Free Easy Sudoku Puzzle #05 | Sudoku Puzzler - Free Printable

Let’s solve this Sudoku puzzle step by step.

We’ll go row by row, column by column, and box by box to fill in the missing numbers. Remember: each row, each column, and each 3x3 box must contain all digits from 1 to 9 — no repeats!

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Step 1: Look at Row 1

Row 1: `2 | 6 | ? | ? | 7 | ? | 4 | 8 | 3`

Missing numbers: 1, 5, 9

Now check columns for those positions:

- Column 3 (position 3): already has 7, 4, 9, 3, 5, 6 → so can’t be 5 or 9? Wait, let’s list what’s in column 3:

Column 3:
Row1: ?
Row2: ?
Row3: ?
Row4: ?
Row5: ?
Row6: 7
Row7: ?
Row8: ?
Row9: 6

Actually, better to look at the 3x3 box first.

Row 1 is in top-left box (rows 1–3, cols 1–3). That box currently has:

Row1: 2, 6, ?
Row2: 3, 1, ?
Row3: 5, 7, ?

So filled: 1,2,3,5,6,7 → missing: 4,8,9

But wait — row1 col3 is in that box. Also, row1 already has 2,6,7,4,8,3 → so missing 1,5,9 as before.

Conflict? Let’s recheck.

Actually, let’s use a smarter approach: look for cells with only one possible number.

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Look at Row 9:

Row 9: `9 | 5 | 6 | ? | 3 | ? | ? | 2 | 1`

Missing: 4,7,8

Check column 4 (for position 4):

Column 4:
Row1: ?
Row2: ?
Row3: 3
Row4: ?
Row5: ?
Row6: ?
Row7: ?
Row8: ?
Row9: ?

Not helpful yet.

Check box: Row9 is in bottom-middle box (rows 7–9, cols 4–6)

That box has:

Row7: ?, 5, 2
Row8: ?, ?, ?
Row9: ?, 3, ?

Filled: 2,3,5 → missing many.

Wait — let’s try Row 7:

Row 7: `7 | ? | ? | ? | 5 | 2 | ? | 9 | 4`

Missing: 1,3,6,8

Check column 2:

Column 2:
Row1: 6
Row2: 1
Row3: 7
Row4: ?
Row5: 8
Row6: ?
Row7: ?
Row8: ?
Row9: 5

So used: 1,5,6,7,8 → missing: 2,3,4,9

But row7 needs 1,3,6,8 — so for column2, possible: 3 (since 1,6,8 are not allowed in col2? Wait, 1 is in row2 col2, 6 in row1, 8 in row5 — so yes, 3 is possible.

But maybe too messy.

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Let’s try Box 1 (top-left) again:

Cells:

(1,1)=2, (1,2)=6, (1,3)=?
(2,1)=3, (2,2)=1, (2,3)=?
(3,1)=5, (3,2)=7, (3,3)=?

Filled: 1,2,3,5,6,7 → missing: 4,8,9

Now, row1 already has 4,8,3 → so (1,3) cannot be 4 or 8 → must be 9!

✔ So (1,3) = 9

Update Row1: `2 | 6 | 9 | ? | 7 | ? | 4 | 8 | 3`

Now missing in row1: 1,5

Now look at column4 and column6 for row1.

Column4: let’s see what’s there.

Column4:
Row1: ?
Row2: ?
Row3: 3
Row4: ?
Row5: ?
Row6: ?
Row7: ?
Row8: ?
Row9: ?

Not helpful.

But