In this puzzle walkthrough we are going to look at how to solve Easy as ABC puzzles. These are simple yet engaging logic puzzles where you follow a few basic rules to complete the grid with letters, numbers or symbols.
Rules of Easy as ABC Puzzles
The rules of Easy as ABC puzzles are as follows:
- Every row and column must include only one of each letter or space
- There will be some letters outside of the grid, these clues tell you which letter should be nearest to this point (note that it is ‘nearest’ – not necessarily adjacent. Don’t forget the empty cells!)
Simple!
However, as with every good logic puzzle, when we come to put it into practice, we find that there’s a delightful touch of trickiness about it!
A Completed Easy As ABC Logic Puzzle Grid
In the completed grid below, you will see how each row and column contains one of each letter and a space/empty cell.
Easy As ABC Puzzle Walkthrough
Now we’re going to walkthrough how an Easy as ABC puzzle can be solved. If you want to follow along, you can download the grid below:
easy as abc tutorial solvealong_Start With What We Know
As with any logic puzzle, first start with the absolute givens – fill in where the clues have given us the answer. In this case, we can see that in the top left and bottom right corner, the cell can only contain a D.
There is no doubt about this a you can clearly see that in both directions the D is indicated.
Mark the Empty Cells
Don’t forget to mark any obvious empty cells. In this instance we know that this cell will be empty because according to the rules, neither a C or B can be in this cell, therefore it has to be empty.
Note: This also demonstrates how empty cells work when following the rules. In this instance we know that B is the ‘nearest’ letter, not the adjacent letter. Therefore we know that B will go to the left of the cell we’ve marked as empty.
Although the empty cells are left blank in the solution, you may find it easier to mark the empty squares in some way when you are solving the puzzle. You will see here that I have marked the empty square with a x.
Continue Following the Clues – Never Guess
Continue using logic and follow the rules to complete the grid.
In this instance we know that the A goes in the highlighted cell and not a space as the space has already been used for this column (only one of each letter and space can appear in each row or column).
There will be other clues to look at too – in this instance we know that an A and B are left to be placed in the column on the right – however, we know that the B will go in one of the two cells on the left meaning that even if the A wasn’t indicated as a clue outside the grid, we can eliminate it as an option for the cell marked.
Continue Working Through the Clues
Continue following the clues. We know that D has already been set for the last row, therefore we know that the middle cell on the last row must therefore be empty. We know that D therefore will be in the cell above this.
Looking again at the bottom row – we know that B and C remain to be placed, however, as the B for column 4 has already been placed, the only place for B is at the bottom of column 2 – and therefore there is only once place for the C in this row.
Keep using the process of elimination. It’s important to look for what CAN’T go somewhere as well as what can.
In this example, looking at the fourth row, we know that the C cannot go in the fourth cell as that would give us two Cs in the same column. Therefore we know that the empty cell will go above the C and this tells us that there is only one place for the C in the fourth row.
Keep Counting The Letters Used
Keep track of the number of letters / spaces used, as this will also help you with the process of elimination. As we have continued to fill in the cells, we can see that all 5 empty spaces have been used. Therefore it is impossible for any more empty cells to be included. This narrows down the options and helps identify the next step.
We know, for example, that A is going to be placed in the cell outlined on row 1 because all the spaces have been used and the A clue outside the grid means that only an A or empty cell can go here.
And this, of course, means that we know that a D will be placed under here as that is the only letter remaining to be placed in this column.
Finished!
When you have finished, every cell will be complete, with the empty cells either blanked or marked with your own annotation.
