Kakurasu Puzzle Online Free
Shade squares to hit every clue. In a row, a shaded square is worth its column number. In a column, it’s worth its row number.
Tap to shade, tap again for a dot, again to clear. Drag to paint.
What is Kakurasu?
Kakurasu is a shading puzzle where every shaded square counts towards two sums. Across a row, a shaded square is worth its column number (1, 2, 3…). Down a column, it’s worth its row number. You shade squares until every row and column adds up to its clue.
Because every clue is a total, solving Kakurasu means splitting numbers into different parts: a row clue of 7 in a 4 × 4 grid could be 3 + 4 or 1 + 2 + 4. It’s a gentle logic puzzle that quietly practises addition.
How to play Kakurasu Puzzle
- The small numbers along the top and left are the values 1, 2, 3 and so on. The bold clues on the right and along the bottom are the targets.
- Shade squares so that in every row, the column numbers of the shaded squares add up to the clue on the right.
- At the same time, in every column, the row numbers of the shaded squares must add up to the clue at the bottom.
- A clue turns green when it’s met and red when you’ve gone over. Tap a square once to shade it, again to mark it with a dot (a square you know stays white), and a third time to clear it. Drag to fill several squares the same way. Every puzzle is made fresh and checked to have exactly one solution, so it can always be solved by logic without guessing. Use Hint if you’re stuck, and pick a size at the top of the board.
Kakurasu Puzzle skills
- Addition and number bonds
- Splitting a number into different parts
- Logical deduction
Level: Ages 8 and up
Tips for Kakurasu
A clue of 0 means nothing in that line is shaded, so dot every square. A clue equal to the whole line (10 in a 4 × 4 grid, because 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10) means every square is shaded.
Small clues have few answers. A clue of 1 or 2 can only be that one square. A clue of 3 is either the 3 alone or 1 + 2.
Work backwards from big clues. In a 6 × 6 grid the whole line adds up to 21, so a clue of 19 means every square except the 2. Practise these pairs in number bonds to 20.
Kakurasu Puzzle questions and answers
How do you solve a Kakurasu puzzle?
Each shaded square is worth its column number in its row and its row number in its column. Shade squares so every row total matches the clue on the right and every column total matches the clue at the bottom. Start with very small or very large clues, which have the fewest possibilities.
Is Kakurasu good for kids?
Yes. The 4 × 4 puzzles only need addition up to 10, so children from about 8 can solve them, and the 6 × 6 and 8 × 8 sizes give older players a real challenge.
Does every Kakurasu puzzle have one solution?
Yes. Every puzzle is checked by a solver when it’s made, so there is exactly one correct shading and it can be found by logic alone.
What do the numbers on the edges mean?
The numbers on the top and left are the values of each column and row. The clues on the right are the row targets, and the clues along the bottom are the column targets.