Kakuro

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Kakuro puzzles

Kakuro puzzles

Kakuro is a Japanese logic puzzle with numbers. At home, its popularity is comparable only to Sudoku. Arithmetic crosswords are chosen by amateurs of intellectual training. It is impossible to unravel kakuro without concentration and mental tension.

Game history

The game was first published in the spring of 1950 in Dell Puzzle Maganize. Then it was called Cross Sums and was the "brainchild" of the Canadian designer Jacob E. Funk.

In 1980, Maki Kaji (鍜 治 真 起), the president of Nikoli (株式会社 ニ コ リ), brings the puzzle to Japan and calls it Kasan Kurosu (加 算 ク ロ ス), which means cross-fold. Six years later, the publishing house changes its name to Kakuro, taking the first letters of the words of the old name, and publishes a collection entirely devoted to the puzzle.

Kakuro was the most popular puzzle in Japan for several years until it was replaced by Sudoku. Now it is firmly in second place and is published in many countries around the world.

Kakuro simultaneously resembles Sudoku and a crossword puzzle - you need to fill all the cells with numbers from 1 to 9 using arithmetic calculations and logic.

The regular solution of kakuro is useful at any age because the puzzle:

  • Develops the skills of arithmetic counting and logic. By choosing numbers, children learn to add numbers quickly. Adults knead the convolutions, choosing the appropriate combination of numbers.
  • Teaches you the right approach to problem solving. In kakuro, as in life, you have to sweep aside unacceptable options and focus on the possible. Only a high IQ implies the ability to combine logic with calculation.
  • A resolved kakuro will be cause for pride. The puzzle is not easy, so your self-esteem will increase deservedly.

Learn the rules of the kakuro game and start filling in the cells. Success in a difficult puzzle will be an incentive - you will believe in your intellectual capabilities. Train your gyrus, develop cognitive skills, win in kakuro and in life!

How to solve Kakuro puzzles

How to solve Kakuro puzzles

Puzzle solving allows you to switch from work or life problems. After the game, new options and approaches come naturally. Kakuro completely takes attention, it is simply impossible to think about something else when choosing numbers.

Rules of the game

The square playing field is lined with cells. In the empty cells of the horizontal and vertical rows, you need to enter numbers from 1 to 9. In the upper and left rows, as well as inside the field, there are cells with a diagonal line and numbers - this is the sum in the vertical (lower triangle) and horizontal (upper triangle) rows.

Groups of empty cells are called blocks. The numbers in each row are not repeated. Blocks are limited by filled cells or cells with given key numbers. For example, if the sum 4 is specified for a block of two cells, the cells cannot contain the numbers 2 + 2, the valid option is 1 + 3.

Game tips

  • Break the key numbers into possible combinations of non-repeating numbers. For example, if the sum of 6 is specified for a block of 3 cells, the combination of 1, 2 and 3 should be considered in any order.
  • Start filling in the field with single or double blank cells. Small blocks are easy to deal with, then you will have hints.
  • To make the puzzle easier to solve, remember that in kokuro for two cells: 3 = 1 + 2, 4 = 1 + 3, 17 = 8 + 9, for three cells: 6 = 1 + 2 + 3, 24 = 7 + 8 + 9. First, fill in the cells in which the amount consists of a single combination.

The best way to master the secrets of the game is through practice. Solve kokuro, develop logical thinking, concentration and patience! Good luck!