Kakuro Books

What could be more appealing to Mensa members—or anyone who enjoys a good challenge—than a cunning test of intelligence and logic? That’s exactly what these 250 puzzles provide. The trick to kakuro is in making it all add up: the game begins with a grid that looks like a crossword, except that some squares contain small numbers in the corner. Fill in all the empty boxes using the numbers 1 to 9 without repeats so that the sum of each horizontal set of digits equals the number in the black triangle to its left, and the sum of each vertical set of digits equals the number in the triangle above it. The kakuro puzzles start out simple…and get more difficult as the book progresses.

For sudoku fans looking for a new puzzle to delight and challenge them, Will Shortz, the crossword editor of The New York Times and America’s puzzlemaster, presents kakuro. If you’ve never tried these deceptively simple-looking puzzles, get set: Millions of puzzlers around the globe are already hooked! The object is quite simple: Place a single digit from 1 to 9 in each white square of a crossword-like grid. A clue number, shown in a shaded square, represents the sum of the digits to be placed in the white squares to the right of it (for an Across answer) or beneath it (for a Down answer). No digit is repeated within an answer. Like sudoku, kakuro is a crossword puzzle using numbers. The only skills needed to solve a kakuro puzzle are addition and subtraction (no other math), and a good sense of logic. So pick up your pencil and get ready to see if you can kakuro!