Sudoku for kids: 4x4 and 6x6 grids with big cells

Sudoku for kids on small grids: 4×4 by default, 6×6 when a child is ready, with digits or simple shapes. Cells are large enough for small fingers, there is no timer unless you turn it on, and no mistakes counter. No app, no sign-up, no interstitial before play; works offline and with the keyboard.

How to play sudoku for kids

1. A 4×4 grid has four rows, four columns and four 2×2 boxes. Each must hold 1, 2, 3 and 4 once.
2. A 6×6 grid has six rows, six columns and six boxes of 2×3, using 1 to 6.
3. Choose Grid size and Symbols in settings. Shapes are a circle, square, triangle, star, heart and diamond.
4. Tap a cell, then tap a digit or shape on the pad below the grid.
5. Hint shows one cell that can be filled and explains why.

Teaching sudoku for kids: how to help

The kids grids are built to be solved with singles only: at each step there is a cell where only one digit fits, or a digit that fits in only one cell of a row, column or box. A 4×4 grid starts with 6 to 8 of its 16 cells filled; a 6×6 grid starts with 14 to 18 of 36. Every grid has exactly one answer.

For a first puzzle, sit together and look for a row with three numbers already in it. Ask which number is missing.

Next, show the box rule. A child who checks only rows will get stuck; point to one 2×2 box and ask the same question. Then combine them: for an empty cell, check its row, column and box.

Shapes help children who are not yet confident with numbers, and they make it clear that sudoku is about matching, not arithmetic. Nothing is ever added up.

Move to 6×6 when a child finishes 4×4 grids without help. The 2×3 boxes are the new idea, so point out their shape first.

The hint explains its reasoning in a sentence, which works well read aloud. Check is useful when a grid will not come out: it marks any wrong entry so the child can fix it.

Settings, hints and printables for sudoku for kids

There is no timer by default; you can switch it on in settings. There is no mistakes counter on kids grids. Undo and redo cover the whole game, and every hint explains itself.

Screen readers hear shape names instead of digits. For the classroom or a car journey, the printable kids sheets put 4×4 and 6×6 grids on a PDF with the answers at the end.

Plays anywhere, no app, no account

The kids grid fills up to 560 pixels, so each 4×4 cell is about 80 pixels wide on a phone and larger on a tablet. 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.