CalcuDoku (BrainBashers)
Fill a Latin square so every cage hits its target with +, -, x or ÷.
Every day: Fifteen new CalcuDoku grids every day, sizes 4x4 to 8x8 at Easy, Medium and Hard, dated and the same for everyone, plus a larger weekly special. New puzzle: Midnight GMT (the site lets you set your own time zone).
CalcuDoku on BrainBashers is a daily arithmetic grid in the KenKen style. Each row and column holds 1 to the grid size once, and each outlined cage must produce its clue with the operation shown. Five sizes and three levels arrive every day.
About CalcuDoku (BrainBashers)
CalcuDoku is BrainBashers' take on the cage arithmetic puzzle best known as KenKen. The grid is a Latin square: in a 6x6 puzzle every row and every column holds the numbers 1 to 6 once each. On top of that the grid is split into cages, each with a clue such as 24x or 2÷ in its corner. The numbers in the cage must give that result with that operation, in whatever order works. Unlike Killer Sudoku, a number may appear more than once in a cage, as long as it does not repeat in a row or column, and the page points this difference out.
Each day Kevin Stone's site posts grids at 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7 and 8x8, each at Easy, Medium and Hard, so fifteen puzzles in all, and a 9x9 weekly special. Every puzzle opens on its own dated page with check, pencil marks, answer, print and restart buttons, an option to show mistakes when checking and an optional clock. A help page with a walkthrough explains the method.
The set changes at midnight GMT, or at the time zone you choose, and the date list keeps a few weeks of earlier days. The site has no adverts and asks for no account.
It suits anyone who likes sudoku but wants some arithmetic in it, and the 4x4 Easy grid is a gentle way in.
How to play CalcuDoku (BrainBashers)
- Open the Daily CalcuDoku page and pick a size and level from today's puzzles.
- Place the numbers 1 to the grid size so each appears once in every row and column.
- Make each cage's numbers give its clue using the operation shown (+, -, x or ÷), in any order.
- Use pencil marks for candidates and press check to test your grid.
- Show the answer if you are stuck; a new set appears after midnight GMT.
Tips
- Fill single-square cages first: their clue is the number itself.
- For two-square subtraction and division cages, list the few pairs that fit and cross them off against the row and column.
- Multiplication clues are often the most telling: factor them to see which numbers can be inside.
- A number may repeat in an L-shaped cage as long as the two copies are in different rows and columns.
Questions
Is CalcuDoku the same as KenKen?
It is the same kind of puzzle: a Latin square split into cages, each with an arithmetic target and operation.
Can a number repeat inside a cage?
Yes, as long as it does not repeat in a row or column. That is the main difference from Killer Sudoku.
What sizes are there?
Every day there are 4x4 to 8x8 grids at Easy, Medium and Hard, plus a 9x9 weekly special.
When do the puzzles change?
At midnight GMT, or at the time zone you set on the site.
Is it free?
Yes, with no adverts and no account.
Games like CalcuDoku (BrainBashers)
The Daily KenKen (SudokuWiki)
A daily KenKen-style grid with the same cage arithmetic
KenKen (Boston Globe)
The licensed KenKen as a daily newspaper puzzle
The Times KenKen
The Times' daily KenKen grids
Killer Sudoku (BrainBashers)
The site's other cage puzzle, with sums only and no repeats in a cage
Sudoku (BrainBashers)
The same site's classic daily sudoku at six levels
Daily Futoshiki
Another daily Latin square, steered by inequality signs instead of sums
Futoshiki (BrainBashers)
Fill a Latin square that obeys every greater-than and less-than sign.
Hitori (BrainBashers)
Shade out repeated numbers without letting black squares touch or cutting the white ones apart.