Hard technique

Box/Line Reduction

A row or column's candidates for a number all fall inside one box.

Box/Line Reduction is the reverse of pointing. Look at a row: if a number can only go in squares that are all inside the same box, then that box's copy of the number must be in this row. So the number can be crossed out of the other squares of that box.

Use it when a row or column is nearly full. The few remaining squares often sit in just one or two boxes.

Step by step

  1. Pick a row or column and a number it still needs.
  2. Mark where that number can go in the line.
  3. If every spot is inside one box, cross the number out of the rest of that box.