How to Play Statedoku
Statedoku is a daily puzzle that mixes Sudoku's grid uniqueness rule with American geography. The board is a 3×3 grid. Each cell must be filled with a US state that satisfies both its row constraint and its column constraint. Each of the 50 US states can be used at most once.
The 5-step rulebook
1. Read the row and column labels
Every row has a label (e.g. "Pacific coast", "borders Mexico", "original 13 colonies"). Every column also has a label (e.g. "starts with M", "NBA team", "named from a Spanish word"). The state you place in row R, column C must satisfy both the row R constraint and the column C constraint.
2. Tap a cell to open the search
A bottom-sheet input slides up. Above the input, you'll see two tags: the constraints for the cell you tapped (row label × column label). Type at least 3 letters of a state name — matching states will appear in the dropdown.
3. Pick a state that fits both constraints
Tap the state you think satisfies both row and column. Two outcomes:
- Correct (green): the cell locks. A small green ★ appears in the corner. You can't change it.
- Wrong (red flash): the cell flashes red, the state is removed, and you lose one of your 3 mistakes.
4. Fill all 9 cells before 3 mistakes
The top bar shows your remaining mistakes as 3 dots (●●●). Each wrong guess turns one red. If you reach 3 mistakes, the puzzle ends and shows the full solution. Otherwise, fill all 9 cells correctly to win the day.
5. Share your result
On the victory banner, tap "Share". You'll get a copy-pasteable emoji grid:
Statedoku 🗺️ 13/05 🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟥🟩 🟩🟩🟩 statedoku.com
Paste it on Twitter, WhatsApp, Discord, iMessage — anywhere. Friends can play the same puzzle and compare.
A worked example
Say the puzzle is:
- Row 1: Pacific coast
- Row 2: Borders Mexico
- Row 3: Original 13 colonies
- Col 1: Starts with C
- Col 2: Two-word name
- Col 3: Republican-leaning
For row 1, column 1 (Pacific coast AND Starts with C): only one state fits — California.
For row 2, column 2 (Borders Mexico AND Two-word name): only one fits — New Mexico.
And so on. Every Statedoku puzzle has exactly one valid solution. If you find a placement that works, it's correct.
Tips to get better
1. Start with the rarest cells. Some intersections only have 1 possible state. Find these first — they unlock the rest.
2. Eliminate by row. If a row says "Pacific coast", only 5 states qualify (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI). Cross-check which of those also fit each column.
3. Use the "uniqueness" rule. Each state appears at most once. If a state must go in row 1, it can't appear in row 2 or 3.
4. Read labels carefully. "Has an NBA team" is different from "no major pro team". "Named from a Spanish word" only fits 6 states.
5. Don't panic at "weird" constraints. Things like "Mount Rockies", "Tornado Alley", or "Rust Belt" are well-defined geographic concepts — once you know the list, they're not so hard.
What kind of knowledge helps?
Average US geography knowledge gets you ~60% of the puzzle. The rest comes from:
- Capitals & big cities — knowing that Washington's capital is Olympia (not Seattle!) helps
- Politics — recent election results, party leaning
- History — Original 13, Confederate states, statehood timeline
- Geography — mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, time zones
- Trivia — name origins, double letters, borders
If you don't know a constraint, the search dropdown helps — typing 3+ letters reveals matching states. But you still need to know which one satisfies the row label too.
Frequently asked
For more details, see the full FAQ. Quick answers:
- Is it free? Yes, 100%.
- Do I need an account? No.
- How often? One new puzzle daily, at midnight your local time.
- Mobile support? Yes, mobile-first design.