Are you interested in playing Sudoku Conquest but need answers for a few things? Don’t worry, as you’re not alone! Many people have seen Sudoku puzzles and have probably wanted to try the game out for themselves, but have been held back by things that they are uncertain about, like the actual difficulty of the game and what one needs to be able to play it.

To help you start on your Sudoku puzzle-solving journey, here are seven Sudoku FAQs you should know!

1. Do I Need to Be Good in Math to Play Sudoku?

The answer is a big no. While you need to be able to count to play Sudoku, you don’t need to be a genius in math to be able to solve and have fun with Sudoku. It is a logic-based game that just needs you to not have even one digit to repeat on a single row or column, and there are no complex formulae to learn to start playing.

With enough experience and learning a few Sudoku tips, even young children can become expert Sudoku players by learning to eliminate certain numbers using their own brand of tactics.

2. Can Sudoku Puzzles Have Different Grid Sizes?

The classic Sudoku puzzle has a standard 9x9 grid, with nine 3x3 boxes inside and 81 cells. But there indeed are other standard sizes for other difficulties, such as 4x4, 16x16 and 25x25. From medium Sudoku puzzles to downright complex ones, there is always a grid size that fits your needs.

There are also iterations of Sudoku, such as Killer Sudoku and Samurai Sudoku (also known as Gattai-5). These versions of Sudoku have altered shapes, differing row and column structures, and sometimes involve the use of shapes and colors, not just digits.

3. Can Sudoku Puzzles Have More Than One Solution?

Ideally, there should be only one answer to a Sudoku puzzle. But some other player-created ones can have logic systems that have multiple solutions. A Sudoku with only one answer is called a “proper” or “well-formed” Sudoku puzzle, and most of these single-answer puzzles fill the vast number of medium to expert difficulty grids.

Some player-created easy Sudoku puzzles have more givens in a row or column, but most often, they still have only one solution.

4. Will I Run Out of Free Sudoku Puzzles to Play?

In truth, 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960 possible Sudoku puzzles should result in unique answers, so there is a finite (albeit, extremely high) number of Sudoku puzzles. However, realistically speaking, one person will not run out of unique Sudoku puzzles to play and fill out in a lifetime.

5. Is There One Perfect Approach to Solving All Sudoku Puzzles?

No. Unlike other games where you can employ a single technique and it would work well in any situation (like certain wall splat combos in fighting games or the infinite stacking technique in Tetris), Sudoku can’t be solved with just one effective approach.

For example, a cell elimination technique may work well in one puzzle, but not be as effective in another. This is what makes Sudoku infinitely challenging and replayable as there is no set way of solving a puzzle.

Taking notes and pencil-marking candidates is a common and effective practice, but it also does not mean assured success as the candidate digits are still up to the discretion of the player. However, learning proper candidates and making tactics on how to use them is one way to have an easy Sudoku experience.

6. Can Sudoku Be Solved Using Trial and Error Alone?

The answer is yes. While it will take significantly longer and be more frustrating to do as you'll have to do it cell by cell, simple trial and error can still solve a Sudoku puzzle with enough time and effort. Also called nishio, the trial and error method is the most basic approach to finishing a Sudoku puzzle by manually comparing cells and their contents with one another. However, since it’s very time-consuming, most experienced Sudoku players opt to use different techniques to solve their puzzles.

7. Are There Sudoku Competitions and Championships?

Definitely yes! There are many organizations around the world hosting Sudoku competitions and advancing competitive Sudoku solving. One of the most well-known Sudoku organizations is the World Puzzle Federation (WPF), which hosts the World Sudoku Championship (WSC) annually.

The latest champion of the 2022 WSC is Tiit Vunk, while the best-known players under the WPF are Kota Morinishi, a four-time champion, and Thomas Snyder, a three-time champion. There are many rules to these competitions, and the winners are decided through a point-based system.