Printable Easy Calcudoku Puzzles (Free PDF)

Here are six printable easy Calcudoku puzzles, made by the LogikLand generator, with the solutions at the end. Each grid is 4 by 4, so you only need the digits 1 to 4, and the cages use only addition and multiplication.

Download the PDF (6 puzzles and the solutions). It is free, needs no account, carries a small LogikLand footer and is for personal use.

What is in the pack

• Six easy Calcudoku grids, two per page on three pages, then three pages of solutions, two per page.
• Each grid is 4 by 4. Every row and column holds 1, 2, 3 and 4 once.
• The operations are + and ×, and the biggest cage has three cells. That is the easy level of the LogikLand Calcudoku assistant.
• Each grid has one solution and can be solved by logic alone.

If this is your first Calcudoku, read the Calcudoku rules first. They fit on one page.

Four grids to look at

How to print them

• The pages are US Letter. On A4 paper, choose "fit to page".
• Print pages 1 to 3 for the puzzles. Pages 4 to 6 are the solutions.
• The grids are black and white with thick cage lines. A pencil is better than a pen: you will rub out many small digits.
• Our suggestion, not a rule: print the solution pages separately, so you are not tempted to look.

A guided start on grid 1

We write (row, column) from the top left, 1 to 4. The first moves of grid 1 need nothing more than the clues.

1. Two cages have a single cell and no sign: the cell (2,4) is 3 and the cell (3,1) is 1.
2. The cage 4× covers (3,4) and (4,4). The two cells are side by side, so their digits are different: the only pair with product 4 is 1 and 4. Row 3 already has a 1 at (3,1), so (3,4) = 4 and (4,4) = 1.
3. The cage 12× covers (3,3) and (4,3), and the only pair is 3 and 4. Row 3 has a 4 now, so (3,3) = 3 and (4,3) = 4.
4. Column 4 holds 3, 4 and 1, so the top cell (1,4) is 2. Row 3 has 1, 3 and 4, so (3,2) = 2.
5. Row 4 has 4 and 1, so its first two cells are 2 and 3. Column 2 already has a 2 at (3,2), so (4,2) = 3 and (4,1) = 2. Check the cage 7+ over (3,2), (4,1) and (4,2): 2 + 2 + 3 = 7. The two 2s are allowed because they are not in the same row or column.
6. The cage 5+ at the top right covers (1,3), (1,4) and (2,3). With 2 at (1,4), the other two cells add up to 3: 1 and 2. Row 1 has a 2 already, so (1,3) = 1 and (2,3) = 2. The rest of the grid follows from the rows and columns.

What this teaches

Single-cell cages give free digits, small products give only one pair, and the rows and columns remove the rest. Larger grids at the medium level need the same three habits, with subtraction added.

Three hints for grid 2

Try grid 2 on your own with these hints. They do not give the answer, only where to look.

1. The cage 2× in the bottom row has two cells side by side. Their digits are different, so they are 1 and 2. That leaves 3 and 4 for the other two cells of the bottom row.
2. The cage 12× at the bottom right has three cells. Two of them are the 3 and the 4 from hint 1, which multiply to 12, so the third cell, in row 3, is 1.
3. The cage 6+ in row 3 has two cells side by side. With different digits and a total of 6, it is 2 and 4. Row 3 already has a 1 from hint 2, so which digit is still missing from that row, and where does it go?

The answer to the last question is 3, and the solution page confirms it. Keep going from there with the columns.

How easy grids are built

The generator starts from a random filled grid where every row and every column has the digits 1 to 4. It cuts the grid into cages of one, two or three cells (no more than two single cells at the easy level), gives each cage an operation, and then tests the puzzle with a solver that reasons like a player. The grid is kept only if the solver finds the solution by deduction. This is why you never need to try a digit and see if it fails: if you feel you must, one of the clues above has a pair you have not listed yet. Check the cheat sheet below, and remember that two cells side by side never hold the same digit.

A small cheat sheet

Next steps

When the easy grids feel too short, move to the medium level, which has 5 by 5 grids and adds subtraction. Read how to solve Calcudoku for the method, and advanced Calcudoku techniques for 6 by 6 and 7 by 7 grids.

To make your own pages or a book, create a free account and use the Calcudoku assistant, with 1 or 2 grids per page. To sell books you make, you need the PRO or EXPERT plan, which carries the commercial rights.