Easy Sudoku — Play Free Online
Free easy Sudoku puzzles you can play right now in the browser. Each grid starts with around 42 clues, which is enough that every step can be found by looking rather than by writing anything down — the right level to learn on, and the right level for a puzzle you want to finish in a coffee break.
- Clues to start
- about 42
- Par time
- 8 min
- Cost
- free, no sign-up
What makes a puzzle easy
It is not the number of clues on its own. What defines this level is that the grid never closes up: at every single point in the solve, somewhere on the board there is a square whose digit is forced and visible without pencil marks. You may have to look for it, but it is always there.
That property is a promise about the whole solve, not just the opening. It means you can finish an easy puzzle from start to end using nothing but scanning — pick a digit, find the box that is missing it, and rule out the rows and columns that already have one.
Who this level suits
Complete beginners, obviously. But also anyone who wants Sudoku as a background activity rather than a sit-down puzzle: easy grids are the ones you can play while half-listening to something else, because losing your place costs you nothing.
If you are new, read the step-by-step guide to easy puzzles first. It is a five-minute read covering the one rule, the vocabulary, and the two moves that solve this entire level.
When to move up
When you stop having to search for the next square and start simply reading them off, the level has taught you what it can. That usually takes a handful of grids. The step up to medium Sudoku introduces exactly one new idea, so it is a small step rather than a cliff.
What a good easy score looks like
Finishing an easy grid is worth a 100-point completion bonus on top of the 10 points a square, and every second under the 8-minute par adds one more. That makes the ceiling here modest on purpose — an easy win should not out-score a hard one.
It also means the penalties dominate. A single mistake costs 50 points, which is 50 seconds of speed bonus you would have to win back; one hint costs 75. At this level both are avoidable, and the fastest route to a good score is simply not entering a digit until you can say which rule forces it.
The two mistakes beginners actually make
The first is filling in a square because the digit "looks right" — because it is the one missing from the row, without checking the column and box as well. Every square belongs to three units, and a digit has to be legal in all three.
The second is sweeping the same digit twice and concluding the grid is stuck. If a sweep of all nine digits turns up nothing on an easy puzzle, one of the sweeps was incomplete — most often because a box was skipped. Start again from 1 and check the boxes in a fixed order; the discipline is what makes scanning reliable rather than lucky.
Common questions
How many clues does an easy Sudoku have?
Around 42 of the 81 squares are filled in at the start, so you place roughly 39 yourself. The exact count varies by a square or two because the generator stops removing clues the moment another removal would cost the puzzle its single solution — 42 is the target it digs towards, not a quota it fills.
How long should an easy Sudoku take?
Eight minutes is the par time used for the speed bonus here, and most people who know the rules finish inside that. A first-ever grid can take twenty minutes and that is normal. Speed at this level comes from recognising where to look rather than from thinking faster.
Do I need pencil notes for easy Sudoku?
No, and it is worth deliberately not using them. Every easy puzzle here can be finished by scanning alone, which means there is always a square somewhere whose digit is forced and visible. Writing candidates would hide that skill behind bookkeeping, and scanning is what the next level is built on.
Can you get stuck on an easy Sudoku?
Not in the sense of running out of moves. What defines this level is that the grid never closes up: at every point in the solve there is a square that can be resolved by looking. If you cannot find it, you are looking at the wrong digit rather than at an impossible position — switch to a different digit and sweep the boxes it is missing from.
Is easy Sudoku suitable for children?
Yes, for a child who can hold nine digits in mind and sit with a puzzle for ten minutes. Younger than that, the 4x4 and 6x6 boards on the Sudoku for kids page use exactly the same rule on a grid that takes a minute or two, which is the quicker way to see how the puzzle works.
Other levels
- Medium Sudoku — about 34 clues.
- Hard Sudoku — about 28 clues.
- Expert Sudoku — about 24 clues.
- How to play Sudoku — the rules, plus a separate guide for each level.