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Free online Sudoku
Start at Level 1, solve a daily Easy, Medium, and Hard set, or open another fresh board when you want more practice.
Start instantly. Progress stays in this browser when you play as a guest; sign-in is only for cross-device sync.
How to play
This page is built for players who want to start solving first and read only when they need a rule reminder. Every puzzle uses the classic 9x9 Sudoku rule set: each row, column, and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. The fixed clues give you the starting information, and every empty cell is solved by eliminating numbers that violate one of those three checks.
Rows
Each horizontal row must contain 1 through 9 exactly once. If a digit already appears in that row, it cannot be placed in another empty cell on the same line. Rows with only a few gaps are often the safest place to begin because the missing digits are easier to list.
Columns
Every vertical column follows the same rule. Pick one digit, look down columns where it already appears, and remove impossible positions from nearby boxes. Column scanning is especially useful when a box has several empty cells but only one legal place for a number.
Boxes
The nine 3x3 boxes must also contain every digit once. Box logic is often the fastest way to start an Easy puzzle, and on harder boards the interaction between a box and its crossing rows or columns is where many breakthroughs come from.
What is NYT Sudoku?
This site is for players who want a fast, free, newspaper-style Sudoku board with readable clues, notes, daily puzzles, and steady practice.
The goal is simple: open the page, start the next level, and solve a real Sudoku puzzle without account walls or decorative distractions.
Level mode gives a stable path for long-term practice, Daily mode gives a small routine tied to the date, and Unlimited mode gives you another board whenever you want to keep going. The rules and controls stay consistent across all three modes, so the choice is about your session, not about learning a new interface.
The board is designed around practical solving: fixed clues need to be readable, editable cells need to be easy to select, notes need to help with candidates, and undo or erase actions need to recover from small mistakes without forcing a full restart.
Google sign-in is optional and exists only to support cloud save when production credentials are configured. Guest play still works in the current browser.
Game modes
Different Sudoku players arrive with different intent. Some want a structured path, some want one daily set, and some want a fresh board after every solve. The three modes keep those jobs separate so you can match the board to your time, focus, and practice goal.
Levels
Level mode starts at Level 1 and moves through a fixed 200-puzzle progression. Early levels are better for rhythm and interface familiarity; later levels introduce more empty cells, tighter candidate work, and slower elimination.
Daily
Daily mode gives one Easy, one Medium, and one Hard puzzle for the date. Use Easy as a warmup, Medium as the main daily practice, and Hard when you have a longer, quieter session.
Unlimited
Unlimited mode is the practice room. Use it after the daily board, or when you want to drill one difficulty, test a new note-taking habit, or repeat a solving technique until it feels natural.
Mode intent
Daily puzzles work best when a player wants a small routine tied to the date. It is a contained habit: one Easy, one Medium, one Hard, then you are done if you want to stop.
Unlimited puzzles work best when a player wants repetition. It is useful after reading a strategy guide, after finishing the daily set, or when you want to practice one difficulty without waiting for tomorrow.
Keeping both flows on the same page helps search visitors understand the product quickly while the board, notes, keypad, timer, and completion behavior stay familiar.
Why play here
The product surface stays centered on the board. Controls are compact, destructive actions are separated, and mobile layouts keep the keypad below the grid. A Sudoku page should reduce friction around the puzzle instead of making players fight the interface.
Progress
Guest games save in this browser, including the current puzzle, selected difficulty, notes, elapsed time, and local statistics.
Tools
Use notes for candidate tracking, undo mistakes, erase safely, and ask for a basic hint when a puzzle stalls.
Difficulty
Levels 1-70 are Easy, 71-140 are Medium, and 141-200 are Hard. Daily and Unlimited modes also let you jump directly into a difficulty.
Rules in detail
A Sudoku clue is a fixed number. Every empty cell asks which digits still survive the row, column, and box checks.
Sudoku is a logic game rather than an arithmetic game. You prove where each digit can and cannot go through small deductions.
