Kakuro FAQ

Kakuro is a logic puzzle often described as a crossword made of numbers. The grid has white cells you fill with digits 1–9 and shaded cells that hold clues. Each clue gives the sum of the run of white cells that follows it, across or down, and no digit may repeat inside a run. The puzzle is solved when every run adds up to its clue.

Yes. The whole game is free, with no download, no account, no energy limits, and no paywall. Puzzles are generated in your browser, so you can play as many as you like.

No. There is no sign-up, no download, and no plugin. Open the page and a puzzle is ready. Everything runs in your browser.

Select a white cell and enter a digit from 1 to 9. Each run of white cells must add up to the clue in the shaded cell at its start: the number at the top-right is for the run going across, the number at the bottom-left is for the run going down. A digit can appear only once within a run, but can repeat in different runs. Use the crossing runs to work out which digit belongs in each cell.

Each shaded cell can hold up to two clues, separated by a diagonal line. The number above the diagonal (top-right) is the total for the white cells running to its right. The number below the diagonal (bottom-left) is the total for the white cells running beneath it.

Not inside a single run: within any one across or down run every digit must be different. The same digit can appear in different runs, and often does. Repeats are highlighted in red as soon as you enter them.

Both use digits and forbid repeats, but Sudoku is a fixed 9×9 grid where rows, columns and boxes each hold 1–9 once. Kakuro grids vary in shape, use only sums and the no-repeat rule, and have no boxes. Digits are deduced from arithmetic — which sets of digits can make a total — rather than from placement alone.

Red means a rule is broken right now: either a digit repeats inside a run, or a run is completely filled but does not add up to its clue. It is a nudge from the rules, separate from Check, which compares against the solution.

Yes. Each puzzle is generated when you start it and then checked by a solver that counts solutions; only grids with exactly one solution are used. That means every puzzle can be solved by logic alone, and if two digits seem to fit a cell, a crossing run will rule one out.

Easy is a 5×5 playing area with runs up to four cells. Medium is 7×7 with runs up to five cells. Hard is 8×8 with runs up to six cells. Larger grids and longer runs keep more possibilities open for longer, so they take more deduction and more patience.

Turn Notes on and tap digits to toggle small candidate marks in a cell; auto-notes fills every empty cell with the digits its runs still allow. Check compares your entries with the solution and marks wrong digits. Hint reveals the selected cell (or the first empty or wrong cell if yours is already right). Using a hint means the run will not set a best time.

Totals at the very bottom and top of the range for a given run length. In two cells: 3 (1+2), 4 (1+3), 16 (7+9) and 17 (8+9). In three cells: 6 (1+2+3), 7 (1+2+4), 23 (6+8+9) and 24 (7+8+9). Memorising these gives you free starting cells in almost every puzzle; the tips page lists more.

Puzzles are generated on demand rather than scheduled daily, so you can start a new one whenever you like. A timer runs while you solve and pauses when the tab is hidden. Your best time for each size counts only wins without hints.

Yes. The board, number pad and action buttons are laid out to fit one phone screen. Tap a white cell, then tap a digit on the pad. Notes, undo, check and hint are one tap away, and the page works in any modern mobile browser.

Arrow keys move between white cells and 1–9 enter a digit. Backspace or Delete clears a cell. N toggles notes, U or Ctrl+Z undoes, H gives a hint, C checks for mistakes, Shift+N starts a new puzzle, and M mutes or unmutes sound.

Yes, on your device. Wins, hint-free wins, win streak and best hint-free time are saved for each size, and an unfinished puzzle is saved as you play so a refresh puts you back where you were. Everything lives in your browser’s local storage; clearing site data or switching browsers starts fresh.

No. kakurogame.app is an independent Kakuro game and is not affiliated with Kakuro Conquest or any other Kakuro site. Kakuro itself is a classic puzzle with well-known rules, and many sites publish it; this one focuses on instant play, generated puzzles that always have a single solution, and a clean interface on phones and desktops.

Your streak counts consecutive solved puzzles at a size. Starting a new puzzle or restarting after you have begun entering digits, without solving the current one, counts as an abandoned puzzle and resets that size’s streak.

Short sounds are synthesised in your browser when you enter digits, finish a run, or solve the puzzle. Press M or use the speaker button to mute; the choice is remembered on your device.