Kakuro - Logic Puzzle Fun

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

12 Oct 2007 08:24 AM

If you've mastered Suduko, you might want to try the Japanese game Kakuro. The Kakuro game uses some of those same logic skills. Kakuro is different though in that it actually uses math, but it is still more a logic puzzle than a math exercise. It's also called "cross sums" or "Kakro". The Kakuro board looks much like a crossword puzzle. Some squares are blank, others are shaded, some have numbers instead of crossword clues that tell the player what the blank spaces add up to. The player fills in answers "across" and "down". Only digits one through nine are used, no zeros, and no duplicate numbers. So if the player has a "across run" of two spaces that add up to four, they would know that one space must be a three and the other space must be a one. Two and two wouldn't work, because those are duplicates. By looking at the intersecting "down run" the player may be able to figure out which of those spaces will be the one and which will be the three.

Kakuro players recognize that there are special situations where only a single combination of number is going to work. Some players call these "combination clues", or "only possibilities" or "Magic Blocks". An example is if the board shows four spaces that add up to ten. Without using zeros, or any number twice, the spaces must be one, two, three and four. Having a printed list of these special blocks or clues makes solving the puzzles much easier!

Like Suduko and crosswords, Kakuro puzzles come in many different levels. Kakuro puzzles make a nice change and are great ways to occupy kids while traveling or at the doctor's office. They can be a fun way to sneak in a little math and logic.

Also See:

Bulls and Cows - a logic game

Gemsweeper - Addictive Computer Game

Sudoko Fun

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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