Box/Line Reduction

Medium

When a digit in a row or column is confined to one box, it can be eliminated from the rest of that box.

How It Works

The reverse of Pointing Pairs. When a digit in a row or column can only appear within a single box, it can be eliminated from all other cells in that box (those not in the shared row/column).

Since the digit must be in that row/column within the box, it cannot appear elsewhere in the box.

Example

829431567
13
46
5
69
728
49
5
46
728
69
13
49
271
368
4
36
95
68
685912743
493
68
75
68
12
3
46
21
69
4689
68
75
758
36
2
36
491
91
46
75
468
32
68
Key cells of the techniqueCells where elimination is appliedCandidate to be placedEliminated candidate (crossed out)

Practice with a Real Puzzle

This 9×9 puzzle is solver-verified to require this technique on its solution path.

Easy32 givensStrict