Easy, Medium, Hard Sudoku

Sudoku difficulty is not only about how many cells are blank. A puzzle can have many givens and still require careful logic. What changes between Easy, Medium, and Hard is the kind of deduction the board asks for.

Easy Sudoku

Easy boards usually offer many direct placements. Rows, columns, and boxes often contain enough givens that naked singles and simple hidden singles appear quickly.

Choose Easy when you are warming up, learning notes, playing on a small screen, or trying to build a daily habit without pressure.

Medium Sudoku

Medium boards reduce the number of immediate singles. You may need to keep notes in several boxes, scan one digit across multiple rows, and update candidates carefully after each placement.

Choose Medium when Easy feels automatic but you still want a puzzle that can be solved with straightforward human logic.

Hard Sudoku

Hard boards expect more patience. Direct singles may be sparse, so notes, hidden singles, locked candidates, and short contradiction checks become more useful.

Choose Hard when you want a slower solve, when you are practicing candidate discipline, or when the daily Easy and Medium boards are already complete.

How to Choose

Difficulty	Best for	Main habit
Easy	Warmups and new players	Find singles
Medium	Regular daily practice	Use notes cleanly
Hard	Focused solving sessions	Track candidates and locked positions

A Simple Daily Plan

Start with Easy to settle into the interface. Move to Medium when the first board is complete. Save Hard for a focused session where you can use notes without rushing. If you want more practice, switch to Unlimited and repeat the difficulty that exposed the most mistakes.

FAQ

Does Hard mean unfair?

No. A fair Hard Sudoku should still be solvable by logic. It simply gives fewer direct placements and asks for better candidate tracking.

Do the rules change by difficulty?

No. Every difficulty uses the same 9x9 Sudoku rules: digits 1 through 9 must appear exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box.