How to play Calcudoku
Sudoku with arithmetic: fill the grid so no digit repeats, and every cage reaches its target.
The rules, step by step
- Fill the grid with the digits from 1 up to the size of the grid, so each digit appears once in every row and every column.
- The thick outlines mark cages. The small label in the corner of a cage gives its target and operation.
- A label such as 7+ means the digits add to 7, 12× means they multiply to 12, 3− means they differ by 3, and 2÷ means one is twice the other.
- A cage with only a number is a single square: that is the digit.
- Unlike Sudoku, a digit can repeat inside a cage if its squares are in different rows and columns.
Where to start
Fill any single-square cages first. Then look at two-square cages with an unusual target: in a 4x4 grid, 12× can only be 3 and 4.
Tips
- Think about which pairs of digits can make the target, then use the rows and columns to choose.
- Large products and small sums have few possibilities, so they are good places to start.
- Press Check to find squares that break a rule.