Ronin
Rate itSudoku with chess pieces: fill a 6x6 board so no two pieces of the same kind attack each other.
on andrewt.net
Ronin is a daily sudoku played on a small chessboard. Each 3x2 region must hold one king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn, and no piece may attack another of the same type. A new numbered puzzle arrives every day, and you can keep a streak going.
About Ronin
Ronin is a logic puzzle that swaps the digits of sudoku for chess pieces. The board is a 6x6 chessboard split into six regions of 3x2 squares, and every region needs exactly one king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn.
It is made by Andrew Taylor, who also publishes puzzles such as Cell Tower, 3Doku, Celtix and Ophex on his site, and the game is dated 2024.
Each day there is one numbered puzzle with a few pieces already placed as clues. You fill the rest so that no two pieces of the same kind attack each other, ignoring anything in between: two rooks cannot share a row or column, two bishops cannot share a diagonal, two knights cannot be a knight's move apart, and so on. Pen, pencil and highlight tools help you track candidates, and a countdown shows when the next puzzle comes at midnight UTC. Your streak is saved in the browser, a finished grid can be shared, and older puzzles can still be opened by number. Options can show attacked squares, fill in pencil marks or place the queens for you, and revealing the answers breaks the streak. There are no ads and no sign-up.
The twist is that each piece type brings its own kind of constraint, so the queens behave like a small queens puzzle while the knights and pawns add local rules. It suits sudoku players who know how chess pieces move and want a short, different daily grid.
How to play Ronin
- Open Ronin and start today's numbered puzzle.
- Pick a piece (king, queen, rook, bishop, knight or pawn) and tap an empty square to place it.
- Give every 3x2 region one of each of the six pieces.
- Make sure no two pieces of the same type attack each other, ignoring pieces in between.
- Fill the whole board correctly to finish and extend your streak.
Screenshots
Tips
- There are only a few ways to fit six non-attacking queens on a 6x6 board, so ruling some out can place all the queens at once.
- Pawns may never sit diagonally next to each other, which removes many squares quickly.
- Use the option to highlight attacked squares when you are stuck on one piece type.
Questions
Is there a new puzzle every day?
Yes. Each day has one numbered puzzle for everyone, with a countdown to the next.
Can two knights share a row?
Yes. Knights only attack in an L shape, so they can share rows and columns.
Do the colours of the pieces matter?
No. Black pieces are the given clues and white pieces are your own entries.
Who made it?
Andrew Taylor, who makes other puzzles on andrewt.net.
Ratings and reviews
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