How Samurai Sudoku works
Samurai (also called Gattai-5) was popularised by Japanese puzzle publishers. Four standard grids sit at the corners and a fifth sits in the middle, overlapping one 3×3 box of each. Every grid obeys the usual rules on its own. None of the five grids can usually be solved alone. The shared corner boxes pass information between them.
A practical order of attack
- Scan all five grids for easy singles first; the densest grid will usually open up.
- When a shared corner box fills, treat it as new clues for the neighbouring grid.
- The centre grid often starts sparse and ends up solved almost entirely by its four corners.
Hints use the same explained techniques as classic Sudoku, and name which grid they refer to.
Ask the puzzle coach
Stuck on a rule or a tactic? Ask in plain words. The coach only talks puzzles, and the answer is written for you on the spot.
Questions players ask
What is Samurai Sudoku?
Five 9×9 Sudoku grids arranged in an X. The centre grid shares one 3×3 corner box with each of the four outer grids, so those 36 cells belong to two puzzles at once.
Do the normal rules apply?
Yes, separately for each of the five grids: every row, column and 3×3 box in a grid contains 1–9 once. Rows and columns do not continue from one grid into another.
Where should I start?
Start in whichever outer grid has the most clues, solve until you reach a shared corner box, then carry those digits into the centre grid. The overlaps are what make each grid solvable.
Is it playable on a phone?
Yes. The board is 21 cells wide, so on narrow screens you can scroll it sideways; a larger screen or landscape mode is more comfortable.