Zoodoku — Daily Animal Logic Puzzle

Sudoku's animal cousin: place exactly one animal in every row, every column and every colored region — and no two animals may touch, not even diagonally. A fresh set of boards arrives every day.

Playable below — free Daily puzzle set Pure logic, no guessing No account needed
Today's daily set is waiting Tap a cell once to mark ×, twice to place an animal, a third time to clear it. Five levels unlock in order, from 5×5 up to 7×7.
Zoodoku — one animal per row, column and color

The rules in 30 seconds

  1. 1
    One animal per row

    Every row of the grid ends up holding exactly one animal — no more, no less.

  2. 2
    One per column, one per color

    Same deal for columns, and for each colored region — regions replace sudoku's boxes and come in irregular shapes.

  3. 3
    No touching

    Two animals can't sit in adjacent cells — horizontally, vertically or diagonally. This rule does most of the eliminating.

  4. 4
    Mark first, place second

    Work like a logic puzzle: tap cells to × them out, and place an animal only where the marks say it must go. Every board has exactly one solution.

Solving tips for the daily set

The daily set runs five boards in order — 5×5 warm-ups up to a 7×7 closer. Hints and undo are built in if a board fights back.

  1. 1
    Start with the smallest region

    A color region with few cells narrows candidates fastest — its animal also ×'s out everything touching those cells.

  2. 2
    Place, then cross out aggressively

    Every animal you place eliminates its whole row, column, region and the eight neighbors around it. Cascade the marks before looking for the next placement.

  3. 3
    Use the "last cell" check

    When a row, column or region has exactly one unmarked cell left, that cell is the animal — the most common finishing move.

  4. 4
    Stuck? Take the hint, don't guess

    Boards are solver-checked to have a single answer reachable by logic — a wrong guess costs more time than a hint.

Where the name comes from: Zoodoku = zoo + sudoku. It's the same family as the "Queens"-style logic puzzle — one symbol per row, column and region, nothing touching — with animals on top.

FAQ

Is Zoodoku free to play?

Yes — the daily set above is completely free in the browser, no download and no account.

Is there a new puzzle every day?

Yes — the daily set regenerates from the date, so every player worldwide gets the same boards each day, and a fresh set unlocks tomorrow.

How is it different from sudoku?

No numbers and no math. You place animals instead of digits, colored regions replace the 3×3 boxes, and the extra "no two animals touching" rule does the heavy lifting.

Can I play it on my phone?

Yes — it's tap-driven and works in a mobile browser. Use fullscreen on smaller screens for a bigger board.

Does progress save?

Your place in the daily set, solve times and completed levels save in the browser, so you can close the tab and come back later the same day.