The case notes
Find the digits in a small Killer cage
A three-cell Killer cage totalling 6 must contain 1, 2 and 3. Learn how column clues turn that combination into a placed digit.
Start with distinct digits
The smallest three different Sudoku digits are 1, 2 and 3, and they add to 6. A three-cell cage with that total therefore has exactly this set.
Use the rest of the grid
Knowing the set is different from knowing its order. In the example, 1 and 2 already appear elsewhere in the first column. The cage cell in that column cannot contain either, leaving 3.
Read the transcript
Some cage totals give you the digits before you know their order. This three-cell cage sums to six. The smallest three different Sudoku digits are one, two and three. They already add to six, so there is no room for anything larger. Now look down the first column. There is already a one and a two. The cage cell at the top cannot take either of them. That leaves three. We found the cage’s set from its sum, then used an ordinary column rule to choose the position.
Keep following the clues
- Killer Sudoku rules: cage sums and no repeated digits →
- Killer Sudoku rule of 45: find a missing digit in a row →
- Killer Sudoku: Find an outie from a Killer box →
- Killer Sudoku: add cage sums to find a shared digit set →
- Killer Sudoku: Use a box to constrain a crossing Killer cage →
- Killer Sudoku: Compare two Killer cages through their shared row →
- Killer Sudoku: Let a Killer cage rule out digits nearby →
- Killer Sudoku: Use a sum you worked out as an invisible cage →
- Killer Sudoku: Use a modular line to choose a Killer cage pair →
- Killer Sudoku: Find two missing cells with the rule of 45 →
- Arrow Sudoku: Subtract an overlapping cage from an arrow →
- Arrow Sudoku: Use the rule of 45 to find an arrow circle →
