What changes on Medium?
Medium Hyper Sudoku drops about a quarter of the starter numbers you saw on Easy. That means more of the puzzle is solved from the hyper boxes, not from the obvious row/column clues. Don’t panic — every Medium puzzle on this site still has exactly one solution, and you can always find it without guessing.
If Medium feels like a big jump from Easy, that’s normal. Most kids spend a couple of weeks at Easy before Medium starts to feel comfortable. For a refresher on the basics, the Hyper Sudoku page has the full rules with worked examples.
Three hyper-box tricks to try
-
Hyper scan
After every placement, glance at all four hyper boxes. If a hyper box has five or six digits, you can often eliminate a lot of candidates on the remaining cells straight away.
-
Inside-the-box first
Cells that sit inside one of the four tinted hyper boxes are constrained by four lines (row, column, regular 3×3 box, hyper box). They almost always solve before cells outside the hyper boxes — start there.
-
Hyper 45
Each hyper box has nine cells and must total 45. If eight cells are filled and add to 38, the last cell must be 7. A surprisingly useful check when you’re almost done.
How to spot a forced digit
A "forced digit" is when only one number can go in a cell, no matter how you look at it. Spotting them is the main skill on Medium. Here’s the order we recommend: check the row, check the column, check the regular 3×3 box, then check the hyper box (if the cell is in one). If that leaves only one legal number, write it in.
Sometimes the row and column leave 3 or 4 options, but the hyper box knocks out all but one. This is the pay-off for learning Hyper Sudoku — the extra regions do real work, not just decoration.
On cells that aren’t inside a hyper box, solving feels exactly like classic sudoku. On hyper-box cells, always remember to include that fourth check.
When you get stuck
- ✏️ Turn on Auto Notes — on Hyper Sudoku this is doubly useful
- 🔎 Tap Check to make sure every filled cell is still correct
- 💡 Tap Hint to fill one cell (it counts in your stats, but it’s okay!)
- ↻ Tap Undo to go back if a guess turned out wrong
Ready for the next step?
When Medium Hyper Sudoku puzzles take you under 10 minutes, give Hard Hyper Sudoku a try. Hard puzzles have way fewer givens and you’ll need every trick from this page plus a few more.
Frequently asked questions
How long should Medium Hyper Sudoku take?
Most kids finish a Medium puzzle in 10 to 18 minutes. If it takes longer, that’s fine — use Notes and tap Check whenever you want to make sure you’re on track.
Can I switch back to Easy?
Of course — just tap the Easy tab at the top of the board. Your Medium puzzle saves automatically.
Are there fewer starter numbers than classic Medium sudoku?
Yes, just a little. Because the four hyper boxes give extra clues, we can remove a few more givens and keep the same difficulty feel.
Should I memorise anything?
Not really. Just get used to always checking the hyper box when your selected cell sits in one. A lot of kids find that becomes a habit after three or four puzzles.
Try other sudoku games
Different rules, same friendly board. Pick a sibling puzzle to play next.