How to Make a Kakuro Puzzle

Creating a Kakuro Puzzle On Paper

• 1

  Look at examples of kakuro puzzles to grasp a better understanding of their design.

• 2

  Outline the desired size of the puzzle on a piece of graph paper, accepting that this is just a general outline and the final puzzle may extend outside of that box.

• 3

  Using a pencil, lightly fill in horizontal and vertical runs to create a crossword puzzle-type layout. Remember that a run should not repeat a number within itself.

• 4

  Color in the empty spaces around the puzzle using a black marker.

• 5

  Total the numbers in each run, writing the amounts in the square immediately to the left of every horizontal run and the top of every vertical run. Use a white colored pencil to write over the black areas. If the same block totals both a row and a column, draw a line angling from the top left to the bottom right. Place the row's total in the right of the box and the column's total in the left.

• 6

  Erase the penciled numbers written in the puzzle's play field so that a player can complete it, or keep that puzzle as an answer key and make another blank copy to be completed.

Creating a Kakuro Puzzle Using a Word Processing Program

• 7

  Insert a chart of small, equally-sized boxes to create a playing grid.

• 8

  Type in numbers to create runs in the puzzle.

• 9

  Fill in the extra boxes in and around the puzzle with black.

• 10

  Total each run and type the amounts to the left and top of each respective row and column. Use an easy-to-read, white font.

• 11

  Delete the numbers entered in for each run, and save or print the final puzzle.