Image: Paul Downey/Flickr Creative Commons/Flickr
About This Quiz
Puzzle fanatics who can’t get enough sudoku and crosswords have turned to kakuro to sate their thirst for a more challenging puzzle. Show us what you know about the game in our quiz.
Which of the following is a feature that kakuro and sudoku have in common?
The grids are always nine cells wide by nine cells long.
The clues given are sums.
You can’t repeat a digit within a designated group of cells.
Similar to sudoku, kakuro has a rule that you cannot repeat a digit within a designated vertical or horizontal group of cells. Only do sudoku grids have to be nine cells by nine cells large, and only in kakuro are the clues sums.
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In a typical kakuro grid, which row and column are usually shaded and are not for filling in answers?
top row and middle column
bottom row and leftmost column
top row and leftmost column
The top row and leftmost column are usually shaded and contain many of the “clues.”
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How many solution sets exist for the problem “9 in three” (a clue of 9 in three boxes)?
two
three
Three solution sets are possible: 2, 3, 4; 1, 3, 5; 1, 2, 6. Note that 3, 3, 3 can’t work due the no repeat rule.
four
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Which of the following is true?
All kakuro puzzles have one unique solution.
It is possible for some kakuro puzzles to have more than one solution.
Strictly speaking, it is possible to design a kakuro puzzle with more than one solution. However, these are generally considered to be poorly designed.
All kakuro puzzles have more than one solution
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Which groups tend to be easier to solve?
groups of fewer boxes
Groups made up of fewer boxes tend to be easier to solve because they tend to have have fewer solution sets.
groups on the left side of the board
groups on the top half of the board
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Which of the following is the closest English translation for the Japanese name “kakuro?”
bachelor numbers
cross numbers
cross addition
Kakuro is an abbreviated version of two words: Kasan Kurosu, the Japanese word for “addition” and the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “cross.”
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How many solution sets exist for the problem “40 in six?”
None; It’s impossible.
No solution is possible.
one
two
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Where was kakuro first published?
an American magazine in 1950
The American Dell Magazines first published kakuro in 1950. Decades later, it grew in popularity in Japan and eventually the United States.
a Japenese newspaper in 1980
a British journal in 1990
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How many solution sets exist for the problem “36 in eight?”
None; it’s impossible.
one
One solution set is possible: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
two
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What is the name of Japanese company that popularized kakuro?
Nikoli
Nikoli, the same company that popularized sudoku, also was responsible for lifting kakuro out of obscurity.
Maki Kajii
Konami
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You Got:
/10
Paul Downey/Flickr Creative Commons/Flickr
