Start with the 4x4 PDF unless a child already finishes 4x4 grids quickly. It has twelve puzzles in three levels and one page of instructions. The 6x6 PDF follows the same plan on a bigger grid, where the boxes become rectangles. The answers are a separate file, so a child can finish a puzzle before anyone checks it.
Download the free PDFs
All three files are US Letter, black and white, and light on ink: plain grids, no
backgrounds, one or two puzzles to a page. Each puzzle has an ID such as
S4-B1 so a sheet can be matched to its answer.
4 x 4 Sudoku puzzles
12 puzzles in three levels, with one page of instructions. Numbers 1 to 4 and 2 x 2 boxes.
6 x 6 Sudoku puzzles
12 puzzles in three levels, with one page of instructions. Numbers 1 to 6 and 2 x 3 boxes.
Answer key
The solution to all 24 puzzles in a separate file, so a child can finish a puzzle before anyone checks it.
Which level should a child start with?
Begin with the smallest grid a child can finish, then move up when it stops holding their interest. Age is a weak guide, and our article on what age kids can start Sudoku explains why grid size matters more. Both PDFs use the same three levels, and the levels are defined by what a child has to do to solve the puzzle, not by how many numbers are printed.
| Level | What a child has to do | 4 x 4 puzzles | 6 x 6 puzzles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Each blank is the last empty square of its row, column or box, so a child fills them in one after another. | S4-B1 to S4-B4 | S6-B1 to S6-B4 |
| Easy | Some squares need the row and the column read together. | S4-E1 to S4-E4 | S6-E1 to S6-E4 |
| Medium | Some squares need the box as well, so row, column and box are read together. The 6 x 6 puzzles can also need a number that fits only one square. | S4-M1 to S4-M4 | S6-M1 to S6-M4 |
Every puzzle has exactly one answer and can be solved by looking, with no guessing. If a child is stuck on a Medium puzzle, going back to an Easy one is a normal step, not a failure.
How 4x4 Sudoku works
A 4x4 grid has four rows, four columns and four boxes of 2 by 2 squares. Fill every blank so that the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 appear exactly once in each row, each column and each box. You never add anything: the numbers are only labels.
Start where a line or box is almost full. If three of its four squares are filled, the fourth number is the one that is missing. Once a child has filled a square, another row, column or box usually gets one blank closer to done. For a slower walk through a first puzzle, see how to solve a 4x4 Sudoku.
How 6x6 Sudoku works
A 6x6 grid uses the numbers 1 to 6. The rules are the same, with one change that trips up most beginners: the six boxes are rectangles, 3 squares wide and 2 squares tall, not squares. Every row, every column and every one of those 2 x 3 boxes holds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 once. The thick lines on the worksheets show the boxes.
The jump from 4x4 to 6x6 is mostly that box. 4x4 vs 6x6 Sudoku for kids goes through the differences, and how to teach Sudoku to kids has ideas for the first few sessions.
Tips for parents and teachers
- Pencil, not pen. A number can be rubbed out, and trying one is part of working it out.
- Ask, don't tell. Try "which number is missing from this row?" before pointing at a square.
- Let the grid check itself. A finished Sudoku can be checked by the child: does every row, column and box have each number once? The answer key is for settling a disagreement.
- Mix levels. One Beginner puzzle, then the next Easy one, is a good way to end a session on a puzzle that works.
- In a classroom, print the 4x4 PDF and the answers separately, and hand out the answers only after the puzzles are done.
How the puzzles were made and checked
The twenty-four puzzles are original. A program generated them from a fixed starting value, and a second program re-checked every one before it was published: each has exactly one solution, each can be solved by the technique its level names without guessing, and none is a rotated, relabelled or rearranged copy of another or of a practice puzzle elsewhere on this site. The PDFs are rebuilt from the same data, so a puzzle and its answer cannot drift apart.
Keep going
When these worksheets run out, our Sudoku books for kids carry on. Each of the four below includes 4x4, 6x6 and 9x9 grids, and each book's page gives its own puzzle count and difficulty levels, so you can pick the next step. Other things to print are on the free printables page.
