6×6 Sudoku: Rules and Tips for Beginners

How 6×6 Sudoku works: six rows, six columns and six boxes of 2 rows by 3 columns, with the digits 1 to 6. The rules, a worked example and tips.

Updated 2026-11-05

The rules

Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every box holds the digits 1 to 6 exactly once. The six boxes are the blocks outlined in bold, two rows high and three columns wide.

How it differs from 9×9

The rules are the same; only the size changes. Because the boxes are wider than they are tall, each row passes through two boxes and each column through three.

Size changes a lot: there are 288 different finished 4×4 grids, 28,200,960 for 6×6 and 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960 for 9×9. We counted the 4×4 and 6×6 grids ourselves; the 9×9 count was worked out by Bertram Felgenhauer and Frazer Jarvis in 2005.

The mathematics of Sudoku →

A worked example

This is the first Challenge puzzle from our printable 6×6 sheets, with 11 digits given. The 5 marked squares are the first moves a beginner would find, in this order:

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6×6 Sudoku, Challenge 1: the first 5 moves are marked.

Row 1, column 3: 2. 2 has only one place left in its box.
Row 2, column 2: 6. 6 has only one place left in its box.
Row 1, column 2: 3. 3 has only one place left in its box.
Row 1, column 1: 4. 4 has only one place left in its box.
Row 1, column 6: 1. 1 has only one place left in its box.

6×6 Sudoku for Kids: Printable Sheets →

Tips

Start with the boxes: with only six squares each, it is quick to see which digits are missing.
A row or column with four or five digits already in place usually gives the next move.
If a digit can go only in one row of a box, it cannot go anywhere else in that row.
Our printable 6×6 puzzles need only singles, so there is always a next move without guessing.
Ready for more? A 9×9 adds three digits, bigger boxes and many more squares to keep in mind.

How to Teach a Child Sudoku: 4×4, Then 6×6, Then 9×9 →6×6 Sudoku for Kids: Printable Sheets →

Practice

Every Find the Mistake puzzle on this site has exactly one wrong digit, and you can play each board right on its page.

Play the puzzles →