Kakuro is a beloved logic puzzle often called "a crossword with numbers." Instead of words, you fill the white squares with the digits 1 to 9 so that every horizontal and vertical run adds up to the small clue printed in its grey header — and no digit repeats within a single run. That one twist turns simple addition into a deep deductive challenge.
Every puzzle here is built from a verified solution, so each one is fully solvable by logic alone. Play free online Kakuro in your browser with no download or sign-up, choosing from three grid sizes and a clean dark theme that is easy on the eyes.
Kakuro began life as "Cross Sums" in American Dell puzzle magazines in the 1960s, credited to the Canadian constructor Jacob E. Funk. Japanese publisher Nikoli imported it in the 1980s, trimming the name Kasan Kurosu ("addition cross") down to Kakuro — and in Japan it became one of the country's best-loved logic puzzles, second only to sudoku in Nikoli's famous line-up.
Veteran solvers memorise the "magic" combinations that admit only one set of digits: a two-cell run summing to 3, 4, 16 or 17, a three-cell 6, 7, 23 or 24, a four-cell 10, 11, 29 or 30. Spotting one instantly pins down its digits, and every intersection with a crossing run passes that certainty along — the same cascading logic that makes a crossword click open.
Fill every white cell so that each run of cells sums to its clue, using the digits 1-9 with no repeats inside any single run. Complete the whole grid to solve the puzzle.
Click or tap a white cell to select it, then type a number 1-9 on your keyboard or use the on-screen number pad. Press 0, Backspace or ⌫ to clear a cell. The clue in a header's top-right is the sum for the run going across; the bottom-left clue is the sum for the run going down. Cells turn red when a run repeats a digit or overshoots its total.
Solving the grid records a win. Kakuro is untimed — careful logic, not speed, is what matters.
Start with short runs that have only one combination — a two-cell run summing to 3 must be 1+2, and a two-cell run summing to 17 must be 8+9. Use those locked digits to crack the cells they cross. Ready for a real test? Choose Hard for the largest, most tangled grids.
What are the rules of Kakuro?
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 repeating inside a single run. Digits may repeat elsewhere in the grid, just never within one run.
Can a digit repeat within a Kakuro run?
No — that is the defining rule. A two-cell run summing to 4 must be 1+3; it can never be 2+2.
What is the easiest way to start a Kakuro puzzle?
Hunt for runs with a unique combination, like a two-cell 17 (8+9) or a three-cell 24 (7+8+9), then use the crossing runs to lock each digit into place.
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