If you get tired of searching the through old newspapers in order to find a Sudoku that you haven’t solved yet, then you can rejoice in the new Puzzler Sudoku app that brings you thousands of new puzzles direct to your iPhone.
For anyone who has been living under a rock for the past ten years, Sudoku is a popular numbers game that involves trying to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. The most annoying thing about doing it on a piece of paper, puzzle book or magazine is that you can quite easily make a mistake and if you do, it’s very hard to cross out the wrong number and squeeze the right one into the box; this is where the iPhone comes into play.
The app itself is set out in a very simple and easy to follow format, with an option to choose the difficulty level of the puzzle before you begin. You tap the screen to select the appropriate number and then touch the empty square that you want to put the number in, filling up all of the squares so that they each have the numbers 1-9 in; simple, really. What’s really cool about this app is that not only can you erase mistakes but also you can ask for helpful hints along the way; so, if you are really stuck on one puzzle but you don’t want to give up, you can get a little (or a big!) helping hand along the way.
Another excellent feature is that you can quickly tap the number key and jot down possible numbers for each square as a reminder, without actually filling them in; you ‘pencil’ them in, before using a ‘pen’ to enter the final number.
Summary
All in all, Puzzler Sudoku is a simple and very effective gaming app; the algorithm that generates the grids produces a seemingly endless variety of new puzzles, meaning that you’ll never be bored when you have access to your iPhone.
Pros
- The app is very easy to use and really is a pleasure to play on due to the drag and drop function.
- The ‘Hints’ section can be a real lifesaver if you get stressed out about not being able to finish a puzzle!
Room For Improvement
- It would be great if we could play a huge Sudoku, although this may only work on the iPad as it has a much bigger screen.
- A two-player Draw Something-esque function could be cool, with two people completing the same puzzle, or racing to finish it first?
I’ve just started playing Sudoku Touch + and it is highly addictive. Revolutionizes sudoku with handwriting recognition and has a clean interface that is easy to use.