Sudoku
Fill the grid so every row, column and box holds each digit exactly once.
⏱5–10 min🧠Easy🔢Numbers & Patterns🖨Printing Recommended
How to play
- Fill every empty square with a number from 1 to 9.
- Each row must contain 1 to 9 with no repeats.
- Each column must contain 1 to 9 with no repeats.
- Each of the nine 3×3 boxes must contain 1 to 9 with no repeats.
Tips for solving it
None of these give anything away — they are just how people who do these all the time get unstuck.
- Never guess. Every square can be reasoned out, and one guess poisons the whole grid.
- Start with the fullest row, column or box — the one with the fewest gaps is the one that gives an answer.
- Pick a digit and hunt it across the whole grid: where can this 7 go in this box?
- Pencil small candidate numbers into the corners of a square, and rub them out as they are ruled out.
- If a digit can only go in one square of a box, it goes there — even if that square could also hold others.
An example puzzle
Have a go at this one first — it is smaller than the real thing. The answer key is hidden until you ask for it.
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| 6 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |||||
| 8 | 9 | 3 | ||||||
| 6 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |||
| 4 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | |||||
| 4 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
Show the answer key
Answer Key
| 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 4 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
What to expect on Patreon
It’s a puzzle party in here
Members get something new to solve three times a week — print it, play it, whenever you have the time.
- Monday Weekly puzzle Logic, number and word puzzles — a different kind each week.
- Wednesday Detective mystery A case to crack: suspects, clues, and one answer that fits.
- Friday Weekend Challenge A bigger one, built to last you all weekend long.
- Early access to elimination puzzles
- Early access to mystery party games
- Solve at your own pace — nothing expires
Think you can solve the puzzle?
New puzzles, logic games and mysteries land on Patreon — ready to print and play.
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