Sudoku game roundup?

[BklynKid]

Hi guys and gals!

Great site! Wondering if anyone has tried any one of the 17 (count 'em, 17!) different Sudoku games available in the Appstore as of today.

Better yet, is there perhaps a roundup of all the games and their differences anywhere?

I guess no on the latter since it's still early but give me feedback or recommendations if you've tried any of them.

Thanks :D

[arn]

we'll take a look into it.

we're a bit affected by the activation issues ourselves, but should have a series of articles this weekend

arn

[BklynKid]

Oh you're running this site as well? Great idea!

My activation went without a hitch (see my story here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=5778810&postcount=27)) but good luck, looking forward to more articles and reviews.

[TunesRus90]

I too would be very interested in some reviews of common apps. Sudoku, Solitaire, Blackjack and 4 In a Row all have multiple apps that I would love to see compared!

[steviegtr]

I am enjoying the Electronic Arts version of Sudoku for iPhone even more than I did on my iPod. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sudoku.

[TunesRus90]

Just a quick reply; I downloaded Sudoku classic, and I think its great. I figured I'd go with the cheapest one, and am very satisfied. Check out my full review here. (http://forums.toucharcade.com/showpost.php?p=144&postcount=5)

[BklynKid]

I bought Sudoku Unlimited for $1.99 and I think it's great. Looks fantastic (the notepad skin), plays well and it generates the puzzles so you never run out.

I guess these are kind of a wash, Sudoku is a relatively simple game so all of these are going to be somewhat the same.

[codyp]

FWIW, I also went with Sudoku Unlimited and am pretty happy with it. The notepad skin is a nice touch and the interface works well.

[dougles]

I went with Big Bang Sudoku. I know that there were cheaper Sudokus on the app store, but I always enjoyed Freeverse's stuff on the Mac. I'm glad I spent that little bit of extra money ($4.99).

They always add little touches to their games. This one has the sun god character from their Big Bang titles for the Mac. There's some neat special effects for when you win, also. The selling point for me, though, was that according to the developer, it was "made by people who ride the NYC subway."

This meant that the game is super easy to play using just one hand (the other one holding a coffee or gripping a pole on the subway ride). I'm glad I got this one, overall. Their racing game (Moto Racer) is fun, too. :)

[Techtistic]

My wife is dubbed "Sudoku Master" by some, so I let her pick out one from the App Store. She picked Sudoku Unlimited over the others for a few reasons:

- Unlimited puzzles due to automatic generation (some come with a limited number of unique puzzles).
- Five skill levels (some only have three or four). It's funny, she actually picks what skill level she plays based on how long of a game she wants because she knows how long each one takes.
- Price is nice!
- Less important, but still a deciding factor: the little touches were all there. They have themes, auto-save, and a nice note system.

Hope that helps.

[transer]

Another vote for Sudoku Unlimited. I wanted an app that was fairly uncluttered, could generate a lot of puzzles, had the ability to mark notes, and had a fairly intuitive UI. Sudoku Unlimited has all of that, and for $3, it seemed like a bargin. I've been playing it all weekend, and I'm really happy with it, too. The only downside I've run into so far is miss-tapping the number I want, but I think that's just getting used to using the iPhone-I do that while typing, too.

[Fireburn]

I went for Satori Sudoku, it was only 1,59€ ( I guess 2$ ), and comes with a generator, allowing unlimited puzzles, it also comes with a difficulty slider, you just slide it (between easy and hard), and then create a puzzle. It comes with some easy helptools, and with a small note system, autosave and it was one of the cheapest in the store.

[arn]

http://www.macworld.com/article/134522/2008/07/iphonesudoku.html

Macworld played them all and says

Sudoku Vol 1 (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=281861187&mt=8)
Big Bang Sudoku (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284225589&mt=8)
EA's Sudoku (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284806710&mt=8)

I haven't played all of them, but I found $0.99 Sudoku Classic to be very playable.
http://toucharcade.com/2008/07/15/the-99-cent-paradox-a-look-at-10-iphone-games/

arn

[D.Sync]

Sorry to bring out this old topic but I don't really think the need to create another new topic just to cater Sudoku related app.

Just saw that Sudoku Loaded had been updated to a new version.

I'm going to purchase it as it have a statistic record which can track my record status.

For those who purchase it, I do have a little question in mind. Do it have multiple fonts or board themes to customize? How is your experience when trying to put the annotation and the numbers. Is it difficult? Lag or crashing issue? Able to play own music when playing?

[juicy]

Might want to consider Gameloft's Platinum Sudoku (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=283585265&mt=8) too. Now for $1.99

Typical Gameloft production values, 20 million Sudoku and Kakuro grids (I didn't bother to count), handwriting input, Sudoku X mode, a bunch of mini-games, and so on...

It was iLounge.com's pick of the bunch, I went for it with no regrets for $2.99 (at the time).

[D.Sync]

Might want to consider Gameloft's Platinum Sudoku (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=283585265&mt=8) too. Now for $1.99

Typical Gameloft production values, 20 million Sudoku and Kakuro grids (I didn't bother to count), handwriting input, Sudoku X mode, a bunch of mini-games, and so on...

