Sudoku / 数独 (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

About Sudoku / 数独 (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

Asahi GAMES is the brain-game section the Asahi Shimbun launched in May 2026, free of ads and playable in a browser or in the Asahi Shimbun app. Its sudoku is set every day, and the app shows each puzzle with its date and a difficulty rating in stars, with a button to pick earlier puzzles.

The rules are the classic ones: every row, every column and every 3x3 block must contain the digits 1 to 9 exactly once. The game page suggests starting with squares where only one number can fit, and using the memo mode to pencil in candidates when several are possible. A timer runs while you solve, and there are buttons to check the grid, undo and redo, pause, reset, or see the answer.

Asahi GAMES itself is free, but the daily sudoku, like Wordleにほんご, is limited to paid Asahi Shimbun Digital members. It suits Japanese readers who want a daily sudoku without ads from a newspaper they already read.

How to play Sudoku / 数独 (Asahi Shimbun 朝日新聞)

1. Sign in to Asahi Shimbun Digital as a paid member and open GAMES, then the sudoku.
2. Look at the digits already given in the 9x9 grid.
3. Tap an empty square and enter a digit that is not yet in its row, column or 3x3 block.
4. Use memo mode to note candidates when a square could hold several digits.
5. Fill every square to finish; pick an earlier date to play more.

Tips

• Start with rows, columns and blocks that already hold the most digits.
• Look for a digit that can go in only one square of a block.
• Use notes for pairs: two squares in a block that can only hold the same two digits rule those digits out elsewhere.

Questions