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Kakuro

Kakuro

Min number of participants 1
Age 10+ yrs.
Safety support by adult Not required
Min duration 15 min.
Cost Low
Environment Indoor / Outdoor

A numeric grid puzzle, part crossword and part sudoku, where you fill cells with digits 1-9 so each run adds up to the sum shown in its shaded clue cell — and no digit repeats within a run.

The Essentials

Steps

  • Read the clue in each shaded cell: the top number is the sum for the run going right, the bottom number is the sum for the run going down.
  • Look for short runs first — a two-cell run summing to 3, 4, 16 or 17 has only one possible pair of digits.
  • Fill in the digits you're certain of, then use them to narrow down the crossing runs.
  • Remember no digit can repeat within a single run, so cross out numbers already used nearby.

Tips

  • Keep a small note of the possible digit combinations for common sums (like word-search players keep a checklist of found words) so you're not recalculating them each time.
  • Work the puzzle from its edges and corners inward, since those cells usually have the fewest possibilities.
  • Use a pencil to jot tentative digits lightly in a cell's corner before committing to them.
  • If you get stuck, scan for any run where only one digit choice satisfies both its own sum and every crossing constraint.
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