Kakuro Online
Fill every white run with unique digits whose total matches the clue at its edge.
Hints available. Play as many boards as you like.
Ready when you are.
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How to play
A Kakuro board is divided into horizontal and vertical runs of white cells. The small clue in a dark cell gives the total for the run beside or below it.
Enter digits 1 through 9 so every run reaches its total. A digit may appear only once inside the same run, although it may appear elsewhere on the board.
Every white cell belongs to one horizontal and one vertical run. That crossing is the engine of the puzzle: a digit that fits one total must also fit the other.
Strategy
Memorize unique combinations. Two cells totaling 3 must be 1 and 2; two totaling 17 must be 8 and 9. The order is unknown at first, but a crossing run will usually decide it.
Use cross-run intersection rather than testing digits. If a cell belongs to a two-cell 4 run, it can only be 1 or 3. If its vertical run allows 3 or 7, the intersection leaves 3 as the only candidate.
Low and high totals are the best openings because they have the fewest combinations. Scan the edges for 3, 4, 16 and 17 before working on roomy middle totals.
Difficulty and variants
Larger boards contain more crossing runs, but difficulty comes from the available sum combinations. Hard puzzles delay unique combinations and require candidate elimination across several intersections.
Questions, answered
Can digits repeat in Kakuro?
A digit cannot repeat within one horizontal or vertical run. It can repeat in a different run elsewhere on the grid.
What is the best way to start a Kakuro puzzle?
Find the shortest runs with extreme totals. Their possible digit combinations are limited, giving the crossings useful candidates immediately.
Does Kakuro require math skills?
Only addition with digits 1 through 9. Most of the challenge is logical elimination rather than calculation speed.