Sudoku Made and maintained by Brian Hamilton and Karan Hamilton.
Brian builds the playable puzzle tools, while Karan helps test clarity, difficulty feel, and the player experience.
Playable puzzles and controls are tested in the browser for rule accuracy, usability, and a clear solving experience. See how we make and test puzzles, our editorial standards, or report a problem.
Valentine's Sudoku: Two Hearts on One Small Board
Valentine's Sudoku plays classic Sudoku with nine romantic tiles — heart, rose, love letter, cupid heart, gift, chocolate, ring, teddy, and bouquet. Icons, digits, or a little of each: whatever the tiles say, each appears exactly once in every row, column, and box.
The two-hearts problem
This set opens with its one real trap: the heart and the cupid heart — the one with the arrow through it — are both on the beginner 4x4 board, and on a small screen the arrow is easy to miss. Every other tile in the set reads instantly; these two are the pair that will cost you a solve if you rush. The Both display mode prints a small number on each tile, which is the unromantic but reliable fix.
The romance escalates with the board
Tiles enter in order, and this set happens to follow the classic script. The 4x4 board is the opening moves: heart, rose, love letter, cupid heart. The gift and the chocolate — the effort phase — arrive at 6x6. And the ring, teddy, and bouquet appear only on the full 9x9, which means the ring is reserved for the most committed board. We did not plan that. We are keeping it.
Solve one 6x6 together, alternating moves, with one rule: every placement needs a reason out loud. Cheaper than dinner, and you learn how the other person argues.
Not only for couples
February also puts this board in classrooms and at kitchen tables: it is a calm activity for the over-sugared afternoon after valentines are exchanged, and the tiles are ones young children can name on sight. The heart-heavy theme bothers kids not at all; the logic is exactly as sharp as on any other board.
Love is a constraint
Every puzzle has one solution, and no tile repeats in any row, column, or box — even the heart waits its turn. Practical questions about difficulty or hints are answered on the Themed Sudoku page. The rest of the collection is there too, waiting to be asked.
Valentine's Sudoku FAQ
The cupid heart has an arrow through it — and both tiles appear on the beginner 4x4 board, where the arrow is easy to miss on a small screen. Both mode adds a number label to each tile if they start to blur.
Only on the full 9x9 board. Tiles enter in order: the 4x4 uses the heart, rose, love letter, and cupid heart; the gift and chocolate arrive at 6x6; and the ring, teddy, and bouquet are 9x9-only.
The puzzle is single-player, but it shares well: try alternating moves on a 6x6 with a rule that every placement needs a spoken reason. Cooperative solving works with kids in February classrooms just as well as it does on a date.