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How to Make a Sudoku Variants Book for Amazon KDP (Sudoku X, Jigsaw, Killer)

Last updated: . Amazon KDP facts checked against the official KDP Help on .

A Sudoku variants book for Amazon KDP gives readers four kinds of puzzles in one cover: classic Sudoku, Sudoku X, Jigsaw Sudoku and Killer Sudoku. This guide follows the order of the work: plan the content, build a page budget, set the layout, check the details that print can break, and prepare the KDP file. Every statement about Amazon comes from the official KDP Help pages linked in the Sources, as they were checked on October 6, 2026. Our own advice is marked as such. The general publishing steps are in How to create a puzzle book for Amazon KDP.

What the Sudoku and Variants book is

The Sudoku and Variants assistant makes one book with one chapter per variant you tick. Each chapter has a title page, the rules (a detailed guide by default, a short page, or nothing), and its grids from the easiest level to the hardest. After the last chapter come a "Solutions" page and the solutions, again chapter by chapter. Classic Sudoku has seven levels, from very easy to insane. Sudoku X, Jigsaw and Killer have four levels each, from easy to expert. The book is made in 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 9 inches, and you can export it as a PDF or as an editable PPTX file.

Step 1: plan the content

The assistant defaults to all four variants with 10 grids of one level each: the medium level for classic, X and Jigsaw, and the easy level for Killer. That is a sensible base. Our suggestion, not a KDP rule: plan a progression inside each chapter, with more easy and medium grids than hard ones, so that most readers finish the chapters they start.

To decide how many grids per level, remember what the levels mean. In the generators, the Sudoku X and Jigsaw levels come from the digits given and the techniques needed, and the Killer levels come from the size of the cages (up to 3, 4, 5 and 6 cells). The article on what makes a Sudoku hard measures this for classic Sudoku.

Step 2: build a page budget

KDP sets a minimum of 24 pages, and a maximum that depends on the trim size and the paper. With black ink on white paper, a 6 x 9 inch paperback can have 24 to 828 pages and an 8.5 x 11 inch paperback 24 to 590 pages. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines) (source: KDP Help, Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins) The app has its own limit per plan: the FREE plan allows 50 pages per book at the time of writing, PRO 100 and EXPERT 200, so check the pricing page.

The page count of a variants book is: 1 title page, then for each chapter 1 chapter page, its guide pages and its grids, then 1 "Solutions" page and the solutions. We applied this to the settings below, with the detailed guide.

Plan8.5 x 11 inches6 x 9 inches
Default: 4 variants, 10 grids each, 1 grid per page, 4 solutions per page67 pages70 pages
4 variants, 8 grids each, 1 grid per page, 4 solutions per page55 pages58 pages
4 variants, 8 grids each, 2 grids per page, 6 solutions per page39 pages42 pages
4 variants, 20 grids each, 2 grids per page, 6 solutions per page71 pages74 pages
Pages of a Sudoku and Variants book, calculated with the wizard's rules and its 0.75 inch margins.

The guide pages explain why 6 x 9 costs a little more: the guides take 3 pages per variant instead of 2 for X, Jigsaw and Killer, because the page is narrower. Note that the Killer Sudoku allows 2 grids per page at most, so with 4 per page selected it still prints 2.

Step 3: margins and page size

The wizard's default margin is 0.75 inch on every side. Amazon's minimum for a book without bleed is 0.25 inch for the top, bottom and outside margins, and the inside margin grows with the page count: 0.375 inch up to 150 pages, 0.5 inch from 151 to 300 pages. (source: KDP Help, Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins) The default is therefore above the minimum for every page count in the table above. Our suggestion: keep it, and widen the inside margin for thicker books so that the grid is not lost in the binding.

Choose the page size for the reader. 8.5 x 11 inches gives larger grids (a single grid is about 504 points wide, 7 inches) and fewer pages for the same content. 6 x 9 inches is a smaller book with grids about 324 points wide.

Step 4: check lines and grey shading

Amazon's guidelines ask for lines of at least 0.75 point, and recommend a minimum grayscale fill of 10 percent for gray backgrounds printed with black ink. (source: KDP Help, Paperback Submission Guidelines) Sudoku grids are made of lines and shaded cells, so this matters. In the PDF files made by LogikLand for classic Sudoku, Sudoku X, Jigsaw and Killer Sudoku, every line is drawn at 0.75 point or more and every grey is at least 10 percent.

A medium Jigsaw Sudoku from the generator. The regions are shaded in different light greys, the lightest of which is worth checking on a proof. Download the printable PDF

Not verified

We have not tested how KDP's checks and Print Previewer treat these exact files, and we do not know whether a given book will raise a warning. The guidelines above are Amazon's published figures. Print a proof copy and look at the thin lines and the lightest shading before you order a large number of copies.

Step 5: low-content, ISBN and details

Amazon defines low-content books as books with minimal or no interior content, and states that this does not typically include activity books such as puzzle books. (source: KDP Help, Low-Content Books) A Sudoku variants book is a puzzle book with different grids on every page, so it is the regular case, but Amazon decides during its review. Amazon says you need a unique ISBN for each format of your book. (source: KDP Help, Get an ISBN) The title, subtitle, author name and ISBN in your manuscript must match the details you enter. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book)

Rights for books made with LogikLand

To sell a book made with LogikLand you need commercial rights, which come with the PRO and EXPERT plans; the FREE plan is for personal use. This guide makes no promise about sales.

Step 6: order a proof

Ordering a proof copy is not mandatory, but it lets you see the printed book before you publish. (source: KDP Help, Create a Book) For this type of book, check the following on the proof: the thin lines, the lightest grey regions, the sums of the Killer cages and the diagonals of the Sudoku X.

Create a free account to make a full book

Create a free account to open the Sudoku and Variants assistant. The Sudoku book generator page covers classic Sudoku and has a free sample generator. To learn the four rules before you start, read the rules of Sudoku variants.

Questions

Can I sell a book made on the FREE plan?

No. Books made on the FREE plan are for personal use. Commercial rights, which you need to sell on KDP, come with the PRO and EXPERT plans, as the pricing page explains.

Is the Sudoku and Variants book available in large print?

Not in the same assistant. Large print versions of Sudoku X, Jigsaw and Killer are separate assistants in the Seniors tab, one variant per book.

Does the book include the solutions?

Yes. After the last chapter there is a "Solutions" page, then the solutions, grouped by chapter, with 1, 2, 4 or 6 per page as you choose.

Sources

Every statement about Amazon KDP in this article comes from the official KDP Help pages below, as they read on October 6, 2026. Amazon can change its requirements at any time: check the official page before you publish.

LogikLand is not affiliated with Amazon. Statements about LogikLand describe the product as documented in our guides and on our pricing page.

Want to publish your own puzzle book?

LogikLand generates Sudoku, crossword, word search and maze books for Amazon KDP, in 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 9 inches, exported as a PDF or an editable PPTX file. Commercial rights come with the PRO and EXPERT plans.

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