What makes an expert Kakuro harder than a hard one?

One extra level of assumption. On a hard puzzle a single branch resolves; on an expert one that branch stalls too, and you have to assume again inside it before the first assumption settles.

How do I keep two levels of assumption straight?

Use two different marks — circle the outer assumption and box the inner one, and mark every digit that follows to match. When the inner branch fails you erase only the boxed digits.

Are expert puzzles ever ambiguous?

Not here. Every grid is counted by a solver that stops as soon as it finds a second answer, and anything with one is thrown away rather than printed with a note.

Expert Kakuro

Play it here, though this is the level worth printing. Following one digit is not enough — you have to follow a second before the first will settle.

Fierce · 10×10 · 59 squares

Time 0:00

		Down 45	Down 13		Down 14	Down 18		Down 45	Down 13
	Down 17Across 13	Row 2, column 3	Row 2, column 4	Down 6Across 12	Row 2, column 6	Row 2, column 7	Down 4Across 8	Row 2, column 9	Row 2, column 10
Across 45	Row 3, column 2	Row 3, column 3	Row 3, column 4	Row 3, column 5	Row 3, column 6	Row 3, column 7	Row 3, column 8	Row 3, column 9	Row 3, column 10
Across 25	Row 4, column 2	Row 4, column 3	Row 4, column 4	Row 4, column 5	Down 11Across 19	Row 4, column 7	Row 4, column 8	Row 4, column 9	Row 4, column 10
	Down 6Across 3	Row 5, column 3	Row 5, column 4	Down 16Across 10	Row 5, column 6	Row 5, column 7	Down 14Across 6	Row 5, column 9	Row 5, column 10
Across 5	Row 6, column 2	Row 6, column 3	Down 7Across 13	Row 6, column 5	Row 6, column 6	Across 6	Row 6, column 8	Row 6, column 9
Across 17	Row 7, column 2	Row 7, column 3	Row 7, column 4	Row 7, column 5		Across 17	Row 7, column 8	Row 7, column 9	Down 20
	Down 17Across 12	Row 8, column 3	Row 8, column 4	Down 17	Down 10	Down 8	Across 8	Row 8, column 9	Row 8, column 10
Across 11	Row 9, column 2	Row 9, column 3	Across 23	Row 9, column 5	Row 9, column 6	Row 9, column 7	Across 14	Row 9, column 9	Row 9, column 10
Across 13	Row 10, column 2	Row 10, column 3	Across 12	Row 10, column 5	Row 10, column 6	Row 10, column 7	Across 9	Row 10, column 9	Row 10, column 10

Other ways to play this level

Every puzzle here comes from a library of 60 at this level, each one checked to have a single answer. Generating a brand new one takes a few seconds, because that check is a search rather than a lookup.

Grid size for a new puzzle

A guess inside a guess. The answer is still unique and still provable, but following one digit is not enough to settle the square it came from — you have to follow a second before the first resolves.

A branch inside a branch

On an expert grid you reach the stall, pick your two-candidate square, assume a digit, and follow it — and the assumed line stalls too. Nothing contradicts and nothing completes. You are stuck inside your own assumption.

The way out is to do it again: inside that line, find its most constrained square and assume one of its candidates. That inner branch resolves, which resolves the outer one, which restarts the grid. Two levels of assumption, no more.

This is the hardest thing a Kakuro asks and it is where most players stop, which is entirely reasonable. It is also why the grids on this page are worth printing rather than playing on a phone: keeping two levels of assumption straight is a paper exercise.

Bookkeeping is the whole difficulty

The reasoning at this level is not harder than on the hard page. What is harder is not losing track, and there is a method that works: use two visibly different marks. Circle the outer assumption, box the inner one, and write everything that follows from each in the matching mark.

When an inner branch fails you take back only the boxed digits. When the outer one fails you take back both. Getting that backwards is the single commonest way an expert grid is ruined, and it is unrecoverable in pen.

If you are working on screen here, the same discipline applies in a different form. Fill the outer assumption, note the square and digit somewhere, and be prepared to clear back to exactly that point.

