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中文Futoshiki is Latin-square-plus-inequalities. Fill the grid with the numbers 1–5 (one of each per row and column) so that every inequality sign between two cells is true — the arrow always points at the smaller number. That is the whole rule set: two constraints, no arithmetic. What makes a board hard is how few starting numbers you get; a well-made futoshiki needs no guessing at all.
Today's verified daily is live — play it now.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Latin square | Every row and every column contains each number exactly once — no repeats. |
| Inequalities | Every ‹ › ∧ ∨ sign between two adjacent cells must hold; the sign points at the smaller number. |
| Givens | Some cells start filled. On a verified board these plus the signs force a unique solution. |
A run of linked inequalities a ‹ b ‹ c pins the extremes: the small end of a 4-cell chain can only be 1 or 2 on a 5×5. Mark chain minimums and maximums first.
A cell that is 'greater' in several signs cannot be 1; a cell that is 'smaller' anywhere cannot be 5. Scan each row for the only cell allowed to hold each extreme.
When a number lands, remove it from the row and column and re-check every touching inequality — one placement usually cascades through two or three signs.
Every daily board here is generated by a solver-in-the-loop: sparse random clue sets are almost never unique, so the generator starts from a full set of edges and minimizes while re-proving uniqueness at every step. 450 daily 5×5 boards (from 2026-08-24) plus 320 free-play boards in three difficulties are pre-verified — exactly one solution, reachable by pure deduction.
Fill the grid so every row and column contains each number exactly once (1–5 on a 5×5), and every inequality sign between adjacent cells is satisfied — the sign always points at the smaller number. Some cells are pre-filled as givens.
A properly constructed futoshiki can. Every puzzle on this site is machine-verified before publication to have exactly one solution reachable by pure deduction. Randomly generated boards without that check frequently require trial and error.
Follow the longest chain of inequalities: its ends are forced toward 1 and the maximum number. On a 5×5, the small end of a four-cell chain can only be 1 or 2 — that is usually the strongest opening deduction.
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