Calcudoku for Friday, 4 September 2026

The puzzle

Fill every row and every column with the digits 1 to 6, each exactly once, so that the digits in every outlined cage combine to its target with its operation. This one has 3 addition cages, 3 subtraction cages and 6 multiplication cages.

Want to try it before reading on? Play today's grid in Cages — free in the browser, no account needed.

Where to start

5 cells are printed for you: a 6 at row 2, column 1; a 4 at row 3, column 4; a 5 at row 4, column 5; a 2 at row 6, column 1; and a 1 at row 6, column 2. Fill those in first, then let each one rule its digit out of its row and column.

The first moves a careful solver finds:

Somewhere in this line the 5 must go — and row 1, column 1 is the only cell that can still take it.
Somewhere in this line the 5 must go — and row 5, column 2 is the only cell that can still take it.
Work the 8+ cage: with what the board already holds, only 3 can sit in row 5, column 3 and still hit the target.

How this grid gives way

Of the 31 cells left to fill after the 5 printed ones, 16 by crossing off what a cell’s row and column already hold until one digit was left; 12 by a cage’s arithmetic leaving only one value that fits; and 3 by finding the one place left in a line where a digit could still go. No step needs a guess: every Cages daily is checked to have exactly one solution, reachable by reasoning alone.

The full solution

Show all 31 steps

Somewhere in this line the 5 must go — and row 1, column 1 is the only cell that can still take it.
Somewhere in this line the 5 must go — and row 5, column 2 is the only cell that can still take it.
Work the 8+ cage: with what the board already holds, only 3 can sit in row 5, column 3 and still hit the target.
Work the 36× cage: with what the board already holds, only 2 can sit in row 5, column 5 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 5, column 4 has exactly one candidate left: 6.
Somewhere in this line the 4 must go — and row 2, column 5 is the only cell that can still take it.
Work the 7+ cage: with what the board already holds, only 3 can sit in row 3, column 5 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 1, column 5 has exactly one candidate left: 1.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 1, column 3 has exactly one candidate left: 2.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 1, column 4 has exactly one candidate left: 3.
Work the 6× cage: with what the board already holds, only 2 can sit in row 2, column 4 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 2, column 2 has exactly one candidate left: 3.
Work the 60× cage: with what the board already holds, only 4 can sit in row 1, column 2 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 1, column 6 has exactly one candidate left: 6.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 2, column 3 has exactly one candidate left: 1.
Work the 10× cage: with what the board already holds, only 5 can sit in row 3, column 3 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 2, column 6 has exactly one candidate left: 5.
Work the 60× cage: with what the board already holds, only 2 can sit in row 3, column 6 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 3, column 1 has exactly one candidate left: 1.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 3, column 2 has exactly one candidate left: 6.
Work the 4− cage: with what the board already holds, only 2 can sit in row 4, column 2 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 4, column 3 has exactly one candidate left: 6.
Work the 36× cage: with what the board already holds, only 1 can sit in row 4, column 4 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 4, column 6 has exactly one candidate left: 4.
Work the 3− cage: with what the board already holds, only 1 can sit in row 5, column 6 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 4, column 1 has exactly one candidate left: 3.
Work the 8+ cage: with what the board already holds, only 4 can sit in row 5, column 1 and still hit the target.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 6, column 3 has exactly one candidate left: 4.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 6, column 4 has exactly one candidate left: 5.
Cross off what the row and column already rule out, and row 6, column 5 has exactly one candidate left: 6.
Work the 36× cage: with what the board already holds, only 3 can sit in row 6, column 6 and still hit the target.

Show the finished grid