Sudoku Difficulty Rater
Found a sudoku in a magazine? Paste it in to see how hard it really is. The rater gives you a quick estimate so you know what you're getting into.
- 1Type the puzzleFill in the cells exactly as the puzzle gives them. Skip the empty cells.
- 2Press RateYou'll get one of five labels: easy, medium, hard, expert, or evil.
- 3Use the resultIf it's harder than you bargained for, start with our easier puzzles and work up. Or just dive in.
How the rating works
The rater looks at two things: how many clues the puzzle gives you, and how much our solver has to "think" to crack it. More thinking means more branching paths, which usually means a harder puzzle for a human.
It's a quick estimate, not a perfect rating. Two puzzles labelled "hard" can feel quite different depending on which technique unlocks them. Use it as a guide.
Difficulty rater FAQ
Why are some puzzles rated higher than they feel?
Difficulty depends partly on which techniques you know. A puzzle that needs X-wing might be rated hard, but if you've never seen X-wing it'll feel impossible.
Is the rating consistent with my book?
Roughly. Different publishers use different scales. Our easy is usually their easy or beginner; our evil matches their diabolical or nightmare.
Can I rate puzzles I made myself?
Yes. The rater doesn't care where the puzzle came from.