It was iLounge.com's pick of the bunch, I went for it with no regrets for $2.99 (at the time).

I don't like Platinum Sudoku much as I've already tried it out on Nintendo DS. The game play seems lag for me (animation is not smooth) and the graphic is like for a 12-year old kid.

[juicy]

I don't like Platinum Sudoku much as I've already tried it out on Nintendo DS. The game play seems lag for me (animation is not smooth) and the graphic is like for a 12-year old kid.

I wouldn't know about the DS version - all the Sudoku I've ever needed on the DS is found in Brain Age! :D

As for the iPod version, I didn't notice any lag issue with the graphics. The screenshot on the App Store page doesn't do it any justice but it looks better than that in the flesh.

Btw, just noticed your location... I'm in KL meself.

[D.Sync]

We're pretty much the same here. Anyways any idea on Sudoku Loaded?

[juicy]

No idea, mate. Looks decent enough, if looks are anything to go by.

I don't require much from my Sudoku games so I've never had the urge to go 'experiment' with other versions since Platinum keeps me pretty much happy.

To me, a Sudoku game is a Sudoku game is a Sudoku game :D

On the flip side, I have 2-3 pages of TD and Match-3 games!

[jarikata]

FWIW, I also went with Sudoku Unlimited and am pretty happy with it. The notepad skin is a nice touch and the interface works well.

I love playing sudoku but this, Sudoku Unlimited, is the only one I have tried since I was very happy with it. Five different difficulty levels with humorous names (I'm new, I'm ok, I'm good, I'm Awesome and I'm Clinically insane) and nice and easy settings PLUS four different skins (default, notepad, vanilla and newspaper). I mostly play the newspaper variant with nice ballpoint pen numbers...

As I said i haven't tried any other, but I would higly recommend this one.

[D.Sync]

I love playing sudoku but this, Sudoku Unlimited, is the only one I have tried since I was very happy with it. Five different difficulty levels with humorous names (I'm new, I'm ok, I'm good, I'm Awesome and I'm Clinically insane) and nice and easy settings PLUS four different skins (default, notepad, vanilla and newspaper). I mostly play the newspaper variant with nice ballpoint pen numbers...

As I said i haven't tried any other, but I would higly recommend this one.

Can you somehow share the different themes of the board with me and sent it to my email? If that doesn't bother you. :rolleyes:

[jarikata]

Can you somehow share the different themes of the board with me and sent it to my email? If that doesn't bother you. :rolleyes:


Sent!

[MetaBunny]

Also, if you want to see the themes from Sudoku Unlimited in action, the free Sudoku Daily (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=287116480&mt=8) includes all four.

Personally, I absolutely love the newspaper theme. It's a significant part of why SU is my favourite sudoku app.

[wastedyuthe]

I must be one of the few who actually prefer Enjoy Sudoku (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285994151&mt=8) over the rest (lite version here (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=286516944&mt=8)).
The reason why I prefer it is not down to how it looks (it must be the most basic version out there for looks), rather how it plays. It is the only one I know of (and I have played quite a few from the app store) that controls the way I want.
You see, in this app, you tap the number you want on the pad at the bottom, then any subsequent tap on the grid enters that number into the squares, so you don't have to keep tapping the same number for each square. This suits how I play, as I like to go through the numbers one at a time (find all the 1's I can, then all the 2's etc, then back to 1's again after the 9's). Not only that, but when you complete a number, it is highlighted at the bottom so you know not to concern yourself with that number anymore. It's only £1.79, is full of options, difficulties, daily puzzles, tutorials, the lot. Who needs fancy graphics?

[D.Sync]

I must be one of the few who actually prefer Enjoy Sudoku (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285994151&mt=8) over the rest (lite version here (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=286516944&mt=8)).
The reason why I prefer it is not down to how it looks (it must be the most basic version out there for looks), rather how it plays. It is the only one I know of (and I have played quite a few from the app store) that controls the way I want.
You see, in this app, you tap the number you want on the pad at the bottom, then any subsequent tap on the grid enters that number into the squares, so you don't have to keep tapping the same number for each square. This suits how I play, as I like to go through the numbers one at a time (find all the 1's I can, then all the 2's etc, then back to 1's again after the 9's). Not only that, but when you complete a number, it is highlighted at the bottom so you know not to concern yourself with that number anymore. It's only £1.79, is full of options, difficulties, daily puzzles, tutorials, the lot. Who needs fancy graphics?

I do. A fancy graphic will make the game even more enjoyable. :) Well that's maybe just me anyway.

[jarikata]

I do. A fancy graphic will make the game even more enjoyable. :) Well that's maybe just me anyway.

I do too. A Fancy graphic probably isn't the most essential thing in a game like sudoku but like D.Sync said it makes it much more enjoyable. And I think it is so "charming" that in the with the newspaper skin the number look like they're written with a ballpoint pen and in the notepad with a real pencil.