9-Ball Sudoku is strictly © Mike Polaski / UKPuzzle.com 2008

Sudoku has many variants but most are far more difficult than the standard puzzle, so we were looking for something that bridged the gap - a puzzle with just a little extra spice.

And here it is. 9-Ball Sudoku follows all the standard rules in that each row, column and 3x3 region must contain the digits 1-9.
But the grid also contains nine circles and these, too, must contain the digits 1-9. And that's all there is to it!

Click the links below for sample puzzles.

PUZZLE 1 █ PUZZLE 2 █ PUZZLE 3 █ PUZZLE 4

8-Ball Sudoku is strictly © Mike Polaski / UKPuzzle.com 2008

8-Ball Sudoku takes the challenge one small step further by requiring that ALL BUT ONE of the digits 1-9 must appear in the circles.
The hunt for the missing digit turns this variation on the theme into something slightly akin to detective work.

Click the links below for sample puzzles.

PUZZLE 1 █ PUZZLE 2 █ PUZZLE 3 █ PUZZLE 4

In both cases what we have here is an incredibly addictive extension of the straightforward sudoku format, and UKPuzzle is interested in hearing from publishers who would like to discuss making collections of these puzzles available in print format. Please EMAIL serious enquiries only.