Arrow · Extreme

XY-Wing in Arrow Sudoku

A two-candidate pivot and two wings: whichever digit the pivot takes, one wing holds the third digit.

The idea

An XY-Wing is a pivot {X, Y} and two wings it sees, {X, Z} and {Y, Z}. One wing must be Z, so a cell that sees both wings cannot be Z.

On an Arrow board this works exactly as in Classic. The examples are from Arrow puzzles on this site.

Worked examples

A position from a real Arrow puzzle on this site. Step through it: the board lights what each step talks about, and the red lines show what rules what out.

Pivot and wings

Extreme puzzle · XY-Wing

R2C4 (teal) has just two candidates: 6 and 8.

Step 1 of 4Step 2 of 4Step 3 of 4Step 4 of 4

Where it fits

ExtremeXY-Wing is an Extreme technique: Extreme Arrow puzzles are the first to need it.

The Classic XY-Wing lesson teaches it on a plain 9×9 board. The Arrow overview explains the rule and the levels.

XY-Wing in the other styles: Sudoku X, Jigsaw, Thermo, Windoku.

Try it on an Extreme Arrow puzzle. Next Step points it out when it is the move.

The worked examples, every step

Pivot and wings

Extreme Arrow puzzle · XY-Wing

  1. R2C4 (teal) has just two candidates: 6 and 8.
  2. It sees two cells (green): R1C5 with {6, 9} and R8C4 with {8, 9}. If the pivot is 6, R1C5 becomes 9; if it is 8, R8C4 does. Either way one green cell is 9.
  3. A cell that sees both green cells cannot be 9. Eliminate 9 from R3C4.
  4. Done: 9 is eliminated from R3C4.

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