Mental Royale
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X-Chain

Advanced Logic28 / 32

One digit, alternating links — the ends cover everything between.

A chain built from a single digit, alternating strong links (only two spots in a unit) with weak ones (sharing a unit), starting and ending on a strong link. Walk it from either end.

Assume the first end is false: the strong link forces its partner true, the weak link passes falseness on, and so on — until the far end comes out true. So one of the two ends is always true, and everything seeing both ends is eliminated.

See it in action

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2
7
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Step 1 of 4

The setup

Map a digit's strong links. Try to walk from one strong link to another via cells that share units, alternating strong and weak — the longer the walk, the more surprising the elimination. Step through this real position to see it happen.

Practice

Follow the X-Chain and remove its digit from the cells seeing both chain ends.

Drill 1 of 29

Tap a cell, then the candidate digit you want to remove.