How to play Mini Sudoku
- Press Start. Level 1 points at a hook that has only one possible lantern and shows you which lantern to tap.
- Tap an empty hook to pick it. Its row, column and stall light up softly so you can see what is already there.
- Tap a lantern in the tray below the board to hang it. The small number on each tray button shows how many of that lantern are still missing.
- A lantern that does not belong there flickers out and costs one of your three sparks. Lose all three and the market goes dark, but you can try the same board again straight away.
- Finish a whole row, column or stall to light it up for bonus points. Fill every hook to complete the level: no slips and no hints earns three stars.
About Mini Sudoku
Mini Sudoku is a number logic puzzle set in a night market. The board is a grid of empty hooks, split into small stalls. Your job is to hang paper lanterns that glow from 1 up to 4 on the small boards and up to 6 on the big ones, so that no row, no column and no stall ever shows the same lantern twice. Every lantern carries its number, its own paper color and its own shape, from a round 1 to a teardrop 6, so you can read the board at a glance. Some boards add moths. A moth sits between two neighbouring hooks and points at the brighter lantern, which turns a near-empty board into a chain of small comparisons. Every board is checked by a solver that only uses steps a person would use, so you never have to guess. One hundred levels lead from four by four starter boards to six by six midnight markets with long moth chains, and a new daily board is the same for every player.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap a hook | Pick that hook |
| Tap a lantern or 1 to 6 | Hang that lantern |
| Arrow keys | Move between hooks |
| N or pencil | Notes on or off |
| Backspace | Clear notes on a hook |
| H or bulb | Show the next step (3 per level) |
| P and R | Pause and restart |
Tips and strategy
- Count before you think. A row with three lanterns already hung on a four by four board has exactly one gap and exactly one missing number, so it fills itself.
- Look across all three groups at once. A hook can be squeezed down to a single choice when its row holds some numbers, its column holds others and its stall holds the rest.
- Hunt for the only home. Pick a number, say 4, and look at one stall. If every other open hook in that stall already sees a 4 in its row or column, the 4 must go in the last one.
- Moths give you limits, not answers. A lantern with a moth pointing away from it can never be the brightest number, and one that a moth points at can never be 1.
- Follow moth chains. Three hooks in a line with moths all pointing the same way must climb in order, so on a four by four board the ends are almost decided.
- Use notes on the big boards. When a hook could hold two lanterns, pencil both in. Two hooks in one row with the same two notes claim those numbers, so the rest of the row cannot use them.
Questions and answers
Is Mini Sudoku the same as Sudoku?
It uses the same family of rules: every row, column and box holds each number once. The boards are smaller, from four by four to six by six, so a round takes about a minute, and many boards add moth clues that compare two neighbours instead of giving away numbers.
Do I ever need to guess?
No. Each board is solved by a logic solver before you see it, using only steps such as single candidates, the only spot for a number and moth comparisons. Boards that would need a guess are thrown away.
What do the moths mean?
A moth sits on the line between two hooks and points at the brighter lantern, the one with the higher number. The other lantern must be lower. Moths appear from level 21 onward.
What happens when I hang a wrong lantern?
It flickers out, falls away and costs one of three sparks. Your correct lanterns stay where they are. Running out of sparks ends the round, and the result shows how many lanterns you had left to hang.
How do stars and hints work?
A finished board earns three stars with no slips and no hints. Each slip or hint takes away one star, down to a minimum of one. The bulb button shows the next hook you can work out and explains the reason.
What is the daily market?
A new six by six board with moths every day, the same for every player. Share your result to compare stars, points and time with friends.
Do I need an account?
No. Mini Sudoku runs in your browser on phones, tablets and computers, and your stars, themes and settings are saved on your own device.
