Sudoku and Strimko are both grid-based logic puzzles you solve by pure deduction, so solvers naturally wonder how alike they really are. The short answer: Strimko is very close to Sudoku. Below we lay out what the two share, where they part ways, and whether the skills you have built on Sudoku will carry over.
- Grid: n×n Latin grid
- Closeness to Sudoku: Very Close
- Also called: Streams
What is Strimko?
A Latin-square grid where, on top of the rows and columns, curved "streams" of cells must each contain every number once. Here are the rules in full:
- Fill an n×n grid so each row and column holds the numbers 1–n exactly once.
- The grid is also threaded with streams — chains of n cells — and each stream must contain 1–n once too.
- A few starting numbers pin the puzzle down to one solution.
See a Strimko grid
Strimko is a Latin square with an extra twist: as well as the rows and columns, curved "streams" of cells must each contain 1 to n once. Below, a solved 4×4 grid — each row and column has 1–4, and the shaded stream (a winding chain of four cells) does too.
Rows and columns hold 1–4; the shaded stream (1, 2, 3, 4) does too.
The row-and-column Latin rule is Sudoku's own, and a stream behaves just like an extra region — so Strimko is about as close as a different puzzle gets. Treat each stream as a box and the same singles-and-elimination habits solve it outright.
What Strimko shares with Sudoku
- The row-and-column Latin rule is Sudoku's own, and streams act just like extra regions.
- It is solved by naked and hidden singles, exactly as Sudoku is.
- No arithmetic, no guessing — pure placement logic.
How Strimko differs from Sudoku
- Streams are winding chains, not 3×3 boxes, and the grid is usually smaller than 9×9.
- There is no box rule — the streams take that role.
Do Sudoku skills transfer?
Strimko is close enough to Sudoku that the same singles-and-elimination habits solve it outright — treat each stream as an extra region and you are already there.
Brush up on the technique that carries over: Naked Single.
The verdict
Strimko is Sudoku with its boxes swapped for winding streams — about as close as a different puzzle gets.
Prefer to stay with Sudoku?
If Strimko appeals, these Sudoku variants scratch the same itch and you can read up on each here: