Solvarium

Puzzle guide

How to solve Suguru

Suguru is a number puzzle made of small regions. Each region holds the numbers from 1 up to its own size, and no two touching cells may share a number, not even across a corner. That diagonal rule is what makes Suguru fun, and this guide shows you how to use it.

Play Tessera nowAll about Suguru

The rules

  1. Fill every cell with a number from 1 up to its own region’s size: a region of 3 cells holds 1, 2 and 3; a region of 5 holds 1 to 5.
  2. No repeats in a region: every number in a region appears exactly once.
  3. No touching repeats: two cells that touch, even diagonally, never share a number. This also counts across the border between two regions.

A solved puzzle

1212343451212343
A solved puzzle. The regions have 5, 4, 4 and 3 cells, each holds its numbers once, and no number touches itself, not even at a corner.

Your first moves

  1. Fill regions of one cell: they always hold a 1.
  2. Look for regions with only one empty cell left: it takes the missing number.
  3. Around every number, strike that number from all eight neighbours.
  4. In each region, ask where its biggest number can still go. Often there is only one place.

Techniques, step by step

The last number in a region

This region has three cells, so it holds 1, 2 and 3. The 1 and the 2 are already there, so the last cell is a 3. A region of one cell is the simplest case of all: it is always a 1.

123
1 and 2 are there, so the last cell is 3.

Touching cells never match

The two-cell region on the right holds a 1 and a 2. Its left cell touches the given 1, so it cannot be a 1 itself. It must be the 2, and the other cell is the 1. Remember that touching includes corners: a number rules itself out of all eight cells around it.

121
Next to the 1, the region's left cell has to be 2.

Only one place for a number

The top region has four cells and needs a 4 somewhere. The 4 in the row below touches the first three cells of that region, side by side or at a corner. So none of them can be a 4, and the 4 goes in the last cell. Asking where a number can go is often quicker than asking what a cell can hold.

44
The 4 below touches three cells, so the top 4 takes the fourth.

Wherever it lands, it touches here

This is Suguru's own move. The small region in the middle has two cells, so it holds a 1 and a 2. Both of its cells touch the two framed cells on the left. So wherever the 1 and the 2 end up, they will touch those framed cells, and the framed cells can be neither 1 nor 2. This works across region borders, which is what makes it so strong.

34123412
The 1 and 2 of the middle region touch both framed cells, so those are 3 or 4.

Pairs in a region

If two cells of a region can only hold the same two numbers, say 2 and 3, then those numbers are used up in that region. Strike them from every other cell of the region. Three cells sharing three numbers work the same way. The hard boards need this once the other moves run out.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting the corners. Diagonal neighbours count as touching. A 3 at a corner of another 3 is a mistake.
  • Treating every region the same. Each region uses only the numbers up to its own size. A region of 3 never holds a 4.
  • Thinking it is Sudoku. There are no rows or columns to fill with every number. Only regions and touching cells matter.
  • Old notes. After placing a number, remove it from the notes of its region and of all eight neighbours.

Questions and answers

What is Suguru?

A logic puzzle where you fill a grid divided into regions. A region of n cells holds the numbers 1 to n, and no two touching cells, not even diagonal ones, may hold the same number. It is also known as Tectonic.

Do touching cells in different regions count?

Yes. The touching rule works across region borders too. That is what links the regions together.

Which numbers can I use?

In each region, the numbers from 1 up to the number of cells in that region. Big and small regions sit on the same board.

Where should I start?

With one-cell regions and regions that are almost full. Then strike each placed number from its eight neighbours and look for numbers with only one place left in a region.

How big are the boards?

From 6×8 on Easy to 9×12 on Expert, with fewer given numbers on the harder boards.

Ready to play?

Finish nearly full regions, keep touching cells apart, find the one place for a number and use Suguru's own move across region borders. Ready to try?

Play Tessera nowAll about Suguru