What are pencil puzzles?
12 October 2026
"Pencil puzzle" is the puzzle world's name for a logic puzzle you solve on paper with a pencil (and, honestly, an eraser). Sudoku is the most famous one, but there are hundreds of others. Pencil Grids is named after them.
What makes something a pencil puzzle?
- A grid and a few rules. The rules fit in a couple of sentences. "One queen per row, column and region." "Every run adds up to its clue."
- No knowledge needed. Unlike a crossword or a trivia quiz, you don't need to know any facts. Everything you need is on the page.
- One solution, reached by logic. A well-made pencil puzzle has exactly one answer, and you can reach it step by step without guessing.
That last point is what separates a good pencil puzzle from a random grid. Making puzzles that are unique, solvable and pleasant is a craft.
A very short history
Number and grid puzzles have appeared in newspapers and magazines for well over a century. The modern pencil puzzle scene took shape in the 1980s around Nikoli, a Japanese puzzle magazine founded in 1980. Nikoli invited readers to invent new puzzle types, and the best ones became classics: Slitherlink, Nurikabe, Hashiwokakero (bridges), Heyawake and many more. Nikoli also gave sudoku its name and helped it become a worldwide phenomenon in 2005.
Around the same time, Dutch and Belgian puzzle magazines popularised Binairo, and Japan produced nonograms (1987). In the 2000s, puzzle championships brought types like Star Battle to a global audience. Then in 2024, LinkedIn put simplified versions of Star Battle, Binairo and numbered-path puzzles in front of millions of people as Queens, Tango and Zip.
The main families
| Family | You are… | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | putting objects in cells under counting rules | Queens, Star Battle, Light Up |
| Number fill | writing digits that satisfy sums or orders | Kakuro, Sudoku, Futoshiki |
| Binary fill | choosing between two symbols in every cell | Tango, Binairo |
| Shading | deciding which cells are filled | Nonograms, Nurikabe |
| Path and loop | drawing a line through the grid | Zip, Slitherlink, Masyu |
Which should you start with?
- Five minutes and a coffee: Tango or an easy Queens. Small grids with quick wins.
- You like seeing something appear: nonograms, where the reward is a picture.
- You like numbers: Kakuro. Learn the handful of "only one way" sums and it opens up.
- You like drawing: Zip.
Why play them?
Pencil puzzles are a rare kind of screen time: calm, focused and satisfying. They reward patience and noticing rather than speed or luck. And because every step can be proven, finishing one feels earned.
On Pencil Grids every puzzle type has a daily grid, unlimited play, and a hint button that explains the next logical step instead of revealing the answer. Pick one from the home page and see which family is yours.