LogicNumbersPuzzleMadness

Center-Dot Sudoku (PuzzleMadness)

Sudoku where the nine centre squares of the boxes form an extra region.

Every day: A new dated Center-Dot Sudoku puzzle every day, the same for every player, one for each difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard, Tough and Mixed); completed puzzles score on monthly and all-time leaderboards and past days stay in the archive. New puzzle: Once a day (the site does not state the time).

Play Center-Dot Sudoku (PuzzleMadness) on puzzlemadness.co.uk
A finished Center-Dot Sudoku from PuzzleMadness's rules, with the nine box centres shaded grey

PuzzleMadness posts a new Center-Dot Sudoku puzzle every day, the same grid for every player, at several difficulty levels. Normal sudoku rules, and the grey centre squares of the nine boxes must together hold 1 to 9 once. Finished puzzles score points on the site's monthly and all-time leaderboards.

About Center-Dot Sudoku (PuzzleMadness)

Center-Dot Sudoku is a 9x9 sudoku with one extra region: the middle square of each 3x3 box is shaded grey, and those nine grey squares must hold 1 to 9 once between them. It is the same idea as the diagonals in X-Sudoku or the shaded boxes in Hyper Sudoku, applied to the box centres.

The daily page opens today's puzzle on its own, and its title carries the date (on 3 October 2026 it read "Daily Medium Center-Dot Sudoku Puzzle for Saturday 3rd October 2026 (Medium)"). There is a separate dated puzzle for each difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, Tough and Mixed. Past days stay in the archive, so a missed puzzle can be played later, and there is a print version and an image download of the grid. PuzzleMadness does not publish solutions: the site tells you when you have finished a grid correctly or made a mistake. Each completed puzzle adds to your total on the Center-Dot Sudoku monthly and all-time leaderboards, where only your best score on any one puzzle counts.

Treat the nine grey squares as a tenth box scattered around the grid. A digit already in one grey square cannot appear in any other, which often cuts a centre square down to one candidate. The rest is classic sudoku.

PuzzleMadness is a British puzzle site with dozens of daily puzzle types in the browser, from many sudoku variants to logic grids such as Nurikabe, Hashi and Slitherlink. It is free to play and carries ads. A free account keeps track of the puzzles you have finished and puts your name on the leaderboards, and the badges next to usernames mark how many puzzles a player has completed.

How to play Center-Dot Sudoku (PuzzleMadness)

  1. Open the day's Center-Dot Sudoku page and choose Easy, Medium, Hard, Tough or Mixed.
  2. Fill digits so every row, column and 3x3 box holds 1 to 9 once.
  3. Make the nine grey centre squares hold 1 to 9 once too.
  4. Complete the grid and the site records your score.

Tips

  • List the digits already in grey squares; they are banned from the other grey squares.
  • Grey squares share rows and columns in threes, so check the rows through the centres together.
  • Use the extra region early; it gives placements a classic grid would not.

Questions

What are the grey squares in Center-Dot Sudoku?

The middle square of each 3x3 box. Together they form an extra region that must hold 1 to 9 once.

When does the PuzzleMadness Center-Dot Sudoku change?

Once a day: each puzzle is dated, and the daily page opens the current day's grid. The site does not say at what time the new one appears.

Is PuzzleMadness Center-Dot Sudoku free?

Yes. You can play without an account; the site shows ads. A free account records which puzzles you have finished and enters your scores on the leaderboards.

Where can I find the answers?

PuzzleMadness does not publish solutions. It tells you when your grid is complete and correct, and when you have made a mistake.

Can I play earlier Center-Dot Sudoku puzzles?

Yes, older puzzles are in the archive, and puzzles completed on any day count toward that month's leaderboard.

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