Futoshiki Techniques

Six techniques solve every Futoshiki on PeerPuzzles. Reading the signs gets every puzzle started; one number left and one place left do most of the filling in; pairs, hidden pairs and what-if take over on the bigger grids. Each page shows its technique on the same 7×7 puzzle from the game, at the moment it’s first needed, so you can follow one solve from page to page.

Hard level 5, the 7×7 every technique page follows. It has a single clue and 23 signs, takes 57 steps, and needs all six techniques.

How many of the game’s levels need each one, out of 50 in each track:

Technique	Easy 5×5	Medium 6×6	Hard 7×7
One number left	50	50	50
One place left	43	48	50
Reading the signs	50	50	50
Pairs	0	15	33
Hidden pairs	0	10	28
What if	0	0	50

“Needs” means the hints, which always use the simplest technique that works, used it at least once. For all six in one place, with another worked puzzle, see how to solve Futoshiki.

Hard level 5, solved.

Guides

Futoshiki: One Number Left (Naked Singles)The simplest Futoshiki technique: when a square's row, column and signs leave it only one number, that's its number. With a real example from a 7×7.
Futoshiki: One Place Left (Hidden Singles)When a number has only one place it can go in a row or column of a Futoshiki, it goes there. How to spot it, with a real example from a 7×7.
Futoshiki Signs: How to Read the InequalitiesHow to use the greater-than and less-than signs in Futoshiki: what each sign rules out on both sides, chains of signs, and finding the 1s and the top number. With a real example.
Futoshiki Pairs: Two Squares, Two NumbersWhen two squares in a Futoshiki row or column can only be the same two numbers, no other square in that line can have either. How to spot pairs, with a real example.
Futoshiki Hidden Pairs: Two Numbers, Two PlacesWhen two numbers can only go in the same two squares of a Futoshiki row or column, those squares can't be anything else. How to spot hidden pairs, with a real example.
Futoshiki: What If? Follow a Choice to a ContradictionWhen no simpler Futoshiki technique works, suppose a square is one of its numbers, follow what it forces, and see whether a rule breaks. With a real example.