Jigsaw Sudoku for Kids

Jigsaw Sudoku is a fun twist on the classic sudoku puzzle. Instead of nine neat 3×3 boxes, the grid is split into nine wiggly jigsaw-shaped regions. Each region holds nine cells, and you still need every row, every column AND every region to contain the digits 1 to 9 with no repeats.

If you’ve already played our classic 9×9 sudoku, you already know most of the rules. Jigsaw just changes the shape of the boxes — everything else stays the same.

It’s sometimes called Squiggly Sudoku, Irregular Sudoku, or (if you want to sound very fancy) Nonomino Sudoku. Whatever you call it, the colourful regions make every puzzle look a little bit different — like a new jigsaw waiting to be solved.

In normal sudoku, the third rule is "every 3×3 box has the digits 1 to 9". In Jigsaw Sudoku, that rule changes to "every coloured region has the digits 1 to 9". The regions can be all sorts of shapes — long snakes, fat L-shapes, T-shapes, tall pillars. Each region still has exactly nine cells.

Because the regions can stretch across many rows and columns, you sometimes get clues you wouldn’t see in a normal sudoku. A region that touches five different rows tells you a lot about where each digit can go. That’s the special trick of jigsaw — and it’s why solving feels both familiar and brand new.

Look at the colour of a cell. All cells with the same colour belong to the same region. There’s also a thicker black line drawn around each region so you can spot where one ends and the next begins. Both clues say the same thing — colour and border tell you the region.

A long region that stretches across, say, six different rows is super useful. Each of those rows can only place one of each digit, so the region "claims" six row slots straight away. Hunt for these stretchy regions on every puzzle — they’re your shortcut to quick wins.

A short, chunky region (one that fits inside just two or three rows) is more like a classic 3×3 box. The same scanning techniques you use in regular sudoku still work — just within the jigsaw shape instead of a 3×3 square.

Most kids find Jigsaw Sudoku feels a little weird at first — your eyes are used to 3×3 squares! It usually clicks after about three or four puzzles. If you want a refresher on the basic scanning technique, the classic 9×9 sudoku page has worked examples that apply just as well to jigsaw.

Imagine you’re looking at a Jigsaw Sudoku and you spot a tall, thin region — six cells stacked in a single column, plus three cells reaching out to the side. The column part of the region tells you a lot. Each row that the column passes through can only contribute one digit to the region, so six different digits are pinned to those six rows straight away.

Now suppose four of the six column cells are already filled. The other two empty column cells need two specific digits — and those digits must be the ones that haven’t been used yet in the region. Often, only one of those two digits can fit in each empty cell because of the row rule. That gives you two free placements with almost no work.

This is the magic of jigsaw: the unusual region shapes hand you forced placements that just don’t exist in classic sudoku. Train your eye to spot regions where one row or column dominates — they’re often where the puzzle cracks open.

Once Easy Jigsaw puzzles feel comfortable, try Medium Jigsaw Sudoku. From there you can graduate to Hard Jigsaw Sudoku, and finally take on Expert Jigsaw Sudoku — our toughest jigsaw puzzle.

Want a totally different brain workout? Switch to Killer Sudoku for cage sums, or back to classic 9×9 sudoku for the traditional 3×3 boxes. Younger players can also try our 4×4 sudoku and 6×6 sudoku starter grids.