Kropki · Hard

Naked Pair in Kropki Sudoku

Two cells in a house that hold the same two candidates. Those two digits are theirs.

The idea

When two cells in a house hold only the same two candidates, no other cell in the house can use those two digits.

On a Kropki board this works exactly as in Classic. The examples are from Kropki puzzles on this site. The dots often make the pair, by cutting two neighbours down to the same two digits.

Worked examples

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

A pair in a box

Hard puzzle · Naked Pair

In box 5, look for two cells that hold the same two candidates between them.

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

Where it fits

HardNaked Pair is a Hard technique: Hard Kropki puzzles are the first to need it.

The Classic Naked Pair lesson teaches it on a plain 9×9 board. The Kropki overview explains the rule and the levels.

Naked Pair in the other styles: Sudoku X, Jigsaw, Thermo, Windoku, Arrow.

Try it on a Hard Kropki puzzle. Next Step points it out when it is the move.

The worked examples, every step

A pair in a box

Hard Kropki puzzle · Naked Pair

  1. In box 5, look for two cells that hold the same two candidates between them.
  2. R6C4, R6C5 hold only {2, 4}. Those two digits must fill those two cells, so no other cell in row 6 and box 5 can use them. The arrows point to the cells that lose them.
  3. Eliminate {2, 4} from R4C5, R6C7, R6C8, R6C9.
  4. Done: 4 is eliminated from R4C5, R6C7, R6C8, R6C9.

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