The Times Cell Blocks
Rate itDivide The Times daily grid into blocks that match their numbers.
on thetimes.com
Cell Blocks is a numbered daily logic puzzle from The Times in which you split a grid into squares and rectangles, each holding one number that gives its size. It runs in the printed paper, in the numbers and logic section of the website and in the Times Puzzles app, all of which need a subscription.
About The Times Cell Blocks
Cell Blocks is The Times' version of the Japanese puzzle known elsewhere as Shikaku. It has run in the paper's puzzle pages for many years: the grid printed on 15 May 2021 was No 4159, and the one published on 3 October 2026 was No 5845, which is six grids a week: a new one appears every day from Monday to Saturday, as the paper does. The printed grids carry a Puzzler Media credit.
Each puzzle is a square grid with a scattering of digits. You divide the whole grid into square or rectangular blocks so that every block contains exactly one digit, and that digit equals the number of cells in the block. No cell is left over and no blocks overlap. The paper prints the rules beside the grid and the previous day's solution next to it.
On the website the puzzle sits in the numbers and logic section with KenKen, Kakuro, Futoshiki and Brain Trainer, and the last few weeks of grids stay playable from the list there. The Times Puzzles app for iPhone, iPad and Android carries the same daily grid and a two-week archive.
A grid takes a few minutes to a quarter of an hour. It suits players who like pure deduction without arithmetic beyond counting, and Times subscribers who already do the paper's sudoku and KenKen.
How to play The Times Cell Blocks
- Open the day's Cell Blocks in the Times numbers and logic section, the Times Puzzles app or the printed paper.
- Look at each digit: it tells you how many cells its block must cover.
- Draw a square or rectangle around each digit with exactly that many cells.
- Make sure every block holds one digit only and every cell of the grid belongs to a block.
- Use Check to test your blocks, or compare with the solution printed the next day.
Screenshots
Tips
- Start with large numbers near a corner or edge: they often have only one shape that fits.
- A cell that only one digit can reach must belong to that digit's block.
- Prime numbers such as 5 or 7 can only make a single row or column of cells.
- A 1 is a block on its own, so it walls off its neighbours straight away.
Questions
What is Cell Blocks?
The Times' name for a Shikaku-style puzzle: divide the grid into squares and rectangles, each containing one digit equal to its number of cells.
How often is a new Cell Blocks published?
Six days a week, Monday to Saturday, as The Times itself appears. Each grid is numbered; No 5845 appeared on Saturday 3 October 2026, and the numbers rise by six a week.
Is The Times Cell Blocks free?
No. It needs a Times digital subscription on the website, or a Times Puzzles subscription in the app.
Where can I play older Cell Blocks puzzles?
The numbers and logic page lists recent grids, and the Times Puzzles app keeps a two-week archive.
Ratings and reviews
Games like The Times Cell Blocks
Shikaku of the Day
The same divide-into-rectangles rule, with a free puzzle each day
Daily Shikaku
Another daily Shikaku grid, free in the browser
Shikaku Days
Shikaku Days: daily rectangle puzzles of the same kind
The Times KenKen
The Times' daily KenKen sits beside Cell Blocks in the same numbers and logic section
The Times Sudoku
The paper's daily sudoku, for subscribers who want another grid
The Times Killer Sudoku
The Times' killer sudoku adds cages and sums for a harder daily grid
Patches.cafe
Cover the board with rectangles that match their clues, with a numbered Daily Brew each day.
Plot (Mind Loft)
Divide the board into rectangles, each holding one number equal to its area.