Most mistakes come from missing a basic constraint, not from lacking advanced techniques. If a board starts to contradict itself, inspect the latest entries and the related row, column, and box before resetting the whole puzzle.
Notes are useful because they lower memory pressure. Add candidates only when they still pass the row, column, and box checks, then remove candidates after every confirmed placement. Old notes become misinformation if they are not cleaned up.
When one area stalls, change the lens. Instead of staring at a single empty cell, scan for one digit across several boxes, or look for rows and columns that are nearly complete. Good solving is often a change of viewpoint, not a guess.
The site validates against its own generated solution. If the board stalls, use notes first, undo small mistakes, and use hints as a nudge.
Visual guide
The board, clue contrast, candidate notes, and surrounding controls should make the solving state easy to read at a glance.
Candidate notes
Pencil marks are useful when they stay tied to the row, column, and box checks and remain easy to read.
Board first
The one-page SEO content supports the playable board instead of replacing it. Search visitors still land near a usable Sudoku grid.
Difficulty clarity
Easy, Medium, and Hard tell players what kind of solving session to expect: quick singles, cleaner notes, or slower elimination.
Images support the one-page content but do not replace clear rules and strategy text.
A player should be able to inspect the board, read a short rule summary, and continue only if deeper strategy is needed.
Solving tips
Good Sudoku solving is less about speed-clicking and more about keeping the candidate list honest. Every placement should have a reason: a row is missing one digit, a column blocks several positions, or a box has only one legal home left.
Look for rows, columns, or boxes where a digit has only one possible home.
Start with crowded boxes and nearly complete rows, then clear related notes after every solved digit.
If all positions for a digit in one box fall on one line, remove that digit from the rest of that line.
Treat hints as a way to restart the logic, not as the main solving method.
Undo and erase handle small mistakes. Reset is separated because it clears the active puzzle state.
Easy teaches rhythm, Medium trains candidate cleanup, and Hard asks for patience.
Difficulty guide
Difficulty is not only the number of empty cells. The real difference is how many direct placements remain, how much candidate cleanup is needed, and whether the board asks for several deductions in a row. Explaining that difference helps players choose the right board before frustration starts.
Easy Sudoku
Easy boards usually have more direct placements and are good for learning the interface.
Medium Sudoku
Medium boards slow down the obvious placements and reward cleaner note updating.
Hard Sudoku
Hard boards expect patient elimination, hidden singles, locked candidates, and careful checking.
Choosing difficulty
Easy is useful for a quick win or warmup. Medium is the best everyday training ground because it asks for notes without becoming too slow. Hard is for focused sessions where you are willing to pause, scan again, and verify candidates carefully.
This context helps players choose before they start, reducing frustration when obvious moves run out. If you need hints repeatedly on one difficulty, step down for a few boards and practice explaining each placement.
Player workflow
Search visitors usually want a board they can play immediately, a clear explanation of the rules, or a strategy answer for where they are stuck.
The controls support short sessions and deeper solves. Daily mode supports habit formation, while Unlimited mode supports practice after a guide or completed daily puzzle.
A practical routine can be simple: solve an Easy board to warm up, use a Medium board for candidate practice, and save Hard for a session where you can think slowly. This is more reliable than opening the hardest board first and guessing when the obvious moves disappear.
After a solve, the timer is only one signal. It is often more useful to remember where you got stuck, whether your notes became messy, and which row, column, or box you forgot to check. Improving one habit per board is better than rushing through many boards without learning.
Free online Sudoku
Many players search for NYT-style Sudoku because they want a clean grid, recognizable difficulty labels, and a puzzle close to a daily newspaper habit.
Immediate play
The main call to action jumps straight to the playable Sudoku section. Sign-in is optional.
Readable layout
The board keeps enough contrast for givens, editable cells, notes, selected units, and conflicts.
