The Halloween Pack

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means a long weekend of party games, candy-tired children, and the inevitable evening when somebody needs something quiet to do. Sudoku fits the slot, especially with a pack that does not demand colour printing or much setup.

The Halloween pack is a black-and-white printable, sized for a clipboard or a kitchen table. Twenty puzzles, all difficulties, all themed lightly enough not to feel forced. Pumpkins on the cover, regular sudoku grids inside.

• ✓Eight easy puzzles for the kids' table and trick-or-treaters waiting their turn
• ✓Eight medium puzzles for the in-laws who came over
• ✓Four hard puzzles for the long quiet hour after the front door stops ringing
• ✓A printed solution page, folded behind
• ✓A small jack-o-lantern on the cover that prints fine in black and white

The use cases

Children waiting their turn at a party. A friend has reported that a pack on the coffee table absorbs the over-eight crowd at Halloween parties almost completely. Five puzzles is about right for the period between the costume parade and dinner.

Adults who have had enough of the front door. The hour between nine and ten on Halloween evening is often quiet at home but too late to start anything serious. A medium sudoku is the right length for that slot.

Classrooms in the week of Halloween. Teachers who do not want to organise a craft activity find a sudoku pack a low-effort alternative. The students who like sudoku get a treat. The ones who do not, get to opt out.

The kids' version

Kids under eight will not solve a 9x9 unaided. The kids' supplement uses 4x4 and 6x6 grids with digits 1 to 4 or 1 to 6, which a six-year-old can finish with a small nudge. Pair the kids' supplement with the main pack and you cover every age in the house.

If you have a child who has not tried sudoku yet, Halloween is a surprisingly good first occasion. The pumpkin on the cover lowers the bar to "trying something new". The actual puzzle is a small reasoning exercise that does not feel like homework.

The party-favour idea

Some readers print the pack as party favours. One puzzle per sheet, folded once, slipped into a goodie bag. The kid takes it home and works it the next day, when the sugar has worn off and the costume is back in the closet. A small number of those kids will ask for more sudoku for Christmas. You will have planted the seed.

The grown-up version

For an adults-only evening, the harder puzzles in the pack carry their weight. A glass of wine and an expert sudoku is a reasonable substitute for whatever else October 31 was supposed to be. The expert pack uses the same Sudokly difficulty rating as the rest of the site; expect to need at least one X-wing or swordfish on most puzzles.

Where to get it

Download the seasonal pack at the mixed printables page or pull a single-difficulty pack from the easy, medium or hard shelves. For the younger crowd, the kids' printable works well alongside. All free, all PDFs, no signup required.

Have a quiet October 31.