Number puzzles like sudoku: 6 types to try next
Futoshiki, kakuro, calcudoku, nonograms, hashi, and shikaku are six number puzzles like sudoku worth trying. Start with futoshiki if you want familiar number placement, kakuro if you enjoy sums, or hashi if you want to draw connections instead of entering digits.
The useful distinction is what you want to change: the calculations, the marks you make, or the way you read the board. Here is what each type asks you to do, how it feels, and a small deduction to try before choosing one.
Futoshiki: familiar placement with a new clue language
Futoshiki keeps the task of placing numbers without repeating them in a row or column. A 5-by-5 board uses 1 through 5. Greater-than and less-than signs between cells add ordering constraints. These are the core futoshiki rules.
What it feels like: a close change of pace. You still eliminate candidates, but a chain of comparisons can guide your attention across several cells.
For example, imagine three cells linked in strictly increasing order on a 5-by-5 board. The first cannot contain 4 or 5: there would not be two larger values available after it. That deduction works before you know any exact value.
Try this first if you enjoy making pencil marks and want a new reason to cross numbers off. Start with a small board so you can practice reading the signs without juggling too many candidates.
Kakuro: intersecting sums that narrow each other down
Kakuro resembles a number crossword. Fill each run of open cells with digits 1 through 9 so they add to its clue. Digits cannot repeat within a run, and across and down runs share cells. See the kakuro rules.
What it feels like: testing small combinations, then watching a crossing settle the order. Choose it if a little addition sounds appealing.
A two-cell run totaling 4 must contain 1 and 3. You know the pair, but not which cell holds which digit. A crossing run can resolve that uncertainty. The tempting alternative, 2 and 2, breaks the no-repeat rule.
Your first useful habit is to separate choosing the digits from placing them. Write down the possible combinations, then check the crossings. If the arithmetic is distracting, begin with short runs rather than a large grid.
Calcudoku: number placement meets arithmetic cages
Calcudoku uses numbers 1 through the grid size, with no repeats in a row or column. Outlined groups called cages have a target and an operation. The cage's entries must produce that target using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. The calcudoku rules explain those constraints.
What it feels like: switching between two ways of thinking. A cage suggests combinations; the row and column decide where they fit.
On a 4-by-4 board, a two-cell cage with a multiplication target of 12 needs 3 and 4. If its cells share a row and a column clue elsewhere rules out 3 in one position, the pair's order becomes clear.
Try it if you want calculations to carry more of the puzzle. Begin with 4-by-4 grids and explicit operation symbols. Give yourself room to learn the cage logic before increasing the board size.
Nonograms: number clues turn into a picture
In a black-and-white nonogram, numbers beside each row and column describe consecutive groups of filled squares, in order. Groups need at least one blank square between them. You shade cells to reveal a picture rather than enter digits. These nonogram instructions explain the rules and solving process.
What it feels like: building an image one certain square at a time. Try this when you want a visible change from number placement but still enjoy checking rows against columns.
Consider a five-cell row with clues 2, 2. Two filled cells, one blank, and two filled cells occupy the whole row. Every position is settled.
Start with a small black-and-white grid. Mark confirmed blanks as carefully as filled cells: both carry information. Resist completing a shape because it looks like a familiar object; let the clues establish each square.
Hashi: count bridges and keep everything connected
Hashi gives you numbered islands to connect with bridges. Each island needs exactly its stated number of bridges, with at most two between a pair. Bridges cannot cross each other or pass through islands, and every island must belong to one connected network. See the hashi rules.
What it feels like: planning a network. You alternate between counting connections around one island and checking whether the whole board can still join up.
For example, an island marked 4 with only two possible neighboring islands needs two bridges to each. Neither neighbor can contribute more than two.
Choose hashi if you want fewer written candidates and more line drawing. When stuck, inspect the network as a whole. Satisfying the numbers in one cluster is not enough if that cluster has no way to connect to the remaining islands.
Shikaku: make numbered regions fit together
Shikaku asks you to divide the entire grid into rectangles. Each rectangle contains exactly one numbered clue, and its area equals that number. Those are the shikaku rules.
What it feels like: fitting shapes into shared space. The number suggests possible dimensions; nearby clues and board edges restrict the rectangle's position.
A clue of 6 could belong to a 1-by-6 or 2-by-3 rectangle, including rotated versions. A proposed rectangle fails if it extends outside the grid or includes another numbered clue.
Try this if you prefer drawing boundaries to filling cells with digits. Begin by listing the shapes a clue permits, then look for cells those shapes all share. A useful deduction may be part of a boundary rather than a completed rectangle.
Bloom: use number clues to grow flowers
For a cozy visual change, Bloom: Flower Logic Puzzle turns numbered seeds into flowers on a square grid. Grow straight petals up, down, left, or right. Each seed's total petal length must equal its number, every open tile must be filled, and petals cannot cross or overlap.
What it feels like: working out how neighboring flowers can share limited space. The numbers describe lengths, so your attention moves to directions and available tiles. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, with no guessing needed.
Drag from a seed to grow, tap a petal to trim, or tap a seed to clear it. Undo and Start over are free and unlimited. The journey has 120 levels across eight gardens, introducing constraints such as fences and stones. Read how to solve Bloom puzzles for a closer look.
Bloom has hand-painted art and is fully playable offline. It is free on Google Play for Android, with ads and optional in-app purchases. Full-screen ads appear only between levels, never mid-puzzle. An iPhone version is not out yet.
Choose by the move you want to make
Pick one starting point rather than learning every ruleset at once:
- Keep placing digits: try futoshiki.
- Work through sums: try kakuro, or calcudoku for more arithmetic operations.
- Shade a picture: try a nonogram.
- Draw connections: try hashi.
- Fit regions together: try shikaku.
- Grow numbered shapes: try Bloom.
Give your choice a few small puzzles before raising the difficulty. Look for the moment when you can explain why a move must work. If that is your favorite part of solving, explore more logic puzzles without guessing.
