Knowledge

Sudoku Basics: Row, Column, and Box Naming Conventions

2025-01-21 · 2 min read
Knowledge Base / Techniques Index / Naming Convention

Before learning Sudoku techniques, you need to understand the board's naming conventions. This site uses the following standards:

Naming Rules

  • Rows: R1-R9 (R=Row), from top to bottom
  • Columns: C1-C9 (C=Column), from left to right
  • Boxes: Numbers 1-9, left to right, top to bottom
Sudoku Row, Column, Box Naming Diagram
Row labels (R1-R9 on left), Column labels (C1-C9 at top), Box numbers (inside grid)

Box Layout

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

Cell Coordinates

Use Row + Column to identify cell positions:

  • R1C1 - Top left corner (Row 1, Column 1)
  • R5C5 - Center (Row 5, Column 5)
  • R9C9 - Bottom right corner (Row 9, Column 9)
Tip: R stands for Row, C stands for Column. R3C5 clearly means Row 3, Column 5.