Sudoku
A fresh sudoku each day, solve it over coffee
How to play
This Sudoku is a free online number puzzle: fill a 9 by 9 grid so every row, column and box holds 1 to 9 once. It plays in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. Solve the daily sudoku everyone shares, practise at easy, medium or hard, climb the level ladder, or send a friend the same grid.
Fill the 9×9 grid so every row, column and 3×3 box holds the digits 1 to 9 once. Select a cell and tap a number, or use the arrow keys and type 1–9. Switch on pencil notes (N) to jot candidates; they clear themselves as you place digits. A wrong digit is never placed and costs a tenth of the score; stuck, tap the bulb twice to reveal a cell for two tenths. Practice at easy, medium or hard (hard needs X-wings and triples), or climb the level ladder, where every tenth level pays a candy bonus. Every puzzle has exactly one solution and never needs a guess, and the daily sudoku is the same medium puzzle for everyone, so you can rank on the leaderboard or send a friend the same grid.
Also: Easy Sudoku · Hard Sudoku
- Click a cell (or move with the arrow keys) and type 1–9, or use the number pad.
- Press N (or the ✎ key) for pencil notes; Shift+digit notes one too. Backspace clears notes.
- Fill every row, column and 3×3 box with 1–9. A wrong digit won't stick and uses up one of the nine dots above the grid (a tenth of the score each), but you keep going until it's solved.
- Stuck? Tap 💡 (or H) twice to open a cell for two dots. Practise on Easy, Medium or Hard, or climb the levels: every 10th one pays a candy bonus.
How to play Sudoku
Each puzzle starts with some digits given, laid out symmetrically like a printed sudoku. Select an empty cell and enter a digit; pencil notes let you jot candidates, and they clear themselves from the row, column and box when you place a digit. Every puzzle has exactly one solution and can be solved by logic without guessing.
A wrong digit is never placed. It costs one tenth of the score, and the game goes on: mistakes never end a run, only solving the grid does. Stuck, you can ask for a hint that reveals one cell for two tenths. The row of nine dots above the grid shows the tenths you can still lose.
A clean solve is worth 600 on easy, 1000 on medium and 1500 on hard, and a solve always keeps at least one tenth of that, however many slips it took. Time does not count, so a perfect solve ties with every other perfect solve.
Sudoku strategy and tips
- Start with hidden singles: take one digit, say 5, and sweep every box for the only cell where it can go. Doing all nine digits this way fills much of an easy grid before any notes are needed.
- Look for naked singles next, cells where eight different digits already sit in their row, column and box. They are often hiding beside a box that has just been finished.
- On medium, watch for pointing pairs: when a digit's only places inside a box lie on one row, that digit can be crossed off the rest of that row outside the box.
- Write notes only once a cell is down to two or three candidates. Two cells in one unit that share the same pair of candidates lock those digits away from every other cell in that unit.
- Hard puzzles need an X-wing, a triple or an XY-wing somewhere. When singles and pairs stop working, scan one digit at a time for two rows where it fits in the same two columns.
- Never test a digit to see if it sticks. A wrong guess costs a tenth, and on the daily board clean solves are what top the leaderboard.
Modes and difficulty
The daily sudoku is always a medium puzzle, the same grid for everyone, changing at 00:00 UTC; only your first try counts on its leaderboard. Practice offers easy (singles only, with at least 36 givens), medium (needs pointing and pairs) and hard (needs X-wings, triples or XY-wings). The level ladder is a fixed series of puzzles: levels 1 to 10 are easy, 11 to 30 medium and the rest hard, each opening once the last is solved, and every tenth level pays a candy bonus. Any run can also be sent to a friend as a challenge.
Playing Sudoku on Matsuri
Scores come from the server replaying your entries, so nobody can post a solve they did not make, and a clean solve on the daily means exactly that. In a Telegram group with @MatsuriGamesBot, the daily sudoku gets the group's own leaderboard, which turns a morning puzzle into a quiet contest among friends. The candy reward grows with difficulty, so a hard solve pays more than an easy one.
A little history
The modern puzzle first appeared in 1979 in an American puzzle magazine under the name Number Place, usually credited to Howard Garns. The Japanese publisher Nikoli gave it the name sudoku in the 1980s, short for a phrase meaning the digits must stay single, and it became a worldwide newspaper craze in the mid-2000s.
In the same series: Logic puzzles
- Minesweeper: Clear the board by logic, mind the mines
- Nonogram: Shade by the numbers, a little picture appears
Update log
- · Pick any level you have already reached on the level ladder, not just the next one.
- · Mocha cheers a finished solve.
- · A classic look like a printed puzzle: white paper, black givens, your digits in blue ink. The default in most languages.
- · Arrow keys carry on from the cell you were on.
- · Hints, easy, medium and hard practice, and a level ladder.
Questions
- Is this sudoku free to play online? Does it work on my phone?
- Yes. It is free with no ads, no download and no signup, and it plays in any browser on phone or desktop or inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Is the daily sudoku the same for everyone?
- Yes. The daily is always a medium puzzle and everyone gets the same grid, so you can rank on the daily leaderboard or send a friend the exact grid as a challenge. Scores are verified on the server by replaying your moves.
- Does every sudoku have exactly one solution?
- Yes. Every puzzle has exactly one solution and can be solved by logic without guessing. Easy needs only singles, medium adds pointing and pairs, and hard needs techniques like X-wings, triples and XY-wings.
- What happens if I enter a wrong number?
- A wrong digit is never placed; it costs a tenth of the score, and the game goes on until the grid is solved. A solve always keeps at least a tenth of its full score (600 easy, 1000 medium, 1500 hard).