Sudoku is a logic puzzle on a grid of squares. You never do sums: the numbers are just nine different symbols. All you need is patience and a sharp eye.
That's it. A good puzzle gives you just enough numbers that there is exactly one way to fill the rest. Every puzzle on PuzzleMint is checked by a solver to have one answer that you can reach without guessing.
This is an easy one. Start with the rows and boxes that are almost full.
| 4 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 9 | ||||||
| 5 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 7 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | 6 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | ||||
| 6 | 4 | 7 | ||||||
| 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 2 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 5 |
| 1 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
If a row has eight numbers, the empty square gets the ninth. The same goes for a column or a box. Easy puzzles have lots of these.
Choose a number, say 5. Find every 5 already on the grid and imagine a line through its row and its column. In a box that still needs a 5, the squares not crossed out are the only places it can go. If just one is left, that's your 5. Go through 1 to 9 like this and you'll fill most of an easy grid.
When nothing jumps out, write small candidate numbers in the empty squares. In the game, tap Notes and then numbers. When you place a real number, it disappears from the notes in its row, column and box by itself, so new single options appear.
New to Sudoku, or teaching a child? Start with a 4×4 Sudoku (numbers 1 to 4), then a 6×6. The rules are the same.
No. Sudoku uses numbers only as symbols. You could play it with letters or colours. It trains logic and concentration, not arithmetic.
A 9×9 puzzle needs at least 17 numbers to have a single answer. Easy puzzles usually start with 36 or more, hard ones with about 22 to 28.
Never on PuzzleMint. Every puzzle can be solved step by step by logic. If you feel you need to guess, use notes and look for pairs (see the strategy guide).