Puzzles like Sudoku: 12 logic puzzles to try next

Updated 2026-10-30

If you enjoy Sudoku, there is a whole world of puzzles like Sudoku waiting for you: grid-based logic puzzles with simple rules, a single solution and no guessing. Here are 12 to try next, with a quick idea of who each one suits.

Many of these were popularised in Japanese puzzle magazines and have since spread to newspapers, books and apps. They are grouped loosely from number puzzles to shading, placement and story-based puzzles. If you need a refresher on the original first, see our page on Sudoku rules.

1. Star Battle

Star Battle gives you a square grid divided into regions. You place stars so that every row, column and region holds the same number of stars, usually one or two, and no two stars touch, even diagonally. There are no starting clues; the region shapes are the whole puzzle.

Who it suits: visual thinkers who like few rules and quick games that scale up to tough ones. Learn how to play Star Battle or jump straight into a puzzle.

2. Killer Sudoku

Killer Sudoku keeps all the normal Sudoku rules and adds dotted "cages" with a sum written in the corner. The digits in each cage must add up to that sum, with no digit repeated inside a cage. Many killer puzzles start with few or no given digits.

Who it suits: Sudoku fans who want a bit of arithmetic and a fresh set of techniques. Read more in our Killer Sudoku guide.

3. Kakuro

Kakuro looks like a crossword filled with numbers. Each horizontal or vertical run of white cells has a clue giving its total, and you fill the run with digits 1 to 9 without repeats. Knowing which digit combinations make a given sum is a big part of the game.

Who it suits: people who enjoy mental arithmetic and crossword-style layouts. See our Kakuro introduction.

4. Calculation grid puzzles such as KenKen

These puzzles combine a Latin square with arithmetic. Each row and column contains each number once, and the grid is divided into cages labelled with a target and an operation, such as "12×" or "3−". The numbers in each cage must produce that target using that operation.

Who it suits: Sudoku players who like numbers and want all four operations in play, not just addition.

5. Nonograms

Nonograms, also called Picross or paint-by-numbers puzzles, give clue numbers beside each row and column. The numbers tell you the lengths of the runs of filled cells in that line, in order. Solve them all and a picture appears.

Who it suits: anyone who likes a visual reward at the end and steady line-by-line logic. Try our guide to Nonograms.

6. Nurikabe

In Nurikabe you shade cells to form a single connected "sea" around numbered "islands". Each number is part of an island of exactly that many cells, islands do not touch each other along an edge, and the sea may never contain a 2×2 block of shaded cells.

Who it suits: solvers who enjoy thinking about connectivity and space rather than numbers. Our Nurikabe page explains the rules with examples.

7. Queens

Queens is a daily game in which you place one queen in every row, column and coloured region, with no two queens touching, even diagonally. If that sounds familiar, it is because it follows the same rules as a one-star Star Battle.

Who it suits: anyone wanting a short daily brain teaser. Read about the Queens puzzle and the eight queens problem.

8. Tents (Tents and Trees)

Tents gives you a grid with trees and numbers along the edges. Each tree gets exactly one tent placed next to it horizontally or vertically, tents never touch each other (diagonals included), and the edge numbers say how many tents are in each row and column.

Who it suits: Star Battle and Queens fans, since the no-touching rule feels very similar. See our Tents puzzle guide.

9. Hitori

Hitori starts with a grid full of numbers. You shade some cells so that no number appears twice in any row or column among the unshaded cells. Shaded cells may not touch along an edge, and all unshaded cells must stay connected in one piece.

Who it suits: Sudoku players who like spotting duplicates and want a shading puzzle with familiar row and column logic.

10. Slitherlink

Slitherlink asks you to draw a single closed loop along the grid lines of a lattice of dots. Numbers inside cells tell you how many of that cell's four edges are part of the loop. The loop never crosses or branches.

Who it suits: people who enjoy path-drawing and patterns that spread across the whole board. It has a steeper learning curve but rewards practice.

11. Logic grid puzzles (Zebra or Einstein puzzles)

Logic grid puzzles give you a short story and a list of clues, such as "the person who owns the cat lives next to the green house". You use a grid of ticks and crosses to match up people, places and objects until only one arrangement fits. The well-known "Zebra puzzle" is the classic example.

Who it suits: readers who like words and deduction more than numbers. Our logic grid puzzles guide shows how to set up the grid.

12. Murdoku-style murder mystery grids

These newer puzzles mix a grid-placement puzzle with a whodunit. Suspects must be placed on a floor plan, typically one per row and column, following clues about where each person was. Once everyone is placed, the layout reveals who was alone with the victim.

Who it suits: mystery lovers and anyone who enjoys logic grid puzzles but wants a more visual board. Find out more on our Murdoku page.

How to choose your next puzzle

• Want more numbers? Try Killer Sudoku, Kakuro or a calculation grid puzzle.
• Want something visual? Try Star Battle, Nonograms or Nurikabe.
• Want a quick daily game? Try Queens or a small Star Battle grid.
• Want a story? Try logic grid puzzles or murder mystery grids.

Curious how the placement-style puzzles differ from number puzzles? Our comparison of Star Battle vs Sudoku is a good place to start.