Puzzle Instructions
Select the puzzle below to view detailed puzzle instructions.
Quick instructions can be found at the bottom of this page.
Akari
Futoshiki
Nurikabe
Calcudoku
Gokigen
Shikaku
Cryptograms
Kakuro
Sudoku
Domino
Mazes
Tatami
Fillomino
Number Search
Word Search
Quick Instructions
Akari
Place lightbulbs (circles) in any white square to illuminate every white square in the four compass directions until reaching either a black square or the puzzle frame. Every white square must be illuminated, but a lightbulb can not illuminate another lightbulb. A black square with a number indicates how many lightbulbs can be next to it, vertically and horizontally.
Futoshiki
Instructions: Discover the numbers hidden inside the board’s empty cells. Each cell is filled with a number between 1 and the board size (usually between 4 and 9). Like Sudoku, each number appears only once in each row and column. Unlike Sudoku, the puzzle contains “inequality symbols” of less than (<) and greater than (>) that must be obeyed. For example, <2 would mean the number before the 2 must be less than 2, and >3 means the number before the 3 must be greater than 3.
Nurikabe
Create islands by partitioning between clues (numbered squares) with walls so that:
Each island contains only one number clue.
The number of squares on each island equals the clue’s value.
All islands are isolated from each other horizontally and vertically.
There are no wall areas of 2X2 or larger.
When completed, all walls form a continuous path.
Calcudoku
The puzzle consists of a grid containing blocks outlined by bold lines.
Fill all empty squares with numbers from 1 to N, where N is the grid's number of rows or columns. Each number can appear only once in each row and column, and the numbers in each block produce the result of the math operation shown in the top-left corner of the block. A number may be used more than once in the same block but not in the same row or column.
Gokigen
Place a diagonal line in every cell in the grid. The numbers at the corners of some of the cells indicate the number of diagonals that converge on that point. The diagonal lines must not form a loop of any size.
Shikaku
Divide the grid into a series of rectangles. Each rectangle must have only one of the numbers provided in the puzzle. The numbers represent the total number of spaces allowed in that rectangle.
Cryptograms
Most cryptograms are short phrases or quotes encrypted using a substitution cipher, where one letter is substituted for another letter, number, or symbol.
For example, the letter "I" in a phrase may be substituted with "E" in the puzzle. In this case, all instances of "I" will be written as "E" in that puzzle.
Click here for more in-depth instructions.
Kakuro
Fill in the blank squares with numbers from 1 to 9 so that the entered numbers add up to the sum required in the grey clue squares vertically and horizontally. The numbers in consecutive white cells that make up a sum must be unique (no duplicates).
Sudoku
To complete the puzzle, fill in the empty spaces in each row, column, and 3x3 square (outlined in bold) with numbers from 1 to 9. The numbers cannot repeat in any row, column, or 3x3 square. Some of the numbers are provided for you already.
Domino
Hidden in the puzzle are several dominos. Each domino contains two numbers (horizontally or vertically) which, depending on the size of the grid, can range from 0-0 to 9-9. For example, dominos can include 0-0, 0-1, 8-4 etc. There are no duplicate dominos. Find and highlight all dominos in the grid.
Mazes
Maze puzzles come in different shapes, sizes, and difficulty levels. However, the central concept for each is to enter the maze at the starting point or entrance and navigate through the maze to find the one path that will bring you to the exit.
Tatami
The puzzle consists of a square grid covered with rectangular mats, each one being from 1 to N (where N is the number of spaces in the mat) in length. Place numbers from 1 to N into the puzzle cells. The numbers within a mat must all be different. Horizontally or vertically adjacent cells must not contain the same number. Each row and column of the puzzle must have the same number of appearances of each number.
Fillomino
Each puzzle consists of a square grid with some squares containing a single digit number. Place numbers in the blank squares (horizontally and vertically) to divide the board into blocks. Each block contains as many squares as the number provided in the block. Blocks can take any shape, but blocks having the same number of squares may not touch each other.
Number Search
A Number Search Puzzle is very similar to the popular Word Search Puzzle, except that instead of finding hidden words, you find number sequences such as 10234.
The puzzle consists of a grid of numbers and a list of number sequences to find in the grid.
The objective of the puzzle is to find and mark all the number sequences from the list that are hidden within the grid. The numbers may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal in the grid. The direction of the numbers may be left to right, right to left, up, or down.
Word Search
The puzzle consists of a square grid covered with rectangular mats, each one being from 1 to N (where N is the number of spaces in the mat) in length. Place numbers from 1 to N into the puzzle cells. The numbers within a mat must all be different. Horizontally or vertically adjacent cells must not contain the same number. Each row and column of the puzzle must have the same number of appearances of each number.