Hachimi levels and daily challenges: how they work
Learn when daily challenges open, how the main sequence progresses across board sizes, and how explanatory hints can help you build a steady solving routine.
Updated 2026-11-13
The daily challenge opens after level 20. Main levels continue through a sequenced puzzle bank; increasing level numbers do not mean infinitely many independently authored boards.
Begin with the main sequence
Early progression gives you space to learn the actual puzzle: one cat per row, column and colour region, with no touching even at corners. Focus on understanding the exclusions rather than trying to reach the calendar by guessing placements. The habits learned in the opening levels remain useful on larger boards.
Each attempt starts with three lives. A wrong placement costs a life, so crossing out proven impossible cells is preferable to testing guesses with cat placements. If a row or region is reduced to a single remaining cell, use that deduction to place a cat and update the board.
Open the daily after level 20
Complete level 20 to open the daily calendar. It offers a dated puzzle routine alongside the main sequence, so you can alternate between practising in the main levels and returning for the day’s board.
Monthly completion badges give the calendar a longer-term goal. If you miss a day, catch-up rules determine what can be opened later. Do not confuse a missed day with a future day: catch-up does not allow you to open dates that have not arrived.
Read the calendar by date
Start with today's board and review the completion marks after finishing. Returning to a dated puzzle gives you a way to compare your solving habits across sessions. A monthly badge gives that routine a longer goal than completing a single board.
Future dates cannot be opened early. If you return after a break, look at the calendar to distinguish completed days from dates you have not played. Keep the daily routine manageable rather than rushing through several boards without understanding the deductions.
Continuing levels and board sizes
The puzzle bank contains 55,277 records, and the daily schedule contains 735 entries. Those are different counts: a dated schedule selects from puzzle content rather than adding another bank of that size. Continuing progression reuses and transforms bank content over time.
Represented board sizes are 4×4, 6×6, 7×7, 8×8, 9×9 and 10×10. Do not assume that every intermediate size appears just because the main sequence keeps advancing. A larger grid also does not by itself identify the exact deduction needed on a particular board.
Learn from a hint
Each attempt begins with three lives. Hints explain a logical exclusion or placement. Before using one, scan rows, columns and colour regions so you have a specific question to compare with the explanation.
When using a hint, read the exclusion or placement explanation before moving on. The useful outcome is recognising a pattern that can be found again in a later level. Spending a hint without learning its reason may help the current board but does little for the next one.
Build a routine around learning
Use main levels to practise one pattern at a time, such as a region confined to one row. Use the daily to apply your usual scan on a dated board. After either session, recall a deduction that changed the board and explain why it worked.
There is no need to treat every change in board size as a demand to guess or rush. Return to candidate counting, row and region restrictions, and diagonal exclusions. Progress is more sustainable when the solving method stays clear as the visual area grows.
Where to play
哈基米数独 (Hachimi) is a HarmonyOS cat-region puzzle with explanatory hints and dated daily challenges. Download it from the Huawei AppGallery link on the app page and begin with the main sequence.