Puzzles Like Shikaku: Grid-Division Logic Puzzles

If Shikaku has won you over, here is the good news: it belongs to a family of logic puzzles built on the same satisfying idea of carving a grid into pieces using numbers as clues. Once you enjoy slicing a grid into the right shapes, a whole set of related puzzles opens up, from a near-twin where the regions can be any shape to number-and-math siblings that scratch the same itch. This guide rounds up the best puzzles like Shikaku, including its closest cousins and the on-site puzzles you can jump to next. First, you can play a Shikaku puzzle any time.

What makes a puzzle "like Shikaku"?

Shikaku is a grid-division puzzle: you split the whole grid into regions (rectangles, in Shikaku's case), guided by numbers that tell you each region's size. That places it in a genre of mostly Japanese logic puzzles where the goal is to partition a grid into the right pieces. Some of these use numbers as sizes, some as arithmetic targets, but they all share that "divide the grid correctly" pleasure. The closest relatives also share Shikaku's clean, almost mathematical feel.

Fillomino: the closest cousin

The puzzle most like Shikaku is Fillomino, another grid-division classic from the same Japanese tradition. In Fillomino you divide the grid into regions, and every cell is filled with a number equal to the size of the region it belongs to, with one twist: two regions of the same size may not touch side by side. The difference from Shikaku is that Fillomino regions can be any shape, not just rectangles, which makes the division far more freeform. If you love Shikaku specifically for the act of partitioning a grid by number, Fillomino is the natural next mountain to climb.

A handful of other Japanese decomposition puzzles, with names like Sashikaku and Nawabari, tweak the same idea in different directions, dividing grids into regions under various size and shape rules. They are harder to find, but they show just how rich the "cut the grid into numbered pieces" concept is.

Suguru: divide and fill

Suguru (also called Tectonic) comes at region puzzles from the other side. Instead of creating the regions, you are given the regions (small cages) and must fill each one with the numbers 1 up to its size, with no identical numbers touching, even diagonally. It is not a division puzzle exactly, but it lives in the same region-based world, and the small-cage, number-fitting logic will feel familiar to a Shikaku solver. It is a great change of pace.

KenKen and Kakuro: the math siblings

Shikaku has a quietly mathematical heart, since every clue is a factoring problem, so its closest cousins in spirit are the arithmetic puzzles:

• KenKen divides a grid into cages, each with a target number and an operation (add, subtract, multiply, or divide), and you fill the cages so the arithmetic works out while keeping each row and column free of repeats. Like Shikaku, it is genuinely educational, and the multiplication cages will feel right at home to anyone who enjoys Shikaku's factoring.
• Kakuro is a number crossword where runs of cells must add up to clues. It is more about sums than division, but it shares Shikaku's appeal of turning arithmetic into logic.

If it is the maths you love about Shikaku, these two are the obvious places to go.

Nurikabe: shade the regions

Nurikabe, another Nikoli classic, is a region puzzle of a different flavour: you shade cells to build "islands" of a given size surrounded by a connected "sea." You are still working out regions sized by numbers, but you do it by shading rather than drawing rectangles. It shares Shikaku's "numbers tell you how big a region is" DNA while feeling completely different to play, which makes it a refreshing next step.

Why the grid-division family is worth exploring

The lovely thing about this family is how transferable the instinct is. The judgement you build in Shikaku, reading a number as a size and working out where its region can fit, carries straight into Fillomino, and the broader number-and-region thinking helps with Suguru, KenKen and Nurikabe. Each puzzle feels fresh because the rules change, yet familiar because the basic idea, dividing a grid into the right numbered pieces, is shared. That blend of novelty and comfort is exactly why fans of one grid-division puzzle tend to fall for the whole genre.

So when you have sliced your last grid for the day and want more, you now know where to look. Start with the rectangle puzzle that brought you here: play a Shikaku puzzle now, or learn the rules first.

Frequently asked questions

What puzzles are like Shikaku?

The closest puzzle to Shikaku is Fillomino, another grid-division puzzle where you split the grid into numbered regions, though Fillomino's regions can be any shape rather than rectangles. Other relatives include Suguru (filling given regions with numbers), the math puzzles KenKen and Kakuro, and Nurikabe (building numbered regions by shading).

What is a grid-division puzzle?

A grid-division puzzle is a logic puzzle where you partition a whole grid into regions, guided by clues, so that every cell belongs to exactly one region. Shikaku divides the grid into rectangles sized by their numbers; Fillomino divides it into free-form regions sized by their numbers. The challenge is finding the one correct division.

Is Fillomino like Shikaku?

Yes, Fillomino is the puzzle most like Shikaku. Both ask you to divide a grid into regions sized by their numbers. The key difference is shape: Shikaku regions must be rectangles, while Fillomino regions can be any shape, and Fillomino adds the rule that same-size regions may not touch.

What should I play after Shikaku?

If you love the grid-dividing itself, try Fillomino, the closest cousin. If you love Shikaku's mathematical, factoring feel, try KenKen or Kakuro. And if you want a region puzzle with a totally different mechanic, try Nurikabe, where you build numbered regions by shading rather than drawing rectangles.