GridWits
Hard tier Technique 11 of 20 Used by Smart Hint

Naked Quad

Four cells in a run whose candidates combine to exactly four digits — eliminate those digits elsewhere in the run.

How it works

  1. 1The four highlighted cells between them use only the digits 1, 2, 3 and 4 — four cells, four digits.
  2. 2So all four are consumed inside that group, whatever order they end up in.
  3. 3Strike 2 and 4 from the last cell, leaving 9. Check it: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 9 = 19.
  4. 4Quads are the last naked subset worth hunting — a five-cell version would leave too little of the run to eliminate from.
19 1 2 2 3 3 4 1 4 2 4 9
  • Cells that establish the pattern
  • Where the conclusion lands
  • Digit ruled out
Next in the ladder Hidden Triple →

Three guaranteed digits only fit in the same three cells of a run — strip those cells down to just those three.