12 medium sudoku puzzles, with answers.
A free printable set of 12 medium sudoku puzzles. Each is verified to have exactly one solution, sized one to a page for comfortable writing, with a full answer key at the back. Pitched at someone comfortable with the rules who wants a real sitting.
- Puzzles
- 12
- Givens
- ~33
- Solutions each
- 1
- Pages
- 14
Puzzle 1 from this set
The first puzzle in the PDF, shown here so you can judge the difficulty before printing anything.
| empty | empty | 3 | empty | empty | 9 | 2 | 1 | empty |
| empty | empty | 7 | empty | empty | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| empty | 8 | empty | empty | 2 | empty | empty | 4 | empty |
| 2 | empty | 9 | empty | 1 | empty | empty | empty | empty |
| empty | 7 | empty | empty | 9 | 4 | empty | empty | 2 |
| 5 | 3 | empty | empty | empty | empty | 8 | empty | 1 |
| empty | empty | empty | empty | 6 | 7 | empty | empty | 4 |
| empty | 9 | empty | empty | empty | empty | empty | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | empty | 8 | empty | empty | empty | 6 | 2 | empty |
What makes these medium
Still solvable by scanning alone, but the chains are longer. You will work across boxes rather than within one, and pencil marks start to earn their keep.
Every puzzle has exactly one solution
This is the part most free sudoku sheets get wrong. Puzzles here are built by removing clues from a completed grid one at a time and re-solving after every removal — if a clue’s absence would allow a second solution, it is put back. The answer key is the grid the puzzle was carved from, so it cannot disagree with the puzzle.
Other difficulties
- Easy sudoku — a first sudoku, or a coffee-break puzzle.
- Hard sudoku — a regular solver.
- Expert sudoku — people who find hard puzzles too quick.
Common questions
How hard are these medium sudoku puzzles?
Does every puzzle have only one solution?
Is there an answer key?
Do I need to guess?
Are these the same puzzles every time?
Printing
The PDF is already sized for Letter and A4 — one puzzle per page, large enough to write numbers in comfortably. Print in portrait at 100% scale. The print guide covers the settings that cause most problems, and there are more free printable templates if you want something to write on rather than solve.