How to Play Suguru
Everything you need to know, from the basic rules to advanced techniques.
Rules
A suguru grid is divided into irregularly shaped groups called cages. Each cage consists of N cells. You fill those N cells with the digits 1 through N, using each digit exactly once.
The second rule is adjacency: no two cells that touch each other — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally — may contain the same digit. This means every cell has up to 8 neighbors it must differ from.
That's it. Two rules. No rows, columns, or boxes. The constraint comes entirely from cage membership and adjacency.
Solving techniques
1. Determined cages
A single-cell cage always contains 1. A two-cell cage always contains 1 and 2. These are free placements. Fill single-cell cages immediately, then check whether adjacency forces the digit order in two-cell cages.
2. Adjacency elimination
For each empty cell, look at its 8 surrounding cells. Any digit already placed among those neighbors is eliminated from the candidate list. Cells at cage boundaries interact with digits from multiple cages, which often narrows candidates significantly.
3. Cage elimination
Digits already placed in a cage cannot repeat. If a 4-cell cage has cells with 2 and 4 already placed, the remaining two cells choose from {1, 3}. Combine this with adjacency elimination to narrow candidates further.
4. Naked singles
When a cell has exactly one candidate left after cage and adjacency elimination, that candidate is forced. Place it. This often triggers cascading eliminations in neighboring cells.
5. Hidden singles
When a digit can go in only one cell within a cage, it must go there — even if that cell has other candidates too. Scan each cage for digits that have a unique placement. This is often the technique that breaks open a stalled puzzle.
6. Cross-cage deduction
Cages that share boundary cells create overlapping constraint zones. Placing a digit in cage A eliminates it from adjacent cells in cage B, which might force a placement in B, which eliminates candidates in cage C. On larger grids, these chain reactions span the entire board.
7. Cage completion
When N-1 cells in an N-cell cage are filled, the last cell's digit is determined: it's the one number from 1..N not yet used. This is a special case of cage elimination but worth calling out because it's the fastest technique to spot.
Tips
- Fill determined cages first: single-cell cages (always 1) and completed cages.
- Work from the most constrained cells outward. Cells with many filled neighbors have fewer candidates.
- Use notes mode for medium and harder. Tracking candidates mentally on 10×10+ grids is error-prone.
- After every placement, re-check the cell's 8 neighbors for new naked singles.
- When stuck, look for hidden singles. They're the most commonly missed technique.
Common mistakes
Forgetting diagonals. New players often check horizontal and vertical neighbours but miss diagonal ones. Every cell has up to 8 neighbours, not 4. If you place a 3 in a cell, all eight surrounding cells are blocked from containing 3.
Assuming row or column rules. Suguru has no row or column constraints. The same digit can appear multiple times in the same row, as long as those cells are not adjacent. Players coming from Sudoku often eliminate candidates that are actually valid.
Ignoring small cages. It is tempting to start with the largest cage, but small cages have fewer unknowns. A single-cell cage is always 1, a two-cell cage is always {1, 2}. Fill these first. Their adjacency effects propagate quickly and narrow candidates in neighbouring cages.
Skipping candidate notation. On 10×10 and larger grids, tracking candidates mentally is unreliable. Use notes. Our auto-candidates feature computes valid digits for each cell automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of suguru?
Fill each cage of N cells with the digits 1 to N, one per cell. No two cells that share an edge or corner may hold the same digit. That is the entire ruleset.
How do you solve a suguru puzzle?
Start with single-cell cages (always 1) and two-cell cages (1 and 2). Use adjacency elimination to reduce candidates. Look for naked singles and hidden singles. On harder puzzles, chain deductions across cage boundaries.
Is suguru the same as tectonic?
Yes. Suguru, tectonic, number blocks, and cell blocks are all names for the same puzzle. The name varies by country and publisher.
Do you have to guess in suguru?
No. Well-made suguru puzzles have a unique solution reachable through logic alone. Our Einstein-level puzzles are certified solvable without any guessing.
What puzzles are similar to suguru?
KenKen uses arithmetic cages on a Latin square. Killer Sudoku combines Sudoku rules with cage sums. Futoshiki has inequality constraints between cells. All four are cage-based number placement puzzles.