Chess Sudoku

This app is so much better than any other free sudoku app on the App Store. I was hesitant to buy it, but being a unique Chess variant sudoku and everything about the app being better, it’s definitely worth the money. Some of the best things about the app are the different ways to note blocks with different colors or writing the numbers in the corner or center. I do wish their were more colors to choose from for more complex notations, but that’s not a huge deal. No other sudoku app even compares to the functionality of this app! It’s very well designed, and I hope that, with proper feedback, the app will continue to evolve and improve!

My critiques would be; The number buttons are too small. It is awful when it enters the wrong digit and shows red, feels bad. My phone certainly isn’t the smallest supported model even. Could easily double the size of them by using staggered rows. The entry modes weren’t really clear, and switching from notes to enter is awkward Can’t select non adjacent cells easily for pencil notes. (Without at least three other taps to select separate cells and then return to normal mode) The few hints used were pretty spot on. Generally helped me find where I forgot to clean a note that would have shown that I had the next step set up. That or naked cells sometimes can be tricky. It can be awkward to refer to a hint and the board at once. I think the hint text should probably overlay just the controls so you can see your board still (bonus points for some sort of indicators for the relevant hint cells). Honestly my biggest other wish was if all these variants were just IAP of a single app. I would pay the same, but they don’t seem that different that a single app couldn’t reasonably do it all.

This app is amazing. The rules are interesting. The puzzles are engaging. The creators are awesome. I’ve got hours of fun out of this, and for $5, it’s easily worth it. If I had any feedback, it would be that I’d love more puzzles in the current categories, especially more difficult ones. I love the challenge of the most difficult puzzles of the app, but crave more. (though to be fair I have yet to finish the Queen Puzzles, so perhaps I shouldn’t complain).

This is a fantastic app. The puzzles are good, and train you to work your way up to the hardest ones. The variants add a tremendous amount of fun. There are three different types of puzzles, queen restriction, knight restriction, and king restriction. The solving interface is also fantastic. I highly recommend it, and I look forward to trying CTC’s other apps.

Cracking the Cryptic are one of the premiere puzzlers and these puzzles meet expectations. My one complaint is that button placement and size is not optimized based on how frequently you use them. The number buttons are the smallest and the farthest from the puzzle, meanwhile, buttons like delete are large and right next to the puzzle.