An example 6×6 Sudoku: digits 1-6 fill every row, column and 2×3 box.
6×6 Sudoku shrinks the classic grid to six rows and six columns, using the digits 1-6. The boxes become 2×3 rectangles instead of 3×3 squares, and each still has to hold every digit once - as do the rows and columns. Smaller, faster and far gentler than the full 9×9, it is the perfect grid for children and newcomers, and a quick warm-up for everyone else.
The rule: 1-6 in every row, column and 2×3 box
Fill the grid so that each row, each column and each 2×3 box contains the digits 1 to 6 exactly once. The rectangular boxes are the only real difference from Classic Sudoku - two cells tall and three wide - so a "box" no longer lines up with a neat square. Here is a completed 6×6 grid.
A finished 6×6 grid: every row, column and 2×3 box holds 1-6 once.
Rectangular boxes change the feel
Because a 2×3 box spans three columns but only two rows, it interacts with rows and columns differently from a square box. A digit placed in a box removes it from three columns' worth of that box but only two rows' worth - so column scanning tends to be more powerful than row scanning in a 6×6, a small asymmetry that is worth noticing. Some 6×6 puzzles instead use 3×2 boxes (three tall, two wide); the logic is the same, just rotated.
A gentle place to learn
With only 36 cells and six digits, a 6×6 is quick to finish and hard to get lost in, which makes it ideal for teaching the core habits of Sudoku: scanning a unit for a missing digit, spotting a cell with only one option, and pencilling candidates. Every technique that works on a 9×9 works here in miniature - hidden singles and naked pairs appear just as they do on the big grid, only sooner.
Solving strategy
- Scan columns first. The wide 2×3 boxes make column eliminations especially effective.
- Hunt hidden singles. With six cells per box, a digit is often confined to a single empty cell quickly.
- Pencil the pairs. Naked and hidden pairs still apply and resolve fast on the small grid.
- Use it to teach. The 6×6 is the best size for building scanning skills before moving up to 9×9.
Common mistakes
- Expecting square boxes. The boxes are 2×3 rectangles - check the printed borders before reasoning about a box.
- Using digits above 6. Only 1-6 appear; there is no 7, 8 or 9.
- Forgetting a rule. Rows, columns and boxes all still apply, exactly as on the full grid.
- Underrating it. A hard 6×6 can still require real deduction - small does not always mean trivial.
Can I play it here?
Not yet - Sudoku 6×6 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:
- Try the closely related Classic, which you can play right now.
- Browse all the Sudoku variants we do offer.
- Or print free puzzles from the printable PDF page.
Where to play it
Sudoku 6×6 belongs to the size variant family and runs on 6×6. It is not one SudokuStreak generates yet - but the deduction it trains is the deduction every Sudoku runs on.
Difficulty and type are two separate dials here: the type sets the extra rule, the level sets how much of the grid you start with. Expert Sudoku leaves 25 of the 81 cells filled, where the beginner tools dry up almost entirely; Evil Sudoku leaves 23, with no easy moves at all. Take it at the gentler end while the pattern is still new, and move up once it stops being a fight.