Swudoku is a daily logic puzzle that takes everything satisfying about sudoku and gives it a fresh twist: instead of filling in empty cells, you swap tiles to untangle a scrambled board.
No pencil. No guessing. No timer.
Just you, a jumbled grid, and the deeply satisfying goal of solving it in as few swaps as possible.
This how to play Swudoku guide covers everything you need to know — from your very first swap to advanced strategies for chasing a GOAT score.
What Is Swudoku?
Swudoku = Swap + Sudoku.
Every day, a new 9×9 grid drops. The board is already fully filled with numbers — nothing is missing. The catch? They’re in the wrong places. Your job is to swap tiles around until every row, column, and 3×3 block contains the numbers 1–9 exactly once.
Same satisfying logic as classic sudoku. New mechanic. Built for touch. And crucially — one shared puzzle for every player in the world, every day.
Think of it as the sudoku equivalent of Wordle: one puzzle, one community, one daily moment of quiet brilliance.
The Goal
Simple: solve the board using as few swaps as possible.
There’s no timer ticking away. No countdown pressure. Swudoku rewards thinking, not rushing — the player who solves it in 6 swaps beats the player who solved it in 14, regardless of how long each took.
Your score is your swap count. Lower is better. The best scores — the ones that end up in GOAT territory — come from players who read the board carefully before touching anything.
Understanding the Colours
Before you swap anything, you need to speak the language of the board. Swudoku uses four colours to tell you exactly how each tile is doing.
🔵 Blue — Currently Selected
You’ve tapped this tile and it’s ready to swap. Tap any other tile to swap them.
⬜ Grey — Swappable
This tile is in the wrong position. It needs to move. Grey tiles are your work in progress.
🟡 Yellow — Correct Position
This number is in the right cell — but its row, column, and 3×3 block aren’t all complete yet. Yellow is progress. It’s not finished.
🟢 Green — Locked In
This is the colour you’re chasing. Green means the tile is in the correct position and its row, column, or 3×3 block is complete. As more tiles fall into place, you’ll see sections of the board light up green one by one. Green tiles don’t need to move.
When the whole board is green, you’re done.
Watch the colours update in real time as you swap — they’re your feedback system, telling you whether you’re making progress or undoing it.
How to Play: Step by Step
Step 1 — Read the Board First
Before you make a single swap, spend 30 seconds scanning the grid. Look for obvious mismatches: a 9 sitting in a row that already has a 9, or a number that clearly belongs somewhere else. The players with the lowest swap counts almost always start by thinking, not tapping.
Step 2 — Select Your First Tile
Tap any grey tile to select it. It will turn blue, indicating it’s ready to swap.
Step 3 — Select Your Second Tile
Tap any other tile. The two tiles will instantly switch positions. The board will update its colours to reflect the new state — yellow or green tiles will appear if your swap improved things.
Step 4 — Look for Double Swaps
A Double Swap is when swapping two tiles puts both of them into their correct positions simultaneously. These are the most powerful moves in Swudoku — they solve two problems with one action and dramatically reduce your swap count. Always look for Double Swap opportunities before making a move.
Step 5 — Work Systematically
Don’t swap randomly. Pick a section of the board — a row, column, or 3×3 block — and focus on untangling it before moving on. Fixing one area often reveals what needs to happen in adjacent areas.
Step 6 — Use Undo When Needed
Made a swap that made things worse? Hit Undo to reverse your last move. There’s no penalty for undoing — use it freely while you’re learning.
Step 7 — Chase the Green
Keep swapping, keep reading the colour feedback, and keep looking for Double Swaps. As yellow tiles consolidate into green ones, sections of the board will lock in. The endgame — when you’re down to a handful of grey tiles — is where the real strategy lives.
Beginner Tips for Your First Few Puzzles
Start with the most obvious mismatches. Numbers that appear twice in the same row or column are easy to spot and easy to fix. Start there.
Yellow is progress, but it’s not done. A yellow tile is in the right cell, but the surrounding row, column, or block isn’t complete yet. Don’t ignore yellow tiles — they still need their neighbours sorted.
Think two moves ahead. Before swapping, ask: where does this tile need to go, and what does swapping it here do to the tile it’s replacing? Purposeless swaps inflate your score fast.
Don’t rush the endgame. When only a few grey tiles remain, take extra time. The last 3–4 swaps are where you can either nail a low score or waste moves unnecessarily.
Use the colours as a checklist. If a row has no green tiles, it needs the most work. If a row is all green, leave it alone. The board is constantly telling you where to focus.
Advanced Strategy: How to Chase a GOAT Score
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, these techniques separate good solvers from great ones.
Map before you swap. Before touching the board, mentally trace where tiles need to go. If tile A needs to go to position X, and tile B is currently at position X and needs to go to position Y, you may be able to chain those moves efficiently rather than solving them separately.
Look for cycles. Sometimes three or four tiles need to rotate through each other’s positions. Recognising a cycle early means you can execute it in the minimum number of moves rather than stumbling through it.
Prioritise blocks. Completing a 3×3 block turns all nine tiles green at once, which makes the remaining puzzle dramatically easier to read. Block-first solving is often the most efficient approach on harder boards.
Classic sudoku logic applies. If you already know sudoku techniques like Naked Singles or Hidden Pairs, use them. Because the full solution is embedded in the board, you can often deduce exactly where a tile belongs before swapping it — meaning every move you make is intentional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to create an account to play?
No — anyone can play today’s puzzle instantly, no account required. A free account lets you save your scores, track your progress over time, and access past puzzles.
Is Swudoku free?
Yes, completely. Free to play, free to create an account.
Can I play on my phone?
Absolutely — Swudoku is built for touchscreens. Tapping and swapping feels natural on mobile and tablet, and it works perfectly on desktop too.
Is there a new puzzle every day?
Yes. One fresh puzzle drops every day, and it’s the same puzzle for every player in the world. Perfect for comparing scores with friends or settling the age-old debate of whose brain is operating on a higher plane.
Why are some cells yellow or green?
Yellow means the tile is in the correct position, but its row, column, and block aren’t all complete yet. Green means it’s in the correct position and at least one of its row, column, or block is now complete. Both are good — green is better.
What happens if I get stuck?
Every Swudoku puzzle is solvable using pure logic — no guessing required. If you’re stuck, look for rows or columns with obvious duplicates, or try undoing your last few moves and approaching from a different angle.
Can I play past puzzles?
Yes, with a free account. Sign up and you’ll have access to the full archive.
Ready to Play?
Now you know everything you need. The daily puzzle is waiting.
Go solve it in as few swaps as possible — and come back tomorrow to do it all again.
Want to go deeper? Check out our full FAQ page for more answers.