Kakuro
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About This Game
Play Kakuro free online - the number crossword. Fill each run with digits that add up to the clue, no repeats. A logic puzzle for number lovers.
How to play Kakuro
Objective: Fill every white cell with a digit from 1 to 9 so each horizontal and vertical run adds up to its clue with no digit repeated inside a run.
This build ships three puzzles, chosen with the buttons above the board. The first two are five by five grids and the third is six by six. Dark cells carry the clues. A cyan number in a dark cell's top right is the target sum for the white run to its right, and a purple number in the bottom left is the target for the run below it. White cells are the ones you fill.
To enter a digit, tap a white cell so it highlights purple, then press a number from 1 to 9 on the pad below the grid. The digit appears in the selected cell. The backspace key clears the selected cell back to empty, and you can overwrite any cell by selecting it and pressing a different number. Nothing is locked in, so you are free to revise a run as you work out which combination fits.
You win when three conditions hold at once. Every white cell must contain a digit, every across run must total its cyan clue exactly, and every down run must total its purple clue. On top of the sums, no run may repeat a digit. The board checks itself after each entry, so the win banner appears the instant the last correct digit lands. There is no timer and no lives, and the Solved counter beside the buttons records the highest puzzle number you have finished.
Tips and strategy
Start with tight sums
A two cell run summing to 3 can only be 1 and 2, and a run to 4 can only be 1 and 3. Hunt these forced runs first. They pin exact digits and hand you crossing clues that unlock neighboring runs.
Cross two clues
Every white cell sits in one across run and one down run at once. When a digit must satisfy both a cyan and a purple total, list the candidates each clue allows, then keep only the number that appears on both lists.
No repeats is a filter
Because a digit cannot appear twice in one run, throw out any combination that doubles up. In a three cell run summing to 7 you can use 1, 2, 4 but never 1, 3, 3, which quickly narrows the real options.
Fix errors freely
Nothing locks after you type it. If a run will not total correctly, select any cell in it and press backspace or a new digit. Treat the grid as a scratchpad and keep revising until every sum lines up.
The history of Kakuro
Kakuro descends from Cross Sums, a puzzle in North American magazines through the mid twentieth century. The Japanese publisher Nikoli popularized it, and the name Kakuro shortens a Japanese phrase meaning addition cross. It spread internationally during the 2000s alongside the sudoku boom, rewarding deduction keyed to the digit combinations that add up to each clue without repeats.
Frequently asked questions
How many puzzles are there?
Three. Puzzle 1 and Puzzle 2 are five by five grids and Puzzle 3 is six by six. Pick any from the buttons above the board at any time, and solving one shows a Next Puzzle button that advances to the next puzzle.
What do the two clue colors mean?
A dark cell can hold one or two clues. The cyan number in its top right is the sum for the white run extending right, and the purple number in its bottom left is the sum for the run extending downward. Each run must total its clue.
Can a digit repeat in a run?
No. Within a single run, every digit must be different. The win check rejects any run that repeats a number even if the total is correct, so watch for duplicates when a sum could be reached more than one way.
Does Kakuro have a timer or a score?
No timer and no lives. The only tracker is the Solved counter beside the puzzle buttons, which shows the highest puzzle number you have finished. It is stored in your browser, so it persists after you leave and return to the page.