All Sudoku Variants
Hexagonal (usually digits 1–7) · Shape Variant

Honeycomb Sudoku

Also known as Hexagonal Sudoku

A family of hexagonal-grid Sudoku puzzles: digits fill hexagonal cells so none repeats along any straight line in the three honeycomb directions. Board size and digit range (commonly 1–7) vary by design — there is no single standard grid.

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An example (one common form): a hexagon of 37 hexagonal cells, digits 1–7. The three coloured lines — one per direction — each run the full length of seven cells and meet at the centre; the amber line is filled 1–7 to show a complete line. Other honeycomb designs vary the size and digit range.

Honeycomb Sudoku — usually called Hexagonal Sudoku — isn't one fixed puzzle but a family of Sudoku-like puzzles played on a honeycomb of hexagonal cells. Different designers pick different board sizes and digit ranges, so there is no single "official" grid. What they all share is the core idea shown above; the diagram is one common form.

The shared idea: three directions instead of two

A square Sudoku constrains two directions — rows and columns. Swap the squares for hexagons and each cell suddenly borders six others, giving three straight-line directions instead of two. The single rule is that no digit repeats along any line, in any of the three directions. Most versions use the digits 1–7 (some use 1–6 or 1–9), and the longest lines — those that run the full width of the board — hold the complete set exactly once.

How it plays

  • One rule, three directions. Pick any straight line of hexagons — horizontal, or either of the two diagonals — and no digit may appear on it twice.
  • Full lines are permutations. A line that spans the whole board (seven cells in the form above) must contain every digit 1–7 exactly once, so a nearly-complete full line pins its last cell immediately.
  • Short lines still constrain. The shorter edge lines hold only a subset of the digits, but they may never repeat — a handy source of eliminations near the corners.

A worked approach, step by step

Step 1 — start on the longest lines. The three full-length lines through the centre are the most constrained, exactly like the middle band of a square Sudoku. Fill their forced cells first.

Step 2 — pivot on the centre. The central cell sits on all three full lines at once, so fixing it removes a candidate from every direction — the single highest-value placement on the board.

Step 3 — sweep each direction in turn. Scan the whole board once per direction, treating each as its own set of no-repeat lines. Rotate through the three directions until the grid closes.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking in rows and columns. There are no columns here — the second and third constraints run at 60° diagonals, and it takes practice to see them.
  • Assuming every line needs all seven digits. Only the full-length lines do; the shorter ones simply must not repeat.
  • Expecting one universal rule set. "Honeycomb" covers several designs — always read the specific puzzle's digit range and whether it adds hexagonal regions (as some variants, such as Hexdoku, do) on top of the line rule.

Can I play it here?

Not yet — Honeycomb Sudoku isn't one of the puzzle types SudokuStreak generates for now. But you can learn its rules above, and there's plenty here to sink your teeth into meanwhile: