2026 Puzzle – Yearly Digit Grid Puzzle
This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Celebrate the new year with a fun 2026 puzzle! Can you arrange the strips in the provided grid to form the digits in 2026? This puzzle is available in two levels and is sure to provide a fun challenge for students and adults alike!
Every January since 2023, this yearly puzzle tradition has been one of my most downloaded puzzles with other 5000 downloads each year.
I have already been getting emails from teachers asking when the 2026 version will be available. The time has officially come!
Looking for more New Years Puzzles and Activities for celebrating the beginning of 2026? Here’s a few examples of the other 2026-themed New Years Resources I have created.
2026 Digit Grid Puzzle Instructions
Arrange the strips in the provided grid to form the digits in 2026. The strips may be placed horizontally and/or vertically on the grid.
When I first started creating these puzzles in 2023, I didn’t specify that the strips could be placed horizontally and/or vertically, and I ended up with a lot of teachers emailing me saying that the puzzle was impossible.
If your students are struggling to solve the puzzle, you might re-emphasize to them that the pieces can be placed horizontally and vertically on the puzzle grid.
There are actually two different versions of the grid to choose from. The first version (shown above) includes a blank grid for students to build 2026 on top of.
This is great for promoting spatial reasoning in students as the have to look at the 2026 grid at the top of the page and think about what they need to complete the grid for the puzzle.
If you are working with younger students or with students who need a bit more help, there is an additional version of the puzzle grid that has 2026 marked out on the grid in gray squares.
This version is also suggested for teachers who want to have the activity take a bit less time. If you are using this as one of several activities during a class period, every minute counts!
Two Puzzle Versions
On top of there being two versions of the board to print, there are also two different versions of this puzzle with differing numbers of pieces.
Version 1
The first version of the puzzle has 11 strips that students must place on the puzzle grid to form the digits of 2026. The strips come in two different sizes. Most of the strips are 1×5 rectangles, but four for the strips are 2×5 rectangles.
Version 2
The second version of the puzzle has 15 strips that students must place on the puzzle grid to form the digits of 2026. In this version, all of the strips are 1×5 rectangles.
Printing and Prepping the Puzzle
This puzzle is designed to fit on letter-sized paper, but you could also scale it slightly to print on A4 paper if you aren’t in North America.
I highly recommend printing both versions and trying them out before deciding which version would be the best to use with your students. Or, you could print both versions and let students choose which version to attempt.
I printed my puzzle boards on colorful Astrobrights paper and my puzzle pieces on regular copy paper to make them “pop,” but you could just print them on regular copy paper as well.
Using the Puzzle in the Classroom
This would make a great welcome back activity for the first day back after holiday break to help celebrate the new year.
I will also put out the 2026 Yearly Number Challenge as one of my puzzles of the week. It too is a yearly tradition in my classroom!
I have recently been posting my puzzle of the week in a magnetic pocket that I picked up from Amazon. It hangs on my dry erase board, and it can hold a surprising amount of weight. I’m very impressed with them.
Printable Files for 2026 Puzzle
The 2026 Puzzle is available to save for free in two convenient formats: PDF (non-editable) and PowerPoint (editable).
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2026 Digit Grid Puzzle (PDF)
10 saves – 53.31 KB
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2026 Digit Grid Puzzle (PPT in ZIP)
0 saves – 134.36 KB
Puzzle Solutions
Puzzle solutions are available on a password-protected solution page. I do not openly post the puzzle answer keys because one of my goals as a resource creator is to craft learning experiences for students that are non-google-able. I want teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms without the solutions being found easily on the Internet.
Please email me at sarah@mathequalslove.net for the password to the answer key database featuring all of my printable puzzles and math worksheets. I frequently have students emailing me for the answer key, so please specify in your email what school you teach at and what subjects you teach. If you do not provide these details, I will not be able to send you the password.
Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, or as fun activities in their workplace. Just give me enough details so I know you are not a student looking for answers to the puzzle that was assigned as their homework!
Previous Year’s Versions of the Digit Grid Puzzle
2025 Puzzle
The 2025 Puzzle is available to save for free in two convenient formats: PDF (non-editable) and PowerPoint (editable).
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2025 Puzzle (PDF)
5381 saves – 41.52 KB
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2025 Puzzle (PPT in ZIP)
2107 saves – 133.51 KB
2024 Puzzle
The 2024 Puzzle is available to save for free in two convenient formats: PDF (non-editable) and Publisher (editable). In order to edit the Publisher file, you will need to make sure you have Microsoft Publisher installed on your computer.
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2024 Puzzle (PDF)
8658 saves – 127.16 KB
2023 Puzzle
The 2023 Puzzle is available to save for free in two convenient formats: PDF (non-editable) and Publisher (editable). In order to edit the Publisher file, you will need to make sure you have Microsoft Publisher installed on your computer.
Click here to SAVE the file to your device.
2023 Puzzle (PDF)
8025 saves – 106.99 KB
Thanke you very much! Your work is always so… beautiful!