Easy Sudoku Printable (Large Print)

An easy sudoku is a 9 × 9 puzzle with lots of numbers already filled in, so you can finish it by asking one simple question of each empty square: "Which number is the only one that fits here?" Our easy sudoku printables are large print (36-point numbers in boxes about ¾ inch wide, one puzzle per US Letter page), and each is checked by software to have exactly one solution. Below is a beginner's method you can use on any easy sudoku, plus tips for printing them big and clear.

The rules in one minute

A sudoku grid has 81 squares, arranged in 9 rows, 9 columns and nine 3 × 3 boxes (outlined with thicker lines). Some squares start with a number. Fill in the rest so that:

1. each row contains the numbers 1 to 9, once each,
2. each column contains the numbers 1 to 9, once each, and
3. each 3 × 3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9, once each.

That's all. You never add or multiply anything. The numbers could just as well be nine different shapes.

What makes a sudoku "easy"

Two things:

• More starting numbers. Our easy puzzles begin with about 40 of the 81 squares already filled in. Our medium puzzles begin with about 33.
• No tricky techniques. Every one of our easy puzzles can be finished using only the method below. You never need to guess, and you never need advanced tricks with special names.

A step-by-step method for your first easy sudoku

Step 1: Look for a nearly full row, column or box

Scan for a row, column or box that has 8 numbers filled in. The missing number is whichever of 1 to 9 isn't there yet.

Example: a row reads 2 _ 6 9 1 8 4 3 7. The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are there, so the empty square must be 5.

Step 2: Ask each empty square what it could be

Choose an empty square. Look along its row, down its column and around its 3 × 3 box, and cross off every number you see. If only one number from 1 to 9 is left, write it in.

Example: an empty square's row already has 1, 4 and 7. Its column has 2, 5, 8 and 9. Its box has 3 and 4. Put together, that's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9. Only 6 is left, so the square is 6.

Step 3: Keep going. Each answer unlocks the next

Every number you write in removes a choice from the other squares in its row, column and box. Squares that had two possibilities a minute ago may now have only one. Keep moving around the grid.

Step 4: Pencil in "maybe" numbers when a square has two options

If a square could be a 3 or an 8, write both small in a corner. When one of them turns up elsewhere in the row, column or box, cross it off and write the other one large. Our large print boxes are roomy enough for this.

Step 5: Check your finished grid

Run your finger along each row, then each column, then each box, looking for a repeated number. Then compare with the answer key.

Tips that make easy sudoku more enjoyable

• Use a pencil with a good eraser, not a pen.
• Work on one number at a time when you feel stuck. Find every place the 1s can go, then the 2s, and so on.
• Don't guess. On an easy puzzle, there is always a square you can be sure of. If you can't see it, take a short break and come back.
• Print a spare copy before you start, so a smudged attempt doesn't spoil the puzzle.
• Move up when you're ready. Once easy puzzles feel smooth, try a medium one. They start with fewer numbers and sometimes need one more idea: finding the only square in a row, column or box where a given number can go.

How to print a sudoku so it's easy to read

• Paper: US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches). Ordinary copy paper is fine. Heavier 24 lb paper stands up better to erasing.
• Scale: Choose Actual size or 100% in your print window. Shrinking the page also shrinks the boxes you write in.
• A4 paper: Choose Fit to page. It will print a little smaller.
• Quality: "Normal" or "Standard," not "Draft," so the grid lines print solid black.
• Color: Black and white is all you need.

Where to get our easy sudoku

Our sudoku come in packs, not single downloads:

• The free sampler has 8 puzzles, including 2 easy sudoku, along with 3 word searches, a maze, a word scramble and a number puzzle, plus answer keys. No card, no subscription. Get it on our free large print puzzles page.
• The $9 monthly club sends new members 56 puzzles today, then a new 32-puzzle pack each month, including 4 easy and 4 medium sudoku. It renews automatically until you cancel. Cancel online anytime. No phone call, no form. See how it works.
• The $12 gift pack is a one-time gift pack of 24 puzzles from this month's themes (including 3 easy and 3 medium sudoku), with no subscription.
• 30-day money-back guarantee: if you're not happy within 30 days of any payment, email us and we'll refund that payment in full. No questions asked. You keep what you've printed.

More about our sudoku, including how each one is checked: large print sudoku. Other puzzle types: printable puzzles for adults.

Easy sudoku questions