Paused
At this level you will fill in notes on most of the board before you find a single number. The moves that work are the ones that remove a note somewhere else: pointing pairs, triples and, now and then, an X-Wing. The puzzle never needs a guess, but it does need patience and tidy notes.
The puzzle above opens on Master, our name for Evil in the Difficulty buttons. You can switch level at any time with the Difficulty buttons. Every puzzle is checked by a solver to make sure it has exactly one answer.
What evil sudoku asks of you
- Notes everywhere. Write every possible number into every empty square early on. On Evil, holding the options in your head stops working after a few minutes.
- Naked and hidden triples. Three squares in a row, column or box that share three numbers between them. Those numbers can be removed from the rest of the group.
- X-Wing. Two rows where a number can only go in the same two columns. The number is then ruled out of the rest of those two columns.
Each of these is explained step by step in our Sudoku strategy guide. Curious how few numbers a puzzle can start with? Read why the answer is 17.
At a glance
| Starting numbers | About 24 of 81 |
|---|---|
| Time | Usually 30 to 75 minutes. |
| Good for | Players who finish Expert and want something harder before trying Extreme. |
| What next | If Evil feels comfortable, Extreme is the hardest level we make. |
Other levels
Easy Sudoku
Classic Sudoku, opening at Easy.
Medium Sudoku
Classic Sudoku, opening at Medium.
Hard Sudoku
Classic Sudoku, opening at Hard.
Expert Sudoku
Classic Sudoku, opening at Expert.
Extreme Sudoku
Classic Sudoku, opening at Extreme.
Questions people ask
Is evil Sudoku harder than expert?
Yes. Our Evil puzzles start with about 24 numbers instead of 27, and most of them need triples or an X-Wing, which Expert puzzles rarely do.
Why is it called evil Sudoku?
Several well known Sudoku websites call their top level Evil, and the name stuck as the word for a very hard puzzle. In the Difficulty buttons on this site the same level is called Master.
Does evil Sudoku need guessing?
No. Every puzzle here is checked by a solver and has exactly one answer, so there is always a logical next step, even if it takes a while to find.
More Sudoku games
Classic Sudoku
The everyday game, from Easy to Extreme.
Daily Sudoku
Four puzzles a day, the same for everyone.
Killer Sudoku
Few or no numbers to start. Cages tell you their totals.
Jigsaw Sudoku
The boxes are wiggly pieces instead of squares.
Sudoku X
Both long diagonals need 1 to 9 as well.
Mini Sudoku
A quick game with the numbers 1 to 6.
Sudoku for Kids
Four numbers, big squares, no game over.
Sudoku 16 × 16
The numbers 1 to 16 on a 256 square grid.
Christmas Sudoku
Classic Sudoku dressed for the holidays, to play or print.
All games and tools
Every game on the site, the difficulty pages, printable puzzles and the solver.