Shikaku Puzzles — 5x5

Free printable 5x5 shikaku puzzles as PDFs. Small grids that teach the rule in one sitting, with answer pages. No sign-up, no email.

⬇ Download all 10 as one PDF — free, no sign-up

The 5x5 grid is where shikaku makes sense fastest. Every number in the grid is the area of a rectangle that must contain it, and your job is to slice the whole grid into those rectangles with nothing left over and nothing overlapping. At this size a 6 can only be 1x6, 2x3 or 3x2, and 1x6 will not fit — so the deductions are short enough to hold in your head. That makes these sheets a good first contact with the puzzle for a child of roughly 8 or older, or for an adult who has never met it before.

Each sheet holds a 5x5 shikaku grid printed large, with the clue numbers set in clear type and enough white space to draw rectangle borders in pen without crowding. The answer page shows the completed division with every rectangle outlined. Sheets print black and white on US Letter, one puzzle per page, so a class set costs almost nothing in ink.

Shikaku 5x5 Easy 01 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 01Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 02 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 02Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 03 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 03Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 04 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 04Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 05 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 05Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 06 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 06Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 07 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 07Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 08 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 08Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 09 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 09Download PDF ↓ Shikaku 5x5 Easy 10 Shikaku 5x5 Easy 10Download PDF ↓

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Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of shikaku?
Divide the whole grid into rectangles. Each rectangle must contain exactly one number, and that number is the rectangle's area in cells. Every cell ends up inside exactly one rectangle, and rectangles never overlap. Squares count as rectangles, so a 4 can be 1x4, 4x1 or 2x2.
Where do you start on a 5x5 shikaku?
Start with numbers that have only one possible shape and position. A 5 in a 5x5 grid can only be a full row or a full column, so it often places itself. Prime numbers are your friends: 7 must be 1x7, 3 must be 1x3 or 3x1. Place the forced ones, then see which cells are now unreachable by anything else.
Is shikaku the same as the puzzle called Rectangles or Divide by Squares?
Yes. Shikaku is the Japanese name popularized by the publisher Nikoli, and English-language books have printed the same puzzle as Rectangles, Divide by Squares or Sikaku. The rules are identical, so these sheets work whichever name you learned it under.
What age is a 5x5 shikaku suitable for?
As an editorial suggestion, roughly ages 8 and up. It needs no arithmetic beyond recognizing factor pairs, but it does need the patience to test a shape and undo it, so younger solvers usually do better working alongside an adult on the first two or three.