Swordfish + Hidden Pair Sudoku Puzzles

Every puzzle below has Swordfish and Hidden Pair as its two hardest required moves, verified by a solver — 3,084 of the 65,284 puzzles in our library match. Rusty on either one? Drill them separately first: Swordfish practice · Hidden Pair practice.

A Swordfish is a pattern where a candidate digit, across three rows, is confined to the same three columns. The digit can then be eliminated from every other cell in those three columns. The row and column roles can be swapped. A Hidden Pair is two digits that can each only go in the same two cells of a row, column, or box. All other candidates can be removed from those two cells, leaving just the pair.

Curated Swordfish + Hidden Pair puzzles

  1. Practice puzzle #1 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  2. Practice puzzle #2 — 28 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  3. Practice puzzle #3 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  4. Practice puzzle #4 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  5. Practice puzzle #5 — 23 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  6. Practice puzzle #6 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  7. Practice puzzle #7 — 26 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  8. Practice puzzle #8 — 24 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  9. Practice puzzle #9 — 27 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  10. Practice puzzle #10 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  11. Practice puzzle #11 — 25 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
  12. Practice puzzle #12 — 23 givens · needs Naked Single, Hidden Single, Hidden Pair, Swordfish
Get a fresh Swordfish + Hidden Pair puzzle →

Swordfish + Hidden Pair FAQ

How do I practice Swordfish and Hidden Pair together?
Play puzzles where those are verifiably the two hardest required moves, so every wall you hit is one of the two patterns you are drilling. Each puzzle on this page was checked by a solver and needs exactly the techniques listed under it.
How many Sudoku puzzles combine Swordfish and Hidden Pair?
3,084 puzzles in the Precision Sudoku library have Swordfish and Hidden Pair as their two hardest required techniques (beyond singles), out of a library of 65,284 solver-verified puzzles.
Should I learn the Hidden Pair before the Swordfish?
Yes — techniques build on each other, and the Hidden Pair appears earlier in the standard learning order. If either pattern is new to you, start with its lesson and walkthrough, then come back and drill them in combination here.