Puzzle flow
Generated puzzles keep the page fast, repeatable, and focused on standard 9x9 Sudoku logic.
Who it is for
New players need a short rules explanation and a forgiving interface. Experienced players need direct difficulty choice and stable controls.
Beginners can read the rule sections and FAQ before returning to the grid. Regular solvers can use the strategy sections to choose the right mode.
A first-time player can set a small goal: finish one Easy puzzle and be able to explain every placement. A regular solver can aim for fewer hints, cleaner notes, or steadier Medium results.
Players who only want a quiet puzzle do not need to read everything. The board is placed first and the deeper material comes later, so each visitor can use the page at the depth they need.
Learn more
The blog gives search engines and players deeper supporting content while the homepage stays playable. Sudoku improvement usually comes from making basic scanning, candidate management, and review habits more reliable before chasing advanced technique names.
Rules
A beginner-friendly guide to modes, digits, notes, progress, and saving your board.
Strategy
Practical solving advice for singles, notes, box-line scanning, and avoiding blind guesses.
Difficulty
A clear comparison of difficulty levels and when to choose each one.
FAQ
No. It is unofficial and not affiliated with The New York Times Company.
No. Puzzles are generated or stored by this site.
Yes. You can open the board and start playing without payment or a required account.
Yes. Guest progress and stats save in this browser. Optional sign-in can support cloud save when configured.
Levels give a 200-puzzle progression path. Daily gives one Easy, Medium, and one Hard puzzle per date. Unlimited generates practice puzzles on demand.
Choose Easy if you are warming up or learning. Choose Medium for regular practice. Choose Hard when you want a slower logic challenge.
A hint fills an editable empty cell using the puzzle solution and can be undone.
Yes. Turn on Notes, then tap digits to add or remove pencil marks in an empty editable cell.
No. The timer is feedback for your own session. You can solve slowly, pause, or return later.
A fair Sudoku should be solvable by logic. Notes, singles, scanning, and candidate elimination are better than blind guesses.
Yes. The board, toolbar, and keypad are designed to fit small screens without horizontal scrolling.
Reset clears the current puzzle state for that board, including editable answers and notes, while keeping fixed clues.
The name helps players recognize newspaper-style Sudoku search intent, but this site is independent.
Use undo if the mistake was recent, erase the cell if only one entry is uncertain, and review the related row, column, and box before resetting. Many errors can be repaired by checking the last few moves instead of wiping the whole puzzle.
Improve reliability first. A stable scan order, timely note cleanup, and fewer unsupported guesses usually reduce solve time more than tapping quickly. After each board, remember where you stalled and fix one habit on the next puzzle.
Easy puzzles may not need notes right away. Start adding candidates when direct placements slow down or when several empty cells in one region depend on each other. Notes should reduce memory load, not fill every cell with noise.
Early moves often come from visible clues, while later moves depend on candidate cleanup and cross-checking. When progress stops, scan by digit across boxes or return to the areas with the most fixed clues.
Guessing is rarely the best path on a fair Sudoku. If you cannot justify a placement, mark candidates and gather more constraints from nearby rows, columns, and boxes. A justified slow move is better than a fast unsupported one.
Treat Easy as a warmup, Medium as the core daily practice, and Hard as the optional longer challenge. If you only have a short break, finishing Easy and Medium is still a useful routine.
Beginners should start with Levels or Easy practice because the rhythm is steadier. Unlimited is better once you know which difficulty or technique you want to repeat.
Local save means the current puzzle state is stored in this browser. It can usually resume later unless browser data is cleared. It is not the same as cloud sync across devices.
Yes. Start with Easy boards, focus only on rows, columns, and boxes, and ignore speed at first. Once the basic checks feel natural, notes and Medium puzzles become easier to introduce.
Different visitors need different answers: some want to play immediately, some need a rule reminder, some are stuck on Medium, and some want to know whether the site is free or official. A useful Sudoku homepage should answer those questions without hiding the board.
