Guide
How to Play Kakuro
Learn Kakuro in a minute: clues are sums, runs are the answer slots, and no digit repeats within a run.
How to Play
- 1.
Fill every white cell with a digit from 1 to 9.
- 2.
Each horizontal run must add up to the clue above the diagonal slash to its left; each vertical run must add up to the clue below the slash above it.
- 3.
No digit may repeat within a single run — repeats in different runs of the same row or column are fine.
- 4.
The board is solved when every run adds up to its clue with no repeats. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, reachable by logic alone.
Kakuro FAQ
Kakuro is a number crossword: fill the white cells with digits 1–9 so every horizontal and vertical run adds up to its clue, with no digit repeated inside a run. It debuted in Dell magazines in 1966 as Cross Sums, was renamed in Japan in the 1980s, and is now a puzzle-page staple worldwide alongside sudoku.
Each black clue cell shows a sum above or below its diagonal slash — the target for the run of white cells to its right or below it. Tap a cell and enter a digit from 1 to 9; a run must hit its sum exactly and can never repeat a digit. Start with clues that allow only one combination, then cross-check every cell against both of its clues.
Yes — every puzzle on the site is free to play with no account, no download, and no puzzle limit. That covers the shared daily board, the full archive of past dailies, and the whole library of easy to hard puzzles across all five grid sizes.
A new daily board is published every day at midnight US Eastern time. It is the same 8 × 8 medium puzzle for every player, which makes shared times comparable, and every past daily stays playable forever at its own archive URL.
A combination is a set of distinct digits that can fill a run — 16 across three cells might be 1+6+9, 2+5+9, and so on. Magic blocks are clues with exactly one possible set, like 4-in-two (1+3) or 30-in-four (6+7+8+9); they are the natural starting points of every solve. Tap any clue in the player for a live list, or study the full tables on the combinations page.
Not here. Every published board is verified by a solving program to have exactly one solution, and its difficulty label records which logical techniques the solve actually needs. If you feel stuck, there is always a deduction available — the combination helper usually points at it.
Yes. The board, keypad, and pencil marks are built for touch and work in any modern mobile browser — no app install. Progress saves automatically on your device, so an interrupted board resumes where you left off.
Start with 4 × 4 easy boards: the runs are short, most clues are near-forced, and a solve takes a few minutes. Move up to 6 × 6 once cross-checking feels natural, then to the 8 × 8 daily. The 9 × 9 and 9 × 11 grids add long runs and pair techniques for experienced solvers.