Samurai Sudoku.
Learn the rules, see the possibilities.
Samurai Sudoku joins five 9×9 grids into one larger puzzle: four corner grids and one central grid. A 3×3 box from each corner grid overlaps a box in the center. These shared cells must have the same values in both grids, allowing one deduction to help solve another part of the puzzle.
How to play Samurai Sudoku
Three ideas. Illustrated on the board. Take them one move at a time.
See how the five grids fit together
Think of the board as five familiar Sudoku puzzles connected at their corners. Each 9×9 grid has its own rows, columns, and boxes. Blank gaps between the grids are not playable cells. You do not apply a single 1–9 rule across the full width of the combined board.
Identify the boundaries of one 9×9 grid before checking a row or column.
Treat the overlaps as shared space
Each highlighted overlap is a full 3×3 box used by both a corner grid and the center. A digit placed there must satisfy the relevant rows and columns of both grids. In the playable board above, changing one of these cells updates its matching position automatically.
A number forced by one grid can eliminate candidates in the other grid immediately.
Solve locally, then pass information along
Start with a nearly complete row, column, or box in whichever grid offers the clearest move. Once you solve a shared cell, inspect the neighboring grid for new deductions. Repeat this process between the corner grids and the center until all five are complete.
Use Tab to cycle between grids, or click directly on the part of the Samurai board you want to work on.
Sudoku strategies that work in every variant
Every Sudoku is solved with the same three habits. They need no arithmetic and no guessing — just a careful look at what each cell can still be.
Scan rows, columns, and boxes
Pick a number and sweep the grid. Where a number already appears, it cannot go again in that row, column, or box. Three placed copies often leave only one open cell for the fourth.
Hunt for singles
Look for a cell with just one possible symbol left. A row or box that is almost complete is the fastest place to find one, and each single you place narrows the next cell.
Write candidates, then eliminate
When two or three cells stay open, switch on Notes and pencil in the possibilities. Cross out candidates as peers fill in. If a digit fits only one cell inside a group, that cell must hold it.
A few Samurai Sudoku facts
Connected Sudoku grids
Four corner grids surround one central grid.
Shared 3×3 boxes
Each corner grid overlaps the center once.
Distinct playable cells
Five times 81 cells, minus four shared boxes of nine.
These figures describe the standard five-grid Samurai layout.
Make yourself at home on the board.
Choose a cell, enter a symbol, and keep going. Use Notes for possibilities, Undo to revisit a move, and Hint when you need a nudge. Change the visual theme without changing your game.
- ↑↓←→
- Move between cells
- 1–9
- Enter a number; use the keypad for larger symbol sets
- Del
- Erase your entry
- Ctrl / ⌘Z
- Undo the last move
Samurai Sudoku, explained.
A few things you might be wondering.
How many cells does a Samurai Sudoku have?
A standard five-grid Samurai puzzle has 369 distinct playable cells. The five 9×9 grids contain 405 cell positions, but four overlapping 3×3 boxes count only once.
Must a full row across the large Samurai board contain 1–9?
No. Row and column constraints apply within each individual 9×9 grid. The complete multi-grid layout is not one giant Classic Sudoku grid.
Can I solve the five grids independently?
Each grid follows Classic Sudoku rules, but overlapping entries must agree. Use deductions from the shared boxes to transfer information between grids rather than treating their shared cells as independent values.