Still one answer, still provable

Nothing on this page is ambiguous, and that is worth saying plainly because "expert" on a lot of puzzle sites quietly means "we stopped checking". Every grid here went through a solver that counts answers and stops at two, and anything with a second answer never reached a page.

Depth is measured the same way. The grader assumes a digit at the most constrained square and, when that line stalls, assumes again inside it. A puzzle lands here when it takes two levels and no more.

Ten-by-ten grids, around fifty squares. These are an evening rather than a coffee break.

Common questions

What makes an expert Kakuro harder than a hard one?: One extra level of assumption. On a hard puzzle a single branch resolves; on an expert one that branch stalls too, and you have to assume again inside it before the first assumption settles.
How do I keep two levels of assumption straight?: Use two different marks — circle the outer assumption and box the inner one, and mark every digit that follows to match. When the inner branch fails you erase only the boxed digits.
Are expert puzzles ever ambiguous?: Not here. Every grid is counted by a solver that stops as soon as it finds a second answer, and anything with one is thrown away rather than printed with a note.

Check this before you rely on it. This tool is provided free and without warranty, and its results are not professional advice.

		Down 11	Down 19			Down 13	Down 14	Down 45	Down 10
	Across 4				Down 13Across 10
	Down 14Across 3			Down 30Across 34
Across 33						Across 6
Across 26					Down 7	Across 8			Down 3
	Down 27	Down 15	Across 15				Across 5
Across 16			Down 15Across 7			Down 18	Down 7Across 6
Across 14					Down 16Across 19				Down 5
Across 22				Across 24
Across 5				Across 12			Across 13

	Down 6	Down 7			Down 15	Down 6		Down 19	Down 5
Across 3				Down 11Across 8			Across 7
Across 10			Down 7Across 21				Down 19Across 13
	Down 17	Down 7Across 5				Down 10Across 13
Across 20					Across 13			Down 30
Across 9			Down 15	Down 20	Across 11				Down 13
		Down 8Across 3			Down 21	Down 16	Across 15
	Down 4Across 30						Down 9Across 14
Across 45
Across 3			Across 15			Across 7

		Down 20	Down 9	Down 8	Down 13		Down 22	Down 25
	Across 10					Down 4Across 16
	Down 11Across 40								Down 15
Across 12					Across 17
Across 9			Down 5				Down 18Across 8
	Across 8			Down 6		Down 17Across 13
	Down 11	Down 11Across 6			Down 7Across 4
Across 7			Down 5Across 13					Down 17	Down 3
Across 8				Across 18
	Across 12				Across 26

		Down 11	Down 19			Down 13	Down 14	Down 45	Down 10
	Across 4	1	3		Down 13Across 10	4	1	2	3
	Down 14Across 3	2	1	Down 30Across 34	6	9	4	8	7
Across 33	6	3	9	8	7	Across 6	2	4
Across 26	8	5	6	7	Down 7	Across 8	7	1	Down 3
	Down 27	Down 15	Across 15	9	6		Across 5	3	2
Across 16	9	7	Down 15Across 7	6	1	Down 18	Down 7Across 6	5	1
Across 14	7	1	6		Down 16Across 19	9	4	6	Down 5
Across 22	8	5	9	Across 24	9	4	3	7	1
Across 5	3	2		Across 12	7	5	Across 13	9	4

	Down 6	Down 7			Down 15	Down 6		Down 19	Down 5
Across 3	2	1		Down 11Across 8	6	2	Across 7	6	1
Across 10	4	6	Down 7Across 21	8	9	4	Down 19Across 13	9	4
	Down 17	Down 7Across 5	2	3		Down 10Across 13	9	4
Across 20	9	6	5		Across 13	9	4	Down 30
Across 9	8	1	Down 15	Down 20	Across 11	1	6	4	Down 13
		Down 8Across 3	2	1	Down 21	Down 16	Across 15	8	7
	Down 4Across 30	1	5	9	8	7	Down 9Across 14	9	5
Across 45	3	5	8	2	6	9	4	7	1
Across 3	1	2	Across 15	8	7	Across 7	5	2

Expert Kakuro

A branch inside a branch

Bookkeeping is the whole difficulty

Still one answer, still provable

Common questions

Expert Kakuro — printable sheet

Answers