Easy Kakuro puzzles for beginners

Easy kakuro puzzles use a 9×9 grid with an 8×8 playing area and short runs of 2 to 5 cells, the best way to learn cross sums. Every grid has exactly one solution. No app, no sign-up and no interstitial before play; it works offline and every digit can be typed from the keyboard.

How to play easy Kakuro

1. Fill each white cell with a digit from 1 to 9.
2. Each run must add up to its clue: the lower number in a clue cell is for the run to the right, the upper for the run below.
3. Never repeat a digit within a run.
4. Tap a cell to see both runs and how much is left in each.
5. Use Notes (N) for pencil marks and Check when you want to find mistakes.

Easy kakuro tips

Easy grids have about 36 to 44 white cells, and their digits lean towards 1 and 9 because those make short runs easy to pin down. That means the unique combinations turn up often.

• Start with two-cell runs of 3, 4, 16 or 17: they can only be 1+2, 1+3, 7+9 or 8+9.
• Look for three-cell runs of 6 or 7 (1+2+3, 1+2+4) and 23 or 24 (6+8+9, 7+8+9).
• Where a unique run crosses another run, test each of its digits against the crossing sum. Often only one fits.
• Rule out digits by size: 16 in two cells needs 7 or more in each; 4 in two cells needs 3 or less.
• When a run has one empty cell, subtract. The panel under the board shows what is left.

Getting unstuck

If a corner will not open, move to another one; short runs are scattered across the whole grid, and one of them usually has a single combination. Pencil marks help most on runs of 4 or 5 cells, where several combinations are possible. The hint explains its step in words, for example that a run of 16 in 2 cells that already has 9 needs a 7.

Daily, stats and printables

This page plays 9×9 Easy grids, which generate in a fraction of a second.

The timer starts on your first entry and pauses when you switch tabs. Stats per level stay in this browser: played, won, win rate, best and average time. Undo and Redo cover the whole game. The first two hints on a puzzle are free; if ads are switched on later, more hints offer a short ad or a 30-second wait. Wins come with share text, and every puzzle has a code such as A7K3Q that replays it. Kakuro has no daily puzzle or printable sheets.

Plays anywhere, no app, no account

The 9×9 easy kakuro fits most phones with at most a little sideways scroll, and every digit can be typed from the keyboard. Tidy Puzzles runs entirely in your browser: there is no app to install, no account to create and no interstitial before you can play. After the first visit the game also works offline, because each puzzle is generated on your device from a seed. Every board can be played with the keyboard alone, on a phone or a desktop, and your stats and unfinished puzzles stay in this browser rather than on a server.