Expert technique

Hidden Triples, Explained

When three colors can only go in the same three cells, those three cells belong to them. Every other color in those cells can be removed.

Read the block

BEFORE

Eight cells in this block are open, and none of them shows a single color, so nothing can be placed yet. Pick one color at a time and find every cell in the block that shows it.

Find three colors in three cells

Red, Light Purple, and Orange only appear in the top row of this block. Three colors, three cells. Those three cells must hold Red, Light Purple, and Orange.

Remove the other colors

Those three cells are taken, so no other color can go in them. Remove every other color from the row: Turquoise and Dark Purple come off.

Place the color with one place left

AFTER

Dark Purple now shows in only one cell of the block: the bottom right. A color with only one place left must go there, so place it. The top row is still undecided, and that is fine. Clearing it is what left Dark Purple one place.

Cells being readKey cellColor tints match the color being followed

Key Insight

Follow colors, not cells. Pick a color and see where it appears in the block. When three colors appear only in the same three cells, you have found a hidden triple. It works the same way in a row or a column.

Related Techniques

Hidden Single: With NotesThe move in step 4. When a color appears in only one cell of a block, it goes there.Hidden PairsThe same idea with two colors and two cells, and much easier to spot.Obvious TriplesThe same pattern found from the other side: three cells that show only three colors between them. It clears those colors from the cells around them.

If you’re stuck on a puzzle, see what to try next, in order.