Sudoku Variants
Ten ways to play beyond classic sudoku. Each variant keeps the spirit of the puzzle. fill the grid with logic, no guessing, but bends a rule. Some add new constraints; others change the geometry; some give you extra hints.
Killer Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to evil
Sudoku meets killer-style arithmetic: every dotted region sums to its total.
Mini Sudoku (6×6)
6×6 · Beginner to medium
A shorter sudoku for kids, classrooms, and quick five-minute sessions.
Samurai Sudoku
Five overlapping 9×9 grids · Hard to evil
Five 9×9 sudokus joined at the corners. Solve them as one giant puzzle.
Diagonal Sudoku (X-Sudoku)
9×9 · Medium to expert
Classic sudoku plus a constraint on both main diagonals.
Hyper Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to expert
Classic sudoku with four extra 3×3 regions to satisfy.
Jigsaw Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to evil
Sudoku with non-rectangular regions. same digit constraint, weirder shapes.
Sudoku 16×16
16×16 · Hard to evil
Hexadecimal sudoku for marathon solvers.
Sudoku 12×12
12×12 · Hard to evil
Twelve-digit sudoku for serious solvers.
Even-Odd Sudoku
9×9 · Easy to hard
Classic sudoku with a constraint on which cells hold even or odd digits.
Consecutive Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to evil
Classic sudoku with markers showing which adjacent cells differ by exactly one.
4×4 Sudoku
4×4 · Very easy
The smallest sudoku: a 4×4 grid with digits 1-4. Perfect for kids and total beginners.
Wordoku
9×9 · Easy to expert
Classic sudoku with letters instead of numbers, sometimes a word appears on a diagonal.
Sandwich Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to expert
Border clues tell you the sum of the digits sandwiched between the 1 and the 9 in each row and column.
Thermo Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to expert
Digits must strictly increase along each thermometer, starting from the rounded bulb end.
Arrow Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to expert
The digit in each circle equals the sum of the digits along the arrow attached to it.
Greater Than Sudoku
9×9 · Medium to hard
Inequality signs between neighbouring cells tell you which digit is larger, often with no starting digits at all.
Comparison table
| Variant | Grid | Key rule | Difficulty range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killer Sudoku | 9×9 | Cages with sum totals; no repeats in cages | Medium to evil |
| Mini Sudoku (6×6) | 6×6 | Digits 1-6 with 2×3 boxes | Beginner to medium |
| Samurai Sudoku | Five overlapping 9×9 grids | Five sudokus sharing four corner boxes | Hard to evil |
| Diagonal Sudoku (X-Sudoku) | 9×9 | Both main diagonals also contain 1-9 | Medium to expert |
| Hyper Sudoku | 9×9 | Four extra 3×3 regions also contain 1-9 | Medium to expert |
| Jigsaw Sudoku | 9×9 | Irregular regions replace 3×3 boxes | Medium to evil |
| Sudoku 16×16 | 16×16 | Digits 0-9 + A-F (hex) in 4×4 boxes | Hard to evil |
| Sudoku 12×12 | 12×12 | Digits 1-12 in 3×4 boxes | Hard to evil |
| Even-Odd Sudoku | 9×9 | Shaded cells must hold even digits | Easy to hard |
| Consecutive Sudoku | 9×9 | Markers between cells whose digits differ by 1 | Medium to evil |
| 4×4 Sudoku | 4×4 | Digits 1-4, each once per row, column, and 2×2 box | Very easy |
| Wordoku | 9×9 | Nine letters instead of digits; often a hidden word | Easy to expert |
| Sandwich Sudoku | 9×9 | Clues give the sum of digits between the 1 and the 9 in each line | Medium to expert |
| Thermo Sudoku | 9×9 | Digits increase along each drawn thermometer, from the bulb | Medium to expert |
| Arrow Sudoku | 9×9 | The circled digit equals the sum of the digits along its arrow | Medium to expert |
| Greater Than Sudoku | 9×9 | Inequality signs between cells show which neighbour is larger | Medium to hard |