Sudoku solution – New York Times 19 July 2026 Hard level sudoku

[00:00:03][music] [music] >> Hello fellow Sudokans. Welcome to Zen [clears throat] and the Art of the Guardian Sudoku puzzle. It's Sunday the 19th of July 2026.

[00:00:16]Afternoon here in Bangkok. I'm just back from my hospital visit early this morning, which lasted hours and hours uh because the difference between I'm now attending a government hospital as opposed to the private hospital that I was uh using previously. Just because I have to have so many hospital visits, I need to conserve some money at least.

[00:00:39]Uh and so I've been using the government hospital, which is absolutely great in terms of the standard of the uh uh doctors and the medicines and stuff like that and equipment is okay.

[00:00:52]It's great, but um the wait time is the thing that makes the big difference and I'm beginning to experience a little bit of what people in the UK are suffering uh when they go to the NHS and have those really long wait times.

[00:01:05]Spent many hours this morning waiting to be seen.

[00:01:08]Um even though I had an appointment time. Now, that's the one difference when I go to the private hospital uh especially cuz I know most of the people there, I'm seen just about immediately and there is no waiting time.

[00:01:20]Uh and uh can get in and out very quickly, but anyway, uh you know, um we have to uh save a little bit.

[00:01:29]So, I have to save a little bit anyway.

[00:01:31]Uh talking about sickness, the one thing I haven't mentioned is uh in the US, they have this thing called explosive diarrhea.

[00:01:39]And I'd like to know when diarrhea is not explosive, but anyway, it must mean super bad.

[00:01:44]Uh and apparently um Taylor Farms has uh now um re- recalled lettuce from in 27 states.

[00:01:54]I was thinking this might be the one time when Americans unhealth many Americans eat such an unhealthy diet.

[00:02:00]They hardly ever eat vegetables or salad or something, I think. They just rely on meat and bread and potatoes.

[00:02:07]Uh and uh might be the one time when they have an advantage, mightn't it?

[00:02:12]Avoiding salad and raw food.

[00:02:16]>> [clears throat] >> Anyway, >> [sighs] >> uh there's that's enough of me talking s h i t. Let's get on with the game of Sudoku because I want to play this because I definitely need a a bit of a a nap before I go out and uh get some shopping. And I need to go shopping because the cat hasn't got any chicken and he is already calling for it.

[00:02:38]But I he's going to have to wait a bit today.

[00:02:41]Uh this is of course the New York Times hard level Sudoku puzzle.

[00:02:46]If you're new to the channel, hello.

[00:02:50]We play this every day. It's eight so in one of these two squares blocking up here.

[00:02:54]And eight blocking across there and across there gives us eight in that square.

[00:03:13]Nine blocking here and nine blocking here. So in that row there's a nine.

[00:03:19]Four blocking this square, here's a four. That will be a seven over there.

[00:03:36]I see five and two blocking across there. That gives me five and two in those squares there. Leaves me here with one and four. So one blocking down, there's one.

[00:03:46]There's four.

[00:03:48]>> [clears throat] >> Three blocking here and there. so in that row, three.

[00:03:55]Last numbers to place there are No, they're not. Six and seven, I think.

[00:04:01]Six blocking down there, there's a six.

[00:04:03]Seven goes in that square.

[00:04:20]Seven blocks here. Excuse me, voice [clears throat] is a bit uh quiet today.

[00:05:34]Uh are we looking for No, that's not right. Three 4 6 5 3 4 6 5, I think.

[00:05:58]Now, I've got five blocking up Oh, I must be dreaming.

[00:06:02]No, I'm not. Five blocking down here and across here, so I've got a pair of fives there, right?

[00:06:07]And I've got four and six blocking that square, so isn't that a three?

[00:06:15]3 4 4s are down there.

[00:06:18]3 4 6 5, that's a pair of four and five, actually.

[00:06:23]That's four and four four blocking down there, right? Four there.

