4x4 Sudoku for Kids

Small sudoku with the numbers 1 to 4. Print a sheet of them with answers, or play one on screen.

This free 4x4 sudoku tool makes printable four-by-four sudoku puzzles, with answers, and lets you play one on screen. It runs in your web browser, needs no sign-up and nothing to install, and nothing is uploaded: each puzzle is made on your device.

The page makes classic 4x4 sudoku only. It opens on the Print tab, where you choose how many puzzles go on each page and save the set as a PDF. The Play tab lets you solve a puzzle on screen, with hints, a check button and pencil notes. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, and the built-in solver confirms this before the puzzle is shown.

How to use the 4x4 Sudoku

To print a set:

Open the Print tab. It opens there by default.
Choose a difficulty: easy, medium or hard.
Choose 2, 4, 6, 9 or 12 puzzles per page. The default is 6.
Wait while the puzzles are made. A progress counter shows, for example, “Making puzzle 3 / 12…”. Use Cancel to stop.
Look at the preview of page 1 and of the answer page.
Leave “Add answer pages at the end” on to get the answers after the puzzles, and pick US Letter or A4 paper.
Select Print / Save as PDF. In the browser print dialog, choose “Save as PDF” as the destination to get a file.

To play on screen, open the Play tab, tap or click a cell, then tap a number on the number pad or type it. Pencil mode (the button, or the P or Space key) writes small candidate notes instead of a digit. Use Hint for the next logical step, Check to mark wrong cells in red, and Reveal cell or Show solution when you want the answer. Arrow keys move, digits enter, Backspace erases, and Ctrl/Cmd+Z and Ctrl/Cmd+Y undo and redo. Progress is saved in your browser, and Copy link opens the same puzzle on another device.

How to play 4x4 sudoku

A 4x4 sudoku has 4 rows, 4 columns and four 2x2 boxes, making 16 cells. You fill in 1, 2, 3 and 4 so that each number appears exactly once in every row, every column and every 2x2 box. Some cells are already filled in as clues, and the rest are yours to find.

Work out which numbers are missing from a row, column or box. If a row has three numbers, the fourth is forced into the only empty cell. When a number could go in only one cell of a row, column or box, it must go there, even if that cell has other candidates. Pencil notes help you track which numbers are still possible in each cell. Once you place a digit, you can cross its candidates out of the cells that share its row, column or box.

A worked 4x4 example

Here is an easy puzzle made by this page (a dot is an empty cell), with its rows written left to right:

Row 1: . 1 . 3
Row 2: . 3 . 4
Row 3: 1 . 3 .
Row 4: 3 . 4 .

Row 1 is missing 2 and 4. Column 3 already has 3 and 4, so the empty cell in row 1, column 3 cannot be 4: it must be 2, and the last cell of row 1 is 4. The finished grid is 4 1 2 3 / 2 3 1 4 / 1 4 3 2 / 3 2 4 1. Every row, column and 2x2 box holds 1 to 4 once. There are only 288 different completed 4x4 grids, which the site’s solver counts in a fraction of a second.

Is 4x4 sudoku good for kids?

Yes. A 4x4 sudoku is a good first sudoku for young children because it uses only four numbers, so there are far fewer possibilities to track than in a 9x9 grid. A child can solve most steps by asking one question: “Which number is missing in this row?”

Start with easy puzzles, which give the most filled-in cells, and move to medium and hard as the child gets comfortable. Printing a set lets a child work with pencil, and the answer page lets an adult check the work without solving it first.

Frequently asked questions

How many clues does a 4x4 sudoku have?

Easy puzzles have 8 clues, medium puzzles have 6, and hard puzzles have 4 or 5, out of the 16 cells. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, which the built-in solver checks before a puzzle is shown.

Can I print several 4x4 sudoku puzzles per page?

Yes. You can print 2, 4, 6, 9 or 12 puzzles per page, and the default is 6. Answers are printed at the end of the set, with up to 20 small answer grids per page.

Is there a 4x4 sudoku with answers?

Yes. “Add answer pages at the end” is on by default, so every printed set ends with its answers, and a preview of the answer page is shown before you print.

Can I print the same 4x4 sudoku puzzles again later?

Yes. Each printed set has a seed in the page footer. The same seed with the same settings always gives the same puzzles, so you can enter the seed in the Seed field under “Repeat or share this set” and print them again.

No. The tool is free, runs in your web browser, and needs no sign-up or installation. Nothing is uploaded.

6x6 sudoku: Use this when you want a larger grid after mastering the 4x4.
16x16 sudoku: Use this for a much bigger grid with sixteen numbers.
Printable sudoku: Use this to print sudoku puzzles of other sizes and styles.
Easy sudoku: Use this for standard 9x9 puzzles at an easy level.
Sudoku generator: Use this to create new puzzles from a custom setting.
Sudoku solver: Use this to check or solve a puzzle you have entered yourself.
Blank sudoku grid: Use this when you want an empty grid to fill in by hand.