Intermediate

Pointing Pair

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

A pointing pair (or pointing triple) occurs when all the candidate cells for a digit within a box lie on a single row or column. Since the digit must come from that box and that line, it cannot appear elsewhere on the same line outside the box.

It is one half of the "intersection removal" family; box/line reduction is the other half.

How to spot it

Within a box, find a digit whose only candidate cells share one row (or one column). That digit "points" along the line: remove it from the cells of that line that sit in the other two boxes.

  • Pick a digit inside a box.
  • Check its candidate cells all lie on one row or column.
  • Eliminate the digit from that line outside the box.
The box pins its 5 to one row — so 5 leaves that row outside the box.

Worked example

  1. In the top-left box, digit 5 can only go in two cells.
  2. Both cells sit on the top row.
  3. So 5 in this box must land on the top row.
  4. Remove 5 from the top row’s cells in the top-middle and top-right boxes.
  5. A hidden single for 5 often appears as a result.

Try it yourself

6
5
2
4
6
8
2
5
2
6
1
2
3
1
6
5
4
9
3
6
7
4
9
3
2
1
8

Tap a cell, then a number, to practise.

Frequently asked questions

Pointing pair vs box/line reduction?
Pointing removes a digit from a line because it is locked in a box. Box/line reduction removes a digit from a box because it is locked on a line. Same intersection, opposite direction.
Can it be a triple?
Yes. If three candidate cells in the box share a line it is a pointing triple, with the same elimination.

Related techniques

Practice: Pointing Pair

Put the Pointing Pair to work on a live board — free puzzles with notes, hints and four difficulty levels.

Try it on a live board

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