Smart Numbers, Number Blocks, and Ikura all show digits on the page, yet they ask for three different kinds of work. One sheet is lines of values with a missing term. One is a rectangular grid carved into cages. One is nine circles with six totals beside them. Shoppers searching for a “number puzzle” will grab the first preview that looks familiar, which is how three unrelated interiors end up under one title.
This guide compares the three Puzzle Maker Pro modules so you can pick one mechanic for a KDP paperback, a Teachers Pay Teachers worksheet pack, or a printable bundle. It explains the rules in plain language, who each puzzle suits, the settings you can actually change in the software, a side-by-side table, two worked publishing scenarios with real page counts, and what the first preview page must show so buyers trust the listing.
If you have not chosen a puzzle type at all yet, start with which puzzle type fits your audience. Smart Numbers and Number Blocks sit with other digit logic types in number puzzles for publishers. Ikura is addition practice on a fixed 3×3 board, so it belongs with math worksheets such as those in TPT math puzzle worksheets rather than beside Hitori or Binary.
Three puzzle pages, three first impressions
When someone opens Amazon Look Inside or the first page of a TPT preview, they should recognize the task immediately. Smart Numbers shows horizontal sequences and a blank for the hidden value. Number Blocks shows bold cage borders and a scatter of givens. Ikura shows nine circles, six totals, and optionally a rail of digits still to place. Mix those three looks under one product title and the buyer cannot tell what they purchased.
Your exported file should pair a clear puzzle page with a matching answer key, with solutions drawn on the grid or sequence lines rather than typed into one summary cell.
Smart Numbers — find the missing term
Smart Numbers builds hidden-rule number sequences. The solver sees given terms, a placeholder (a question mark or three dots), and works out the missing value. There is no grid; the page is one to five sequence lines. In Puzzle Maker Pro, Formulas per Puzzle defaults to three lines and the spinner runs one through five. Difficulty is a single choice among Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert, which controls which formula types can appear on the page.
Who it suits. Upper elementary through adult audiences who like pattern tests, brain-training positioning, or quick warm-up sheets. Sequences read well in large type because you are not fighting cage borders. The honest listing promise is variety within a run: the generator avoids repeating the same sequence signature inside one generate pass. It does not claim that only one mathematical rule could explain every short run, so do not copy Number Blocks’ “pure logic, no guessing” language here.
Settings worth knowing. Optional hexadecimal display changes how digits look without changing the math. Answer indicators can show a question mark or three dots. For book-length layout, page count depends on how many sequences you put on each sheet; the Smart Numbers puzzle book for KDP walkthrough covers that arithmetic. Step-by-step generation lives in the Smart Numbers tutorial guide.
Publishing notes. Look Inside should open on a sequence line with a missing term, not on a grid. Mention at least two different pattern types early in the sample so the preview does not look like one trick copied forty times. The answer key fills in the hidden values on separate pages or at the back, matching how you describe the book in the description.
Number Blocks — fill the cages
Number Blocks is the same cage logic puzzle many solvers know as Suguru or Tectonic. A rectangular grid is divided into bold-outlined cages of one to five cells. A cage with N cells holds exactly the digits 1 through N, each once, and equal digits never touch, including diagonally. Some cells print as givens. Grid sizes run from 5×5 through 11×11, plus the tall 5×10 and 10×5 layouts; the default grid size is 8×8. Difficulty is Easy, Medium, or Hard, which changes clue density and how deep the deductive steps run.
Who it suits. Teens through adults who already enjoy logic grids, plus teachers who want a visibly non-standard grid on the page. The cage borders read as “logic puzzle” in a thumbnail without looking like a classic 9×9 sudoku box layout.
The promise you can make. Every published board is uniquely solvable and guess-free at every difficulty: givens are only removed while the board stays solvable by deduction, and every board is checked for a single solution. “Solve it by reasoning, not trial and error” is accurate on a Number Blocks listing. It is not accurate on Smart Numbers or Ikura, so do not reuse that sentence across products.
Name trap. Number Block Fill is a different module: a filled digit grid cut into square blocks the solver reassembles from a bank. Keep that product off a Number Blocks listing title and preview.
Publishing notes. Rules and difficulty grading in depth are in how Number Blocks puzzles work. Creation steps are in how to create Number Blocks puzzles. KDP trim and page-count patterns for logic grids appear in number puzzle books for KDP.
Ikura — nine circles, six totals
Ikura is a 3×3 addition-only cross sum. The solver places the digits 1 through 9, each once, so every row and column adds up to the total printed beside it. A few digits arrive as givens. An optional rail lists the digits still to place. No plus signs appear on the grid because every operation is addition and the instruction line states that once.
Who it suits. Grades 3–8 and parents who want arithmetic practice that still feels like a puzzle magazine page. The board never grows beyond 3×3, so difficulty is controlled only by Given digits, which runs from 0 to 5 and defaults to 4. Five givens print as Easy, four or three as Medium, and two or fewer as Hard. No printed row or column total exceeds 24, because the three largest digits sum to 24.
Uniqueness. Every published Ikura board has exactly one solution. That is the claim to make. The generator checks uniqueness before a board ships; it does not guarantee that every step is reachable by classroom deduction alone. Keep “pure logic, no guessing” on Number Blocks listings only.
