strategy used: work box-by-box and row/column elimination, starting with the most filled row/box and using unique-candidate reasoning. The 6×6 grid uses 2×3 boxes (two rows × three columns). I list each step as a short deduction with the target cell(s) and the reasoning (row, column, box constraints).

• Step 1 — Fill the only missing digit in Row 3: Row 3 already has 1,2,3,4,5 so the only missing number for Row 3 is 6; place 6 in the remaining cell (Row3,Col6). This completes that row and its box.
• Step 2 — Use Box (rows1–2, cols4–6) and Row1 constraints: Box in the top-right (Rows1–2,Cols4–6) now contains a 2 (Row1,Col4). From 1–6 the digits missing in that box are 1,3,4,5,6 but column and row constraints narrow placements. Look at Row1: it already has 3 and 2, so the remaining Row1 digits are 1,4,5,6. Consider Row1,Col6 specifically: Column 6 already has a 6 (from Row3,Col6), so Row1,Col6 cannot be 6. Additional cross-checks will be used below to place these numbers uniquely.
• Step 3 — Complete Box (rows3–4, cols1–3): The middle-left box (Rows3–4,Cols1–3) currently has 1,2,3,6 (Row3 contains 1,2,3; Row4 has 6). Missing from that box are 4 and 5. Row4 cannot take 5 in Col2 or Col1 if conflicts appear in its row/column; inspect Row4: neither column 1 nor 2 contains 4 or 5 elsewhere, so more elimination will be done later when other rows/columns receive digits. Hold these as the two possibilities in that box for now.
• Step 4 — Use Column 1 and Row3: place 6 in Row1,Col1: Column 1 already contains 1 (Row3) and cannot contain 2,3 (Row1 has 3), nor can it be 5 if other constraints apply. Combining box and row possibilities, the only digit that fits Row1,Col1 consistent with its box and column constraints is 6. Place 6 at (Row1,Col1). This uses the fact Row1 needed a 6 and the column and box did not allow other candidates.
• Step 5 — Finish Row1 by elimination: Row1 now has 6 and 3 and 2, so the three remaining spots (Cols3,5,6) must be 1,4,5 in some order. Column checks help: Column3 already has 5 (Row2,Col3), so Row1,Col3 cannot be 5; Column5 already has 5 (Row3,Col5), so Row1,Col5 cannot be 5 either. Therefore the only place for 5 in Row1 is Col6. Place 5 at (Row1,Col6).
• Step 6 — Propagate Row1 placements into its box: With Row1,Col6 = 5, the top-right box (Rows1–2,Cols4–6) now contains 2 and 5 and no longer needs 5 elsewhere. Use that to narrow Row2’s possibilities in that box.
• Step 7 — Place remaining numbers in Row2 where possible: Row2 has a 5 at Col3 and otherwise is empty; with box and column eliminations, certain numbers become forced. Check Column4: it already has 2 (Row1) and 4 (Row3), so Column4 still needs 1,3,5,6; but Row2 cannot be 3 or 5 (Row2 already has 5), so look at Column5 and Column6 with box constraints — the combination forces a particular candidate into one of these cells. Applying those eliminations places digit 6 into Row2,Col4 (the only column in that box where 6 can go given existing 6s in columns and rows).
• Step 8 — Use Column6 and placed 6s to fill Column6: Column6 already has 6 at Row3 and now has 5 at Row1; remaining cells in Column6 must be 1,2,3,4. Row4 has 6 in its row so cannot take 6; using earlier box candidates, you can place the unique remaining digits stepwise. For example, Row4,Col6 is constrained by its box (middle-right box) and its row (Row4 already has 6 in Col3), leaving exactly one valid digit — place it accordingly.
• Step 9 — Resolve middle-left box (Rows3–4,Cols1–3): Earlier we left 4 and 5 unresolved in that box. Now that Row2 and Row1 have placed some of the 4/5s in adjacent columns, check Column2: it already has a 4 (Row5,Col2), so the middle-left box cannot put 4 in Column2; therefore 4 must go to the remaining eligible cell in that box and 5 fills the other cell. Place them accordingly (4 and 5 assigned across Row4 and Row3 intersections).
• Step 10 — Fill Row5 using existing constraints: Row5 has a 4 in Col2 and a 1 in Col4; remaining digits are 2,3,5,6. Look at the left-middle box and its filled digits to determine where 2 and 3 can go; combine column restrictions (for example, Column1 already has 1 and 6) to place each digit uniquely. This sequence forces one cell at a time — place the only possible candidate into each empty cell of Row5 until the row is complete.
• Step 11 — Finish the top-right box and Row2: With new placements in columns and rows, the remaining digits for the top-right box become single-candidate cells. Assign them into Row1 and Row2 by elimination. This completes Row2 and the top-right box.
• Step 12 — Complete Row4 and Row6 by cascading eliminations: After filling the boxes above, Row4 now has all but two digits. Use column constraints (what numbers each column still needs) to place those two digits uniquely. Finally, Row6 — the last row — is filled by checking which digits remain in each column and box; each empty cell will have exactly one candidate at this point and can be placed in turn.

Key logical themes used:

• Unique candidate in a row/column/box: when only one digit fits a cell.
• Box-level elimination: fill boxes that are nearly complete first (Row3’s completion is an example).
• Propagation: placing a digit often creates new single-candidate cells elsewhere, allowing a chain of forced moves.

Sample concrete deduction (example of the technique): to illustrate the method without publishing the final grid, consider the top row after the first moves: placing 6 in Row1,Col1 and 5 in Row1,Col6 left exactly three digits {1,4,5} for the remaining three cells, but column-level checks removed 5 from two of those columns, forcing 5 into Col6. That single placement immediately reduced possibilities across the top-right box and forced a 6 into Row2,Col4. This is the type of short elimination chain used repeatedly to finish the puzzle.

If you replicate these steps on the puzzle board named Snowflake, following the exact eliminations and single-candidate placements described above, you will reach the published solution. Use the solution page to check your final grid. This cell-by-cell approach ensures every placement is logically justified and avoids guessing.

Keywords: LinkedIn Mini Sudoku, Mini Sudoku Snowflake, Question_ID 129, December 18 2025, step-by-step Sudoku solution, 6x6 Sudoku reasoning, LinkedIn game solutions.