Even if your son is a mathematical whiz kid, you can still beat him at Sudoku. Many people think that because it’s a game with numbers that you need math or some special inborn skill to win consistently. You don’t. Here are a couple tricks to help you beat your son at Sudoku with style.

1) use a pencil

2) Don’t do any marking up until you’ve solved all of the cells that you can, using cross-hatching

3) Then start to use cross hatching to mark up instances when there are two or three cells in a region where a specific number might go.

Your Sudoku puzzle should be a challenge, but it shouldn’t be impossible for you to solve.

Sudoku puzzles come in different levels of difficulty. If you ‘re a beginner, don’t start with the super-fiendish level. Try the super-easy levels first, or maybe even a 4 x 4 mini-sudoku.

Once that level is easy for you, then move on to the next most difficult level.

The more difficult Sudoku puzzles can’t be solved just by using the scanning techniques of crosshatching and counting. In these more complicated puzzles, scanning will still leave you with cells where you don’t know which of two or more numbers to choose.

The most simple scanning technique is counting - select a row, column or region, and count the numbers in the cells in from 1 to 9, to identify the missing numbers.

Of course, this is most helpful when there is only one number missing from the row, column or region that you’re counting - then you know that number belongs in the missing blank cell.

Scanning techniques involve running your eyes over a row, column or region.

Cross-hatching is the scanning of rows and columns to identify which cell or cells in a region might contain a specific number.

Check out the mini Sudoku on the right.

Each row, column, and region of four cells must contain the numbers 1 to 4.

Sudoku puzzles come in different formats:

• digital Sudoku, whether on handheld devices, or online
• Sudoku printed or written on paper
• Sudoku games made out of plastic, wood, or similar

If you’re working on paper, be sure to use a pencil, not a pen, and have an eraser handy. You’re bound to make the occasional mistake, which you’ll want to erase.