Hitori (PuzzleMadness)
Shade out repeated numbers so no row or column shows a number twice.
Every day: A new dated Hitori puzzle every day, the same for every player, one for each size (Small, Medium, Large 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).
PuzzleMadness posts a new Hitori puzzle every day, the same grid for every player, at several sizes. Black out squares so no number repeats in a row or column, no two black squares touch side by side, and the white squares stay connected. Finished puzzles score points on the site's monthly and all-time leaderboards.
About Hitori (PuzzleMadness)
Hitori starts with a grid full of numbers, many of them repeated. You turn squares black until no row or column shows the same number twice among its white squares. Black squares may never sit side by side (touching at corners is allowed), and all the white squares must form one connected area.
The daily page opens today's puzzle on its own, and its title carries the date (on 3 October 2026 it read "Daily Medium Hitori Puzzle for Saturday 3rd October 2026"). There is a separate dated puzzle for each size: Small, Medium, Large 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 Hitori monthly and all-time leaderboards, where only your best score on any one puzzle counts.
A few patterns open most grids. In a run of three equal numbers the middle one stays white, and a square sitting between two equal numbers stays white too. Once a square is black, its neighbours are white, and a white number forces its twins in the same row and column to be black. The connectivity rule settles the last choices.
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 Hitori (PuzzleMadness)
- Open the day's Hitori page and choose Small, Medium, Large or Mixed.
- Find repeated numbers in each row and column; one of each pair must go black.
- Shade squares black, never two side by side, and mark squares you know stay white.
- Keep all white squares connected; when no row or column repeats a number, the site marks the grid solved.
Screenshots
Tips
- In a triple like 4 4 4, the middle one is white and both ends are black.
- A square between two equal numbers (5 x 5) must stay white.
- Before shading a square, check it does not cut a white area off from the rest.
Questions
Do I have to shade every repeated number?
Enough of them that no number appears twice in white in any row or column, without two black squares side by side and without cutting the white squares into separate parts.
When does the PuzzleMadness Hitori 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 Hitori 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 Hitori puzzles?
Yes, older puzzles are in the archive, and puzzles completed on any day count toward that month's leaderboard.
Games like Hitori (PuzzleMadness)
Daily Hitori
puzzle-hitori.com's daily Hitori
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Hitori Conquest
Hitori Conquest, a Hitori game with a daily puzzle
Nurikabe (PuzzleMadness)
PuzzleMadness's daily shading puzzle with islands and sea
Kakurasu (PuzzleMadness)
Shade cells so each row and column adds up to its total, counting each cell by its position.
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NoriNori (PuzzleMadness)
Shade exactly two cells in every region, with the shaded cells forming dominoes that never touch.
Range (PuzzleMadness)
Make every cell black or white so each number sees exactly that many white cells.