From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch
I was looking through my list of Android app reviews when I noticed that I had installed one on September 27, 2012 and had never written about it. This was mildly surprising since it is a game that I play nearly every day. Needless to say, it is one of my favorites.
When I searched the Google Play Store for this article, I found hundreds of Sudoku apps. A sