How to Play Futoshiki
Fill a grid with digits 1–N so each digit appears once per row and column, obeying all inequality signs between adjacent cells.
Try it now — Easy 5x5 →The Rules
- Fill the grid with digits 1–N (N = grid size), one per row and column
- Each digit appears exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column
- All inequality signs (< and >) between adjacent cells must be satisfied
- The ">" arrow always points toward the smaller value
Available in 4 sizes (4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7) and 3 difficulty levels (easy, normal, hard).
See It in Action
Fill digits so each appears once per row and column, obeying every < and > sign
How to Play
- Read inequality chains — a cell that must be less than two neighbours is heavily restricted
- Identify the endpoints of inequality chains: the smallest value (end of ">>" chain) must be 1 or 2
- Apply Latin-square elimination: each digit appears once per row and column
- Cross-reference row/column constraints with inequality chains to pin down ambiguous cells
Pro Tips
Look for inequality chains spanning the whole row — they force a specific order on all digits in that row
The cell at the "tail" of a long ">" chain must be 1; the "head" cell must be the largest available
Start with cells constrained by both a row elimination AND an inequality — they're often uniquely determined
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Futoshiki?
Futoshiki is a logic puzzle where you fill a grid with digits 1 to N (where N is the grid size). Each digit must appear exactly once in each row and column, and you must satisfy the inequality signs (< and >) between adjacent cells.
Choose Your Challenge
Start with easy to learn the rules, then progress to harder difficulties.