More KenKen Puzzles

Examples of 6x6 and 7x7 KenKen puzzles.

The standard 4x4 KenKen puzzle is pretty easy -- most people can do the puzzle in a few minutes.  But larger KenKen puzzles are more involved and they require more steps (and more mathematical reasoning) to solve correctly.

Example of a 6x6 KenKen puzzle

Tips for 6x6 KenKen puzzles

Here are some of the standard analysis items for 6x6 KenKen puzzles.  There are many two-box cages that are commonly found in 6x6 KenKen puzzles that have only one choice for values:

• 5- must contain 1-6
• 11+ must contain 5-6
• 10+ must contain 4-6
• 3+ must contain 1-2
• 4+ must contain 1-3
• 10x must contain 2-5
• 15x must contain 3-5
• 20x must contain 4-5
• 24x must contain 4-6

In addition, there are several common two-box cages that only have two choices for values:

• 4- must contain either 1-5 or 2-6
• 9+ must contain either 4-5 or 3-6
• 8+ must contain either 3-5 or 2-6
• 6x must contain either 2-3 or 1-6
• 12x must contain either 3-4 or 2-6
• 3÷ must contain either 1-3 or 2-6

There are a few interesting three-box cages that sometimes are found in KenKen puzzles:

• 6+ (in a straight line) must contain 1-2-3
• 6+ (in an L shaped cage) must contain either 1-2-3 or 1-4-1
• 15+ (in a straight line) must contain 4-5-6
• 15+ (in an L shaped cage) must contain either 4-5-6 or 6-3-6
• 24x (in a straight line) must contain either 2-3-4 or 1-4-6
• 24x (in an L shaped cage) has three options (2-3-4, 1-4-6, or 2-6-2)
• 18x (in a straight line) must contain 1-3-6
• 18x (in an L shaped cage) must contain either 1-3-6 or 3-2-3

Example of a 7x7 KenKen puzzle

A 7x7 KenKen puzzle is a bit more work than a 6x6, but most of the solving techniques are similar.  You can add pencil notes for some of the two square cages until you have solved some of the squares.