Yes, You KenKen -...

Q: How did you come up with KenKen?A: I have been a math educator for many years. I was looking for materials that would be suitable for students to train the brain before they try mathematical problems. That’s how I came to the puzzle.

Q: Does its popularity surprise you?A: No, not at all. It’s really enjoyable and interesting.

Q: Can you give readers tips on how to get started with a KenKen puzzle?A: There are no tips. The beautiful thing about KenKen is that you can figure out how to do it by yourself.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for kids who struggle with math?A: Try to not just be good at math; try to enjoy it. Don’t think of how to memorize. KenKen is much more fun than any other toys around!

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Yes, You KenKen®!

Can you KenKen? You’ll never know unless you try! Although Miyamoto says that “you can figure out how to do it by yourself,” here are a few pointers.

Take a look at this sample puzzle, which has a 3 x 3 grid. The object is to fill each row and each column with the numbers 1 through 3 without repeating.

At the upper left corner of each heavily outlined area, called a cage, is a target number and the arithmetic operation that, used with the numbers you write (in any order), will give that result. A single-box cage is a “freebie”—all you have to do is write that number into the box. (In this sample puzzle, we filled in a couple of blanks for you.)

Now that you know a thing or two about KenKen, try your hand at four more on the next two pages: two easy puzzles (write 1 through 4 just once per row and per column) and two challenging puzzles (write 1 through 6 just once per row and per column).

KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. © 2010 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

Do you like sudoku? In that case, you might want to try another logic puzzle from Japan. It’s called KenKen, a term that translates roughly as “cleverness squared.”

JS spoke with Tetsuya Miyamoto, the inventor of KenKen. Here’s what he told us.

JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC ONLINe RepROdUCIbLe • pAge 1 Of 4

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123Answer to sample puzzle:

The solutions to these puzzles appear on the last page of this PDF—but no peeking!

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Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

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operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

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KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2010 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

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WORKSPACE


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1-10-10

WORKSPACE


KenK

en®

is a

regi

ster

ed tr

adem

ark

of N

exto

y, L

LC. ©

201

0 Ke

nKen

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ist.

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nc. w

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Uses

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Page 2 Puzzle Solutions Page 3 Puzzle Solutions



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Uses: copy machine, opaque projector, or transparency master for overhead projector. Scholastic Inc. grants teacher-subscribers to Junior Scholastic permission to reproduce these pates for use in their classrooms.

Yes, You KenKen -...

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