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SudokuBeginners

Easy sudoku

Four 9 × 9 sudoku per page with plenty of starting numbers, so the first moves are always findable. It is meant for beginners and for anyone who wants a relaxed puzzle.

By Paul Gunder. Free to print for home, classroom and office use; see how our printables are made.

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  • Fresh problems every time
  • Answer key on its own page
  • Print or PDF, Letter or A4
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Set up your sheet

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Tip: press N for new problems. The link always brings this exact sheet back.

Easy Sudoku2 pages, answer key from page 2 · US Letter

Live preview
NameDateScoreEasy SudokuFill every empty square with a number from 1 to 9. Each row, each column and each 3 × 3 box must use everynumber once.Puzzle 114738746935154861364341583596813228135Puzzle 296431379651387159329834632674198296514Puzzle 378951328713649132629376257429925729816Puzzle 428492387831495831424173458372552853921PrintablePal.com · free printable puzzlesEasy Sudoku
Worksheet, page 1
Easy Sudoku: answer keyPuzzle 1615248793874693521923175486752981364396724158148356972439562817561837249287419635Puzzle 2879654321132789645645213879714568932928137456356492187567341298293876514481925763Puzzle 3274689531613245897985713462491537628862491753357862914536174289148926375729358146Puzzle 4275983146469215387831647952587396214624178539193452768316724895952861473748539621PrintablePal.com · free printable puzzlesAnswer key
Answer key, page 1

On this page

A first sudoku should feel winnable. On Easy, the grid keeps lots of its numbers, which means nearly every row, column and box already has a few answers sitting in it.

What prints

The sheet is headed "Easy Sudoku". The instruction line asks you to place 1 to 9 in the blanks, with no repeats in any row, column or 3 × 3 box. Puzzle 1 through Puzzle 4 are laid out in two columns, with thick borders around each box. Printed clues are bold black. Empty squares are blank, with enough room for a pencil number. A second page carries the answer key, with the numbers you supplied printed in color.

The settings

  • Grid: three board sizes; this page uses the classic 9 × 9.
  • Difficulty: Easy is chosen. Medium and Hard are available.
  • Puzzles per page: set to 4. You can pick 1, 2 or 6 instead.

How easy is easy

For a 9 × 9 grid the Easy target is about 38 given numbers, which leaves roughly 43 blanks to fill. The generator removes numbers at random and keeps each removal only if the puzzle still has a single solution, so some grids may keep a few more than 38. Medium aims for about 31 and Hard for about 26, so you can see how much more you must work out as the level rises.

With so many clues, the standard first technique is enough for much of the grid: pick a box or a row that is nearly full and ask which one number is missing. Then move to a number that appears often and look for the only square left for it.

Tips for beginners

Start in the box with the most clues. Work with a pencil, not a pen. Do not guess; if two numbers seem possible, leave the square and come back after another square is solved. When a whole puzzle is done, check each row, column and box once before looking at the key page.

Worked example: a rainy afternoon with a nine-year-old

Priya prints this page with 4 puzzles and cuts the sheet into quarters, so her son gets one grid at a time. In his first grid, the middle row has only one empty square, and he fills it by counting which digit from 1 to 9 is missing. That opens a column, then a box. He finishes in about fifteen minutes and checks it against the key. When the next one goes quickly too, they switch to the medium sudoku page.

More grids

Younger solvers can start with sudoku for kids, which has 4 × 4 and 6 × 6 grids. If the numbers look small, large print sudoku gives one big grid on each page.

Sources

  1. NRICH, University of Cambridge: Sudoku-style puzzles nrich.maths.org