[00:06:28]And five across there and down there, that's four five, yeah.

[00:06:31]So, this is a three and six. We've got the six blocking there, that's the six.

[00:06:39]And that's the three.

[00:06:51]>> [sighs] >> I hear the sound of sweeping in my garden. That means my gardener must be working.

[00:08:05]>> [panting] >> She has my permission to come in and tidy up the garden whenever.

[00:08:11]So, cuz I always leave the the gate open.

[00:08:15]I guess she's going to do it today. It's really hot outside. It's It's It's 2:00 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. It's the sun is outrageously hot outside. She She's older than me.

[00:08:26]She does it She does a great job.

[00:08:31]I feel guilty about her doing it.

[00:08:52]I lost my concentration now.

[00:08:56]>> [sighs] >> I Oh, come on. Concentrate.

[00:09:31]Lost my thread.

[00:11:05]>> I know this is four and five, right? So, we've got six and seven blocking down there. So, at least six and seven there.

[00:11:11]The other numbers are one and two though, that's the problem.

[00:11:15]Twos could go there. Ones could go in any of those squares.

[00:11:20]As far as I can see.

[00:12:52]>> I'm not seeing enough. So, let's put in some pencil marks and finish this game.

[00:12:55]I can't uh be dealing with this for too long a time.

[00:13:01]I've got a nice bed to go to.

[00:13:05]One down there, six down there as well.

[00:13:14]Six down there.

[00:13:16]Four, five in those squares.

[00:13:19]Uh four, six in those squares.

[00:13:24]And two, five in these squares here.

[00:13:29]If I've got money to pay her.

[00:13:31]Eights are a pair down here. We've got eight blocking this square here, right?

[00:13:34]So, eights are a pair down there.

[00:13:37]Eights are a pair there.

[00:14:53]Okay, that's not a lot, is it?

[00:14:56]Missing digit up here is two.

[00:15:01]Two comes down here.

[00:15:05]One anywhere.

[00:15:14]Uh across the top here.

[00:15:20]Not news two.

[00:16:01]Oh, it looks like that's a single nine there.

[00:16:05]That's a nine.

[00:16:06]Grand stuff. It'll get me working.

[00:16:16]Okay, that's good.

[00:16:23]Uh has it revealed anything else?

[00:16:35]Yes, that's the only place for a three.

[00:16:39]And a pair of threes down there.

[00:16:52]Pointing fives here, so we get rid of those candidate fives.

[00:17:29]>> Okay, let's go ahead and put in the rest of the candidates. We've got two blocking across here.

[00:17:42]Seven like that.

[00:17:49]Okay.

[00:17:51]Uh we have a pair of two and five here.

[00:17:53]Oh, we have a a unique rectangle here as well. I didn't see that. So, we've got seven in that square.

[00:17:57]So, we can get rid of the sevens there.

[00:17:59]We can place a seven there.

[00:18:01]And we get our two up here.

[00:18:04]Five there, two there.

[00:18:06]Sorry, my voice is rather quiet.

[00:18:09]It's uh I've been sitting in a very cold hospital all morning.

[00:18:16]And had a little thing looking down my throat, which is not nice.

[00:18:21]>> [cough] [clears throat] >> Uh We've got two. Yes, we've got two blocking there. So, that's the only place for a two.

[00:18:28]That has to be a five.

[00:18:50]Two blocking across there. That's our two then.

[00:18:55]That's a one.

[00:18:57]One is down here. Oops, sorry.

[00:19:01]One is there.

[00:19:07]That's the only spot for a seven.

[00:19:12]Four, three.

[00:19:34]Okay, digits 1 3 and 8 are finished.

[00:19:48]6 blocking down and across there gives me 6 in that square.

[00:19:54]6 there 2 2 7 4 I think goes there.

[00:20:25]Okay, so not that difficult a game once you spot the single.

[00:20:29]If you got that single, then everything is hunky-dory. That's it. Thanks for joining me. Take care. Bye-bye.