Two-String Kite
The 2-String Kite is a close cousin of the Skyscraper. Both are single-digit patterns built from two strong links, but where the Skyscraper uses two rows (or two columns), the kite uses one row and one column, joined through a shared box.
What is a 2-String Kite?
Pick a digit. Find a row where it has just two homes, and a column where it also has just two homes — the two "strings". If one end of the row-string and one end of the column-string fall in the same box, they're linked. Then one of the two free ends must be the digit, so any cell seeing both free ends can't hold it.
Row 1 has the 4 in two cells and column 2 has it in two cells; they share the top-left box (blue). One free end (amber) must be the 4, so the red cell — seeing both — can't be 4.
Step by step
- Choose a digit with a two-cell row and a two-cell column.
- Check the box link. One end of each must sit in the same box.
- Identify the free ends — the cells not in the shared box.
- Eliminate the digit from any cell seeing both free ends.
Kite vs Skyscraper
The difference is just geometry. A Skyscraper's two strong links are parallel (two rows or two columns) and share a cross-line. A kite's links are perpendicular (a row and a column) and share a box. Both are Turbot Fish patterns, and once you see one the others come easily.
Common mistakes
- No shared box. The row and column strings must overlap in a single box, or there's no kite.
- Wrong ends. The elimination is at cells that see both free ends — the ones outside the shared box.
Which Sudoku types is this best for?
The same logic applies across variants, but it pays off more in some than others.