How to Play Armchair Easy Sudoku

Welcome to Armchair Easy Sudoku! Whether you’re playing on a desktop or tapping away on your phone, here’s a quick guide to everything you need to know to play and use our helpful tools.

Playing the Game

The goal is to fill the 9×9 grid so that every row, column, and 3×3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once. Pre-filled clues have a gray background and can’t be changed. Your guesses will appear in blue.

Desktop (Keyboard and Mouse)

• Select a Box: Click any empty white box with your mouse, or use the Arrow Keys to move your selection around the grid.
• Enter a Number: Type a number from 1 to 9 on your keyboard.
• Delete a Number: Press Backspace or Delete on your keyboard to clear the current box.

Mobile (Touchscreen)

• Select a Box: Tap any empty white box on the grid to highlight it.
• Enter a Number: Tap the numbers 1 through 9 on the on-screen number pad below the grid.
• Delete a Number: Tap the Delete icon (the button with the backspace symbol) on the on-screen number pad.

Special Tools

The “Notes” Feature

If you aren’t sure which number belongs in a box, you can leave a small “pencil mark” or note to keep track of your possibilities.

• To Turn On: Click or tap the Notes: Off button to turn it On. You can also press the ‘N’ key on your keyboard.
• To Use: While Notes are turned on, entering a number will place a tiny number in the corner of the box instead of a large main guess. You can put multiple notes in a single box. To remove a note, just enter that same number again.

The “Swap” Feature

Quickly change a guess into a note, or promote a note to your final guess!

• How to use it: Select a box and tap the Swap button (or press the Spacebar or ‘S’ on your keyboard).
• If the box has a Main Number: It will shrink down and become a tiny Note.
• If the box has exactly ONE Note: It will grow into your Main Number guess.

Game Controls

• Check: Not sure if you’re on the right track? Press the Check button to grade your current answers. Correct guesses will turn green, and incorrect ones will turn red.
• Solve: Stuck? Pressing Solve will instantly fill in the correct solution for the entire board. Note: This will count as a “Loss” on your stats scoreboard!
• New Game: Clears the board and generates a brand-new puzzle for you to solve.

Good luck, and happy solving!