Sudoku
by 5am lab
🧠 Free · Daily · AI-Coached

Train your brain.
Every single day.

One new puzzle daily. Step-by-step AI coaching explains the strategy — not just the answer. Compete on the global leaderboard or play with your kids.

🏆 Play Today's Puzzle 📊 View Leaderboard
No download required
Works on any device
Free to play
Pro version available
Kids mode included

Three ways to play

Pick your challenge.

Same game, three different experiences. Social for competition, Coach for learning, Kids for your 3–10 year olds.

🔥 Daily
🏆
Sudoku Social
One puzzle per day. Everyone in the world plays the same board. Fastest time + fewest mistakes wins. Submit your score and see where you rank.
Play today's puzzle →
📚 Learning
🎓
Coach Mode
AI explains every hint — Naked Singles, Hidden Singles, Naked Pairs. You actually learn the techniques, not just fill in squares. Unlimited puzzles at any difficulty.
Start learning →
⭐ Ages 3–10
🚀
Kids Mode
4×4 and 6×6 grids grow into a full 9×9. Voice coach Jessica reads every hint out loud. Space, ocean, and nature themes. Built for the youngest players.
Try Kids Mode →

Live Rankings

🏆 Daily Leaderboard

—
Loading leaderboard...

Puzzle resets daily at midnight Eastern Time (ET). Rankings shown in ET.

Want to appear here? Play today's puzzle and submit your score — it shows up instantly.

Play Now →

What's inside

Smarter than a hint button.

Most sudoku apps just give you the answer. Sudoku Coach explains the reasoning behind every move so you actually improve.

🧠
Step-by-Step AI Coaching
Tap 💡 and the coach explains the technique — not just the cell. Naked Singles, Hidden Singles, Naked Pairs. Each hint makes you smarter.
📅
Same Daily Puzzle Worldwide
Every day at midnight a new puzzle seeds globally. Everyone plays the identical board — fair competition, no seed shopping.
🏆
Live Global Leaderboard
Scores rank by points (1,000 base, minus 2/sec + 50/mistake). Submit your time and see your rank update immediately.
✏️
Pencil Marks & Auto-fill
Jot candidates in pencil mode. Hit ⚡ Auto-fill and the coach instantly populates every valid number across the whole board.
🔥
Daily Streak Tracking
Your streak badge tracks consecutive days played. Don't break the chain — play every day to keep your streak alive.
📱
No App Required
Pure web app — works on iPhone, Android, tablet, and desktop. No install, no account needed to play. Just open and go.

Getting started

How it works.

Open in any browser — no signup, no download. You're playing in under 10 seconds.

1

Choose your mode

Pick Social (daily leaderboard), Coach (learning mode), or Kids (voice coach + themes). Social is the default for the daily puzzle.

2

Select a difficulty and start

Easy → Medium → Hard (Expert coming in Pro). Tap any empty cell to select it. The board highlights your row, column, and box so you can see what's already used.

3

Use the coach when stuck

Tap 💡 Hint. The coach highlights the best cell and explains why — not just what to put there. In Kids Mode, Jessica reads it out loud.

4

Finish and submit your score

Complete the puzzle and tap Submit Score. Your time and mistake count are uploaded to the live leaderboard instantly. Zero mistakes = bonus points.

For the little ones

Kids Mode 🚀

Built for ages 3–10. Three immersive themes, a voice coach who reads every hint out loud, and grid sizes that grow with your child.

🚀 Space — Mission Control
🐬 Ocean — Dolphin Coach
🦉 Nature — Owl Coach
🔢

4×4, 6×6, and 9×9

Start small and grow. The grid gets bigger as confidence builds.

🎙️

Voice Coach (Jessica)

Every hint is read out loud in a warm, friendly voice. ElevenLabs AI — not robotic TTS.

💡

Unlimited Hints

Kids get unlimited free hints — no penalty. Learning is the goal, not gatekeeping.

🌈

Rainbow Numbers

Each number 1–9 has its own color. Visual learning, not just symbol recognition.

⭐

Celebration on Win

Big animated win screen with stars and audio celebration every time they finish.

🔇

Parent Mute Option

Voice coach can be muted from Settings any time — useful in quiet places.

Try Kids Mode →

Strategy guide

Get better, faster.

Sudoku Coach teaches all of these techniques in-app — step by step, in real time, on your actual puzzle. Pro walks you through every strategy interactively.

Beginner
Naked Single
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦
Beginner
Number Scanning
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦
Intermediate
Hidden Single
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦
Intermediate
Pencil Marks
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦
Advanced
Naked Pair
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦
Advanced
Pointing Pair / Triple
Full walkthrough in Pro ✦

✦ Pro unlocks full strategy guides

Interactive in-app coaching on every technique — with live examples on your actual puzzle.

See Pro →

Sudoku Coach Pro

Go deeper.
Upgrade to Pro.

The free game is great. Pro is for players who want to genuinely improve — and parents who want the full kids coaching experience.

Free
$0
Forever free · No credit card
  • ✓ Daily puzzle + global leaderboard
  • ✓ Coach Mode — unlimited puzzles
  • ✓ Kids Mode with voice coach
  • ✓ 1 hint per puzzle
  • ✓ Pencil marks + auto-fill
  • – Strategy walkthroughs
  • – Unlimited hints
  • – Game history + replay
  • – Personal stats dashboard
Play Free →
✦ Most Popular
Pro
$3.99/mo
🎉 Intro: $1.99/mo for first 3 months
Cancel anytime
  • ✓ Everything in Free
  • ✦ Interactive strategy walkthroughs — all 6 techniques, live on your puzzle
  • ✦ Unlimited hints with full explanations
  • ✦ Game history + replay — go back and finish puzzles you abandoned or got stuck on
  • ✦ Personal stats dashboard — streaks, accuracy, average time by difficulty
  • ✦ Expert difficulty Coming soon
  • ✦ Priority leaderboard badge
  • ✦ Early access to new game modes
🌟 Start Intro Offer — $1.99/mo → Monthly — $3.99/mo

Secure checkout via Stripe · Cancel anytime

FAQ

Common questions.

Is it free?
The core game is free — daily puzzle, leaderboard, Coach Mode, and Kids Mode are all included at no cost. Creating an account is also free and lets you submit leaderboard scores. Sudoku Coach Pro ($3.99/mo, intro offer $1.99/mo for 3 months) adds unlimited hints, full strategy walkthroughs, game history with replay, and personal stats.
How is today's score calculated?
You start with 1,000 points. Every second costs 2 points. Every mistake costs 50 points. Minimum score is 0. A perfect solve (zero mistakes, fast time) earns the highest score. The leaderboard ranks by score descending, then time ascending as a tiebreaker.
Is the daily puzzle the same for everyone?
Yes. It's seeded by date — every player worldwide gets the exact same puzzle on the same day. That's what makes the leaderboard fair.
What age is Kids Mode for?
Roughly ages 3–10. Younger kids (3–5) can do the 4×4 grid with a parent. Most 6–8 year olds can tackle the 6×6 independently. The full 9×9 is appropriate for 9+ with coaching. The voice coach adapts its language to be age-friendly throughout.
Does it work offline?
Puzzle generation and coaching work fully offline (service worker cached). Leaderboard submission and loading require an internet connection.
Is there an iOS/Android app?
A native iOS app is in TestFlight beta. The web version works great on mobile — just tap 5amlab-sudoku.vercel.app in any browser and add it to your home screen for an app-like experience.

Ready to play?

Free, no login, works instantly on any device.

🏆 Play Today's Daily Puzzle 🚀 Try Kids Mode