Mathdoku (PuzzleMadness)

About Mathdoku (PuzzleMadness)

Mathdoku is PuzzleMadness's name for the puzzle better known as KenKen; the site's FAQ explains that KenKen is a trademark, so it uses another name, and that the rules are the same. The grid is a Latin square (on a 6x6 grid, each row and column holds 1 to 6 once) divided into cages. Each cage shows a target and an operation, and its numbers must combine to that target: added, multiplied, subtracted or divided.

The daily page opens today's puzzle on its own, and its title carries the date (on 3 October 2026 it read "Daily Medium Mathdoku Puzzle for Saturday 3rd October 2026"). There is a separate dated puzzle for each size: Small, Medium, Large, Extra 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 Mathdoku monthly and all-time leaderboards, where only your best score on any one puzzle counts.

Single-square cages are free numbers, and cages with large products or sums often have only one possible set of digits. For subtraction and division the order does not matter: the larger number can be in either square. The sizes run from small grids, quick enough for a coffee break, to extra large ones.

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 Mathdoku (PuzzleMadness)

1. Open the day's Mathdoku page and choose Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large or Mixed.
2. Fill single-square cages first; their target is the number.
3. Find the digit sets that make each cage's target with its operation, without repeating a number in any row or column.
4. Complete the grid so every row and column holds each number once; the site marks it finished.

Screenshots

Tips

• List the possible digit sets for big multiplication cages; there are often only one or two.
• A two-square cage with a minus sign and a large target needs a low and a high number.
• Rows and columns still behave like sudoku lines, so use that to choose between cage options.

Questions