FAQ

What is Kaidoku?
Kaidoku is a sort of puzzle hybrid, a cross between a crossword and sudoku. Each letter in the alphabet is represented by a number in the grid, and the entries in the grid must be common, un-capitalized, non-hyphenated English words. Every Kaidoku must also be pangrammatic; that is, each letter of the alphabet must appear at least once.
That’s all you need to know to start puzzling!

Aren’t these just coded crosswords?
Around the internet, you’ll see similar-looking puzzles called “coded crosswords” or “codewords.” The puzzles on this site are slightly different. In a coded crossword, the entries can be pretty much anything you’d find in a standard American crossword. In a Kaidoku, as stated above, only common, un-capitalized, non-hyphenated English words are allowed. So you can consider Kaidokus as a subset of coded crosswords.

Help! I’m a total newbie! Where do I start?
The Tips Page is a great place to start. You’ll find some helpful hints for solving Kaidoku, along with links to some of our easier puzzles.

What are those boxes in the PDF?
The boxes below the grid in the PDF numbered 1-26 are there to help you if you choose. If you’re solving your Kaidoku and suspect that the number 6 is an E, say, then you can fill in the box numbered 6 below the grid with an E to remind you of that.