How to play murder mystery sudoku

Each case file has two parts: a crime and a puzzle. The crime report at the top names the victim, the scene and the time of death, and lists six suspects, six weapons and six locations, each numbered from 1 to 6.

The puzzle is a classic 9×9 sudoku. Fill every row, every column and every 3×3 box with the numbers 1 to 9, using each number exactly once. The printed numbers are your clues, and every grid has exactly one solution, so you never need to guess.

Three empty cells are shaded and marked S, W and L. When the grid is complete, the number in the S cell is the suspect, W is the weapon and L is the location. Match them to the lists, check them against the corroborating facts, and write your accusation in the box. Then turn the page upside down to see if you were right.

If murder mystery sudoku is new to you, our guide What is murder mystery sudoku? walks through a full example.

Tips for your first case

• Start with Easy case E1. The easy cases give you lots of starting numbers and only need basic scanning.
• Use the row and column numbers. They are printed around the grid so you can find the evidence cells in seconds.
• Pencil in candidates when you get stuck: small numbers in the corner of a cell that show what it could still be.
• Tick off suspects as you rule them out, just like a real detective.
• Never guess. Every case can be solved by logic alone. Our guide to sudoku techniques for beginners explains the five techniques you need.

How the difficulty works

The easy cases start with around 38 numbers already in the grid, which is plenty for a beginner. Medium cases have around 32 and reward a little patience with pencil marks. Hard cases have as few as 27 starting numbers and need longer chains of logic, such as spotting pairs of candidates. Work through them in order and you will feel yourself getting faster.

Ideas for using the starter pack

• A screen-free coffee break. An easy case takes most people ten to twenty minutes.
• Race a friend. Print two copies of the same case and see who names the killer first. Write your time in the box.
• Game nights and murder mystery parties. Hand out a case file as guests arrive to set the mood.
• Classrooms and clubs. The pack is free for non-commercial classroom and club use and makes a fun logic warm-up.
• Travel. Fold a few pages into your bag for flights, trains and waiting rooms.

Printing tips

Each case fits on a single sheet of US Letter or A4 paper. Use Print case for one puzzle, Print all 5 for a whole difficulty level, or Print all 15 for the complete booklet. The pages look good in black and white, and the red accents print as grey. To keep a digital copy, choose Save as PDF in your browser’s print window.

Ready for more?

Once you have finished the starter pack, a brand-new case opens every day at midnight, New York time. Play today’s case online or print it, and catch up on every earlier case in the case archive.