The 5x5 grid is the classic futoshiki, the size most puzzle pages use. Five rows and five columns each hold the digits 1 to 5 once, and the signs between cells say which neighbour is larger. With five digits, a chain of signs becomes a real tool: three cells linked by two signs in the same direction run upward, so the first is at most 3 and the last at least 3.
Each of these eight puzzles stands alone on its page, with between seven and twelve signs and at most two given digits. They are for solvers who have tried the 4x4 grids and want deductions that go two or three steps deep, with a single solution every time and no guessing.
Part of the Futoshiki Puzzles collection, Last updated on Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:48:27 GMT.
Start with the extremes: the 5 cannot sit on the pointed side of any sign, the 1 cannot sit on the open side. Mark in each row and column the cells that can still take a 5 and a 1; often only one remains. Then follow the chains: two signs in a row pointing the same way fix the middle cell between the two ends, and a cell greater than two different neighbours is at least 3. Keep candidates written small, and cross them out as digits land.
It takes longer rather than harder: the same two rules apply, but with five digits the signs forbid fewer values at once, so you combine them with the row and column rule more often before a digit is sure.
That the cells along it are in increasing order. In a 5x5 grid, three cells linked by two signs the same way hold three increasing digits, such as 1, 2, 3 or 2, 4, 5; four cells linked that way leave out a single digit, so the first is 1 or 2 and the last 4 or 5.