GridWits
Medium tier Technique 6 of 20 Used by Smart Hint

Naked Triple

Three cells in a row or column whose candidates combine to exactly three values — eliminate those values elsewhere in the line.

How it works

  1. 1In the top row, the first three cells draw only from 1, 2 and 3 between them: {1,2}, {2,3}, and {1,3}.
  2. 2Three cells confined to three values must use all three values, once each. Their order is still unknown, but their territory is fixed.
  3. 3Remove 1, 2 and 3 from every other cell in the row. The fourth cell is left with 4 or 5 — the same two the last cell already had.
  4. 4Nothing here is a single in disguise: 4 and 5 each still have two homes, so no amount of asking where a number goes would have moved this row.
1 2 2 3 1 3 1 2 3 4 5 4 5
  • Candidates this technique rules out
  • Cells read together — The connecting line shows which cells combine to make the deduction.
  • Conclusion — The coloured candidate, or the final arrow when it lands outside the pattern, shows the result.
Next in the ladder Naked Quad →

Four cells in a row or column whose candidates combine to exactly four values — eliminate those values elsewhere in the line.