KenKen blog

Strategy guides, solving techniques, and tips for every grid size. Start with the complete strategy guide, then master cage combinations. Prefer to just play? Jump in below.

• KenKen, Calcudoku & Mathdoku: Why This Puzzle Has Different Names

  KenKen, Calcudoku, Mathdoku, KenDoku — they're the same puzzle. Here's what each name means, why a trademark created the aliases, and which to look for.

• KenKen for Kids: Why Teachers Use It to Make Math Fun

  KenKen for kids: why teachers use this math puzzle in the classroom, what it teaches, and how to start children on easy grids that make arithmetic genuinely fun.

• How to Solve KenKen: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

  Learn how to solve KenKen step by step. A beginner's walkthrough of cages, operations, your first moves, and a full worked 4x4 example — light math, no guessing.

• The History of KenKen: How a Math Teacher Invented It

  The history of KenKen: how Japanese math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto invented it, the 'art of teaching without teaching,' and how it reached newspapers worldwide.

• KenKen Strategy: A Complete Guide to Solving Cages and Math Operations

  A complete KenKen strategy guide. Learn to solve cages and math operations in the right order — from single-cell freebies to cage combinations and elimination, beginner to expert.

• KenKen Cage Combinations: Cracking the Math in Every Cage

  Master KenKen cage combinations. How to turn any +, −, ×, or ÷ target into a short list of possible digits — the core skill behind fast KenKen solving.

• KenKen Tips and Tricks to Solve Faster

  Practical KenKen tips and tricks to solve faster — from single-cell freebies and cage reading to the no-repeat quirk and the mistakes that cause restarts.

• KenKen vs Sudoku: What's the Difference?

  KenKen vs Sudoku: the rules, the math, the difficulty, and which to play. A clear comparison of arithmetic cages versus pure number placement.

• Advanced KenKen Techniques: Beyond Basic Cage Math

  Advanced KenKen techniques for expert solvers: locked digits, naked and hidden pairs, the rule of total sum, line-cage interaction, and X-Wings on big 6x6 grids.