As you sit in your chair agonizing over the right combination of digits you need to equal 30 vertically and 24 horizontally, you wonder how anyone could solve a puzzle like this. “It must take a genius,” you think. And while having an IQ higher than your body weight (not a small feat considering our country’s increasing obesity problems) certainly wouldn’t hurt your chances of getting the right given sum and avoiding errors with Kakuro puzzles, it certainly isn’t a necessary component for success.

In fact, Kakuro doesn’t require any sort of outstanding intellect at all. Rather, it simply requires elementary math skills and a willingness to think about and solve problems. It’s so simple a baby could do it. Well, maybe not a baby, but an elementary school-aged child could. Could and should. Why? Puzzles games like Kakuro, as well as its cousins Sudoku and Hitori puzzles, provide numerous benefits for children when continuously solved. How? Let us count the ways:

1. Math Skills

Playing Kakuro challenges everyone to solve simple math problems quickly and accurately. This can be especially helpful to children who are starting to learn those skills at a basic level, providing them with a fun way to practice their math outside of school.

2. Problem Solving

“If 3 goes there and 4, goes there, then 7 must go here.”, thoughts like this go through people’s heads whenever they play online Kakuro puzzles. This thought process can be especially beneficial for children who will play the game. Problems like this may seem simple for us (even though they often aren’t in Kakuro), but for children, they pose far more of a challenge. Also, the logic and deduction skills developed through Kakuro can be carried over to other facets of life as well.

3. Persistence

Kakuro can be difficult for anyone and often requires a certain amount of perseverance to finish. Persisting in the face of adversity is an important value to instill in children, and letting them struggle through a game of Kakuro is a great way to do so.

While Kakuro is appropriate for people of all ages, you probably shouldn’t start off children with anything too difficult. It would be a good idea to start your kids off with simple puzzles and try out more advanced ones as their skills are honed. Some ideas for simplifying Kakuro for kids are to:

Shrink It

Start kids off with smaller puzzles. A smaller puzzle means fewer cells, which means fewer digits your child has to come up with.

Spot Them a Few Numbers

Instead of shrinking the puzzle, you could give them a few correct numbers and let them solve it from there.

Do It With Them

Having help from mom or dad takes some of the Kakuro-load off your child and puts a bit of it on you, allowing you both to share in the fun. Besides, it’s a great way to spend a little time interacting with your kid.

Play Online Sudoku Puzzles and Kakuro Conquest Today!

Kakuro is great for everyone, including children, so get them started today and smile as they choose to spend their free time thinking instead of sitting around watching Bugs Bunny fool Elmer Fudd on TV (or do kids still do that?).