Given-count escalation. The generator tries every allowed arrangement at the count you requested. If none of them pins the board to a single solution, it adds another given, never fewer. That happens most often when you ask for very few givens, and it matters for covers that name a difficulty band: the automatic page title uses the count you requested, not always the count that printed.
Spot-check given counts on finished pages when the listing promises Easy, Medium, or Hard by name. Rules and board layout are spelled out in how Ikura puzzles work.
Side-by-side comparison
| Smart Numbers | Number Blocks | Ikura | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the solver does | Find the missing term in each sequence | Fill cages so each holds 1..N with no touching equals | Place digits 1–9 once so rows and columns match totals |
| Puzzle page looks like | One to five horizontal sequence lines | Bold cage borders on a square or rectangular grid | Nine circles, six totals, optional digit rail |
| Answer key looks like | Completed sequences | Filled cages with borders | Completed grid (and rail if you print it) |
| Default scale | Three sequences per page (one to five available) | 8×8 grid | 3×3 board, four givens |
| Main difficulty control | Easy / Medium / Hard / Expert (formula types) | Easy / Medium / Hard (clue density + technique ceiling) | Given digits 0–5 (Easy / Medium / Hard labels) |
| Strong listing promise | No repeated sequences within one generate run | Unique, guess-free deductive solve | Exactly one solution per board |
| Typical audience | Grades 4–12 and adults | Grades 6–12 and adults | Grades 3–8 and parents |
| Module link | Smart Numbers | Number Blocks | Ikura |
Worked scenario 1 — 100-puzzle Smart Numbers paperback on KDP
Goal. An 8.5×11 single-type book sold as a sequence challenge for teens and adults, with enough variety that page 40 does not mirror page 4.
Settings to generate. Open Smart Numbers, set Difficulty to Medium, leave Formulas per Puzzle at three, and keep hexadecimal display off when the cover promises ordinary base-ten numbers. Set Puzzles to Create to 100, which is the highest value the quantity spinner accepts on a single run, and generate the book.
Page math. In Smart Numbers, Puzzles to Create is the number of puzzle pages, and Formulas per Puzzle is how many sequence lines sit on each page. With quantity set to 100 and three formulas per puzzle, you export 100 puzzle pages (300 sequences in total). Add a title page, a one-page how-to, and a table of contents (two pages once you list puzzles and solutions). Put one solution page per puzzle page if keys stay readable: another 100 pages. Total interior: about 204 pages before blank padding, which reads as a substantial single-type volume on KDP. Need 120 puzzle pages? Run a second batch of 20 and combine both batches in one Puzzle Book Studio book.
Recommendation. Choose Smart Numbers when the cover and Look Inside can show lines of numbers, not grids. Number Blocks would fight the “sequence book” promise. Ikura would confuse buyers who expected multiple puzzles per page because each board is one small square on an otherwise empty sheet.
Worked scenario 2 — 24-puzzle Ikura worksheet pack on TPT
Goal. A classroom download for grades 4–6: one addition puzzle per page, quick to print, with a separate key PDF.
Settings to generate. Open Ikura, set Given digits to 4 for most pages (Medium band), drop to 3 on four challenge pages, and leave Show digits still to place on so the rail matches your instruction sheet. Generate 24 puzzles.
Page math. Upload two files. The student PDF has one page of teacher notes, 24 puzzle pages, and one credits page (26 pages). The answer-key PDF has 24 solution pages (24 pages). At one puzzle per page, that is enough for several short seat-work sessions or a week of warm-ups without repeating the same board.
Recommendation. Choose Ikura for arithmetic practice with a puzzle feel. Smart Numbers would suit a “patterns and sequences” unit instead. Number Blocks needs more teaching time on cage rules before students succeed on a cold worksheet.
Look Inside, worksheets, and single-type listings
Each module has a distinct puzzle page and answer key, as summarized in the table. The Look Inside article explains how the first pages prove difficulty and show that a key exists. For all three modules here, show an unsolved puzzle at print size, match the grid size or sequence count your title advertises, and point to where solutions start.
A TPT file stays short: one idea, a separate key, minimal book chrome. A KDP interior adds trim, page count, and a sample that matches the cover promise. The four-channel map compares those product forms in more detail.
Keep one mechanic per listing unless the cover explicitly sells a collection. Mixed interiors belong in honestly labeled variety books; see when not to mix puzzle types and mixed puzzle books if that is your plan.
Every paid Puzzle Maker Pro edition licenses you to sell the finished books, worksheets and packs you make to your own readers and customers. Productivity adds the right to sell or supply the puzzles you generate to other publishers, businesses and sellers. Neither statement replaces Amazon’s or Teachers Pay Teachers’ own content rules. This is general publishing guidance, not legal advice.
Other puzzles you might like
If you want a wider map of digit logic beside Smart Numbers and Number Blocks, read number puzzles for publishers for Hitori and Binary, which use shading or 0/1 fills instead of arithmetic. For another three-way comparison among region logic grids, see Galaxies vs Shikaku vs Queens. Ready to test output before you commit to a title? Get the free Puzzle Maker Pro demo now.