Futdoku

Futdoku is the football sister game of Flagdoku, a flag grid puzzle on the same site. The format is the familiar 3x3 sports grid: three criteria across the top, three down the side, and each of the nine cells needs a footballer who satisfies both its row and its column. The site calls it a football sudoku.

The criteria cover a wide range. Some are about careers, such as having won the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A or the Champions League, having been a league top scorer, a World Cup winner or a Golden Boy winner, or never having won a particular trophy. Others are about the name itself, such as a one-word name, a double letter or more vowels than consonants, which forces you to think about players in a different way. The player data runs from the 1997-98 season to 2026-27.

Each day's grid is built around a classic match. A correct player scores one point, a wrong player scores nothing, and the maximum from the grid is nine. On top of that there is a hidden player: find him for a perfect score.

The game is free in the browser, with a player search page to check who is in the database and an archive where you can play earlier numbered grids by clicking their number.

A new grid goes live at midnight Toronto time. Typing in a cell opens a list of matching players with their flag and position, so spelling is rarely a problem, and the cell box also has hint buttons for when you are stuck.