Kakuro Quiz: Cross Sums, Clues and Number Logic

Part crossword and part arithmetic, these grids ask you to fill runs of cells with digits that add up to the clues, and this Kakuro quiz teaches the key tricks. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on digits 1 to 9, no repeats in a run, unique combinations, 16 and 17 in two cells, 45 across nine cells, Dell's Cross Sums and Nikoli's name.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Digits
Which digits can you use in Kakuro?
Repeat
Can a digit repeat within the same run?
Clue
What does a clue show?
Three
Which digits fill a run of two cells adding to 3?
Sixteen
Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 16?
Seventeen
Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 17?
FortyFive
What does a nine-cell run always sum to?
Four
Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 4?
Dell
Under which name did Dell Magazines publish the puzzle in the US?
Name
Which Japanese publisher gave the puzzle the name Kakuro?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which digits can you use in Kakuro?
Answer: 1 to 9
Zero is never used.
Q2: Can a digit repeat within the same run?
Answer: No
Each run uses distinct digits.
Q3: What does a clue show?
Answer: The sum of the digits in a run
Clues sit in shaded cells.
Q4: Which digits fill a run of two cells adding to 3?
Answer: 1 and 2
It is a unique combination.
Q5: Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 16?
Answer: 7 and 9
Repeats are not allowed.
Q6: Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 17?
Answer: 8 and 9
Order depends on crossing runs.
Q7: What does a nine-cell run always sum to?
Answer: 45
It uses 1 through 9 once each.
Q8: Which digits fill a two-cell run adding to 4?
Answer: 1 and 3
2 and 2 would repeat.
Q9: Under which name did Dell Magazines publish the puzzle in the US?
Answer: Cross Sums
It appeared mid-20th century.
Q10: Which Japanese publisher gave the puzzle the name Kakuro?
Answer: Nikoli
It is short for addition cross.

Kakuro Quiz – Cross Sums, Clues and Number Logic

Kakuro is a number puzzle laid out like a crossword. Each run of white cells must be filled with digits from 1 to 9 that add up to the clue, and no digit may repeat within a run.

Solvers learn unique combinations. Two cells summing to 3 must be 1 and 2, to 4 must be 1 and 3, to 16 must be 7 and 9 and to 17 must be 8 and 9. A nine-cell run always sums to 45. Crossing runs narrow down which digit goes where.

The puzzle appeared in the US as Cross Sums in Dell Magazines and became popular in Japan, where Nikoli gave it the name Kakuro, short for addition cross.

What This Quiz Teaches

Puzzle fans will enjoy these questions.

What the rules are
Which combinations are unique
How crossing runs help
Where the puzzle came from
How it got its name

Did You Know?

Good puzzles have exactly one solution.
Pencil marks help track candidates.
Kakuro became popular alongside Sudoku in the 2000s.
Larger grids can be very challenging.
Combination tables are a common solving aid.