About Mini Sudoku 6x6

A six-by-six sudoku played with the digits 1 to 6. Rows and columns work exactly as they do in the full-size game, but the boxes are 3 wide and 2 tall rather than square, and that changed shape is what makes the grid feel different: a box spans half a row and only two rows deep, so the interaction between boxes and rows is much tighter than on a 9x9.

The smaller grid is not simply an easier one. With 36 cells there is far less room for a mistake to hide, and the expert setting leaves only eleven clues — proportionally leaner than an expert 9x9. What it does change is length. A mini grid is a five-minute puzzle rather than a thirty-minute one, which makes it the version worth opening on a phone, in a queue, or when a full sudoku is more commitment than the moment allows.

Same controls, notes and undo as the 9x9, plus its own daily challenge and leaderboard.

Tips to win

• Work the 3x2 boxes against rows first: a box covers half a row, so two boxes side by side settle a row quickly
• With only six digits, the last two candidates in a unit resolve far more often than they do on a 9x9 — check for them constantly
• Expert grids at eleven clues need pencil marks from the first move; scanning alone will not open them