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Creating a Sudoku

Objective

Learn the different ways in which you can create Sudokus on the PuzzleMe™ platform.

Overview​

Before jumping into making Sudokus, it is worth revisiting the rules of the game. Here's a quick refresher:

  1. Each column contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set.
  2. Each row contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set.
  3. Each sub-region of your grid contains exactly one occurrence of each character in your character set.

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.

Sub-regions

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 sub-regions 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.

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 this convention:

  • For sizes 4 to 9: Uses numbers 1 to 9 (e.g., a 4x4 grid uses numbers 1-4)
  • For size 10 and beyond: Uses 0, A, B, C, D, E, and F (e.g., a 13x13 grid uses 0-9 and A-F)

This extends the traditional 9x9 limitation, allowing larger grids while maintaining Sudoku rules.

tip

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:

  1. Upload a compatible Sudoku puzzle file
  2. Type in your own Sudoku puzzle
  3. Using a pre filled Sudoku puzzle created by PuzzleMe
info

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.

Creating a sudoku by uploading a file

Once you have a supported Sudoku puzzle file, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the PuzzleMe dashboard.
  2. Click on the "New Game" button in the navigation bar.
  3. Click on the "Upload Game" button.
  4. 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
  1. From your PuzzleMe dashboard, click New Game and select Sudoku.
  2. Add title, language, and click on the "Create from scratch" button.
  3. Select the size and style of your Sudoku, and specify whether the puzzle follows Sudoku X constraints.
Sudoku X

Sudoku X is a setting that adds an extra challenge to standard Sudoku. In addition to the usual rules (each row, column, and sub-region must contain one of each character), Sudoku X also requires that both main diagonals of the grid contain one occurrence of each character. The colored diagonal pattern in the puzzle interface shows you which cells must follow this additional constraint.

Choosing the
(1) Size, (2) Sudoku X, (3) Style for a new Sudoku puzzle in the creator form
  1. Click on "Create Game". This will take you to the grid editor, where you can type in the puzzle.
Typing in a sudoku puzzle
  1. Click on any cell inside the Sudoku grid. Once a cell is highlighted, you can use arrow keys to navigate inside the Sudoku grid.
  2. In a given cell, enter a character. Use the alphanumeric keys 0-9 and A-F, depending on your grid size.
  3. Repeat step (2) for some cells. Only fill those cells which should be pre-revealed to your player at the start of the game.
  4. Once done, click the "Save" button in the navigation bar.

What happens when I click Save?
The Save button will attempt to solve your partially filled Sudoku grid. You should only fill some cells (the ones that should be pre-revealed to players).

What the solver does:

  • Attempts to complete all empty cells to create a valid Sudoku puzzle
  • Ensures all rows, columns, and sub-regions follow Sudoku rules
  • Only available when creating a puzzle from scratch

What happens next:

  • Success: Grid is completed and puzzle is saved permanently
  • Failure: Fails if there are rule violations or if the puzzle is too difficult to solve

Once successfully saved, the puzzle cannot be edited further.

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.

Pre-filled sudoku puzzle options
Steps to create a pre filled Sudoku puzzle
  1. From your PuzzleMe dashboard, click New Game and select Sudoku.
  2. Add title, language, and select a difficulty level.
  3. Optionally, if you are creating a wordoku or picdoku, choose the Style option.
Creating a pre-filled sudoku puzzle
  1. Click on "Create Game". The Sudoku puzzle is now created and available in your account.

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