Creating a sudoku
Learn the different ways in which you can create sudokus on the PuzzleMe™ platform.
Overview
Before we talk about making sudokus, it is worth revisiting the rules of the game. Here's a quick refresher on sudoku game rules:
- Each column contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set.
- Each row contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set.
- Each sub-region of your grid contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set*.
For grid sizes of a prime number (5, 7, 11, 13), the game editor will not show you any sub-regions, and the sub-region constraint will not apply. This is because such grids do not lend themselves to a neat subdivision. For example, a 5x5 grid has 25 cells. There is no way to divide these 25 cells into rectangular su-bregions with 5 cells each. The only possible sub-regions are 5x1 and 1x5, which correspond to the column constraint and the row constraint already.
The PuzzleMe platform does not support jigsaw/geometric sudokus with non-rectangular sub-grids.
Size
This refers to the size of the whole sudoku grid. This must be a number that is at least 4 and at most 16. For example, a sudoku of size 7 will have a 7x7 grid that has 49 cells. Each of these cells can be filled with 7 characters.
Modern sudokus typically use numeric characters 1 to 9 as their character sets. As a result, you're limited to at most a 9x9 grid.
The PuzzleMe platform overcomes this limitation by extending your character set. For grid size 10 and beyond, our sudoku expands the traditional character with the following characters, in this order: 0, A, B, C, D, E and F.
To read more about character sets and how you can get creative with these, read the Style section on this page.
Sudoku X
Sudoku X is a sudoku variant, where an additional diagonal constraint is imposed on your sudoku grid. This creates a colored diagonal inside your sudoku grid. In addition to the original 3 constraints, you have to ensure that this diagonal contains one occurrence of each character in your character set.
Style
The style section refers to the characters that you can use for creating your sudoku. The character set refers to the valid characters that you and your players can use on your sudoku grid.
By default, the style is set to Standard (Alphanumeric), which follows the following convention:
- For sizes between 4 to 9, the sudoku first uses the numbers from 1 to 9. So a sudoku of size 4 will have a 4x4 grid (16 cells), where each cell can contain one of the numbers from 1 to 4.
- For size 10 and beyond, the sudoku uses the number 0, then the alphabets A, B, C, D, E and F. So a sudoku of size 13 will have a 13x13 grid (169 cells), where each cell can contain one of the numbers from 0 to 9 and alphabets ranging from A to F.
You can get creative with your character set. See Picdoku/Wordoku for more information.
Sudoku creation
Using the PuzzleMe dashboard, you can create a sudoku in three ways:
- Upload a compatible sudoku puzzle file
- Type in your own sudoku puzzle
- Using a pre filled sudoku puzzle created by PuzzleMe
Once a sudoku grid has been finalized, its contents cannot be edited. You must create a new puzzle if you'd like to make any changes.
File upload
Sudokus can be created by uploading a compatible file. Read more about the supported file formats here.
Once you have a supported sudoku puzzle file, follow these steps:
- Go to the PuzzleMe dashboard.
- Click on the "New Game" button in the navigation bar.
- Click on the "Upload Game" button.
- Click the Upload panel and select your file. Alternatively, drag and drop your file into the upload panel.
Type in
If you have access to a blank sudoku puzzle, you can type it directly into PuzzleMe, and create an online playable version of the puzzle. Several of PuzzleMe sudoku's advanced features, such as social play and "Get a Hint" are now available to you. You can source blank sudoku puzzles from newspapers/magazines/books, or other sudoku creation platforms.
Steps to create a new sudoku puzzle using the game editor- From your PuzzleMe dashboard, click New Game and select Sudoku.
- Add title, language, and click on the "Create from scratch" button.
- Select the size and style of your sudoku, and specify whether the puzzle follows Sudoku X constraints.
(1) Size, (2) Sudoku X, (3) Style for a new sudoku puzzle in the creator form
- Click on "Create Game". This will take you to the grid editor, where you can type in the puzzle.
- Click on any cell inside the sudoku grid. Once a cell is highlighted, you can use arrow keys to navigate inside the sudoku grid.
- In a given cell, enter a character. Use the alphanumeric keys 0-9 and A-F, depending on your grid size.
- Repeat step (2) for some cells. Only fill those cells which should be pre-revealed to your player at the start of the game.
- Once done, click the "Solve and Save" button in the navigation bar.
Sudoku solver failed?
Pre filled sudoku
If you do not have access to a sudoku puzzle file or a blank sudoku puzzle, you can also choose a pre-filled sudoku puzzle created by PuzzlMe. Pre-filled puzzles are available in 9x9 grid size, and 3 difficulty levels - Easy, Medium and Hard.
- From your PuzzleMe dashboard, click New Game and select Sudoku.
- Add title, language, and select a difficulty level.
- (Optional) - If you are creating a wordoku or picdoku, choose the Style option.
- Click on "Create Game". The sudoku puzzle is now created and available in your account.
Step by step video
We have recorded a step by step walkthrough video of typing in your sudoku puzzle.