How to Solve Difficult Puzzles

Understand the goal of your puzzle before you begin. This helps you understand what you have to achieve and can help you brainstorm ways to achieve your goal.

Examine the entire puzzle to look for clues. In a Sudoku puzzle, each sub-section of the grid will have a few numbers in place in order to give you clues to the solution. Carefully consider these clues and what they indicate in the puzzle.

Examine the individual parts of the puzzle to understand how they interact with the rest of the puzzle. Understanding the parts can help you grasp the whole.

Start solving small, easy sections of the puzzle to begin working towards solving the whole. For example, a jigsaw puzzle has corner and edge sections that will be easier to place than middle pieces. Fill these out before progressing.

Regularly examine your puzzle to see how well it is fitting together. You may have made a mistake at some point and catching it early can help you fix the problem before it makes your puzzle too incorrect to solve.

Periodically take a break from the puzzle if it gets too hard. Relaxing your mind can help avoid mental fatigue. Coming back to the puzzle later with a fresh mind may also help you finish parts of the puzzle you hadn't seen earlier.

Connect the individual sections of the puzzle with each other to start filling in the puzzle as a whole. Carefully working out smaller, easier sections will help make the harder sections easier to connect. Continue in this way until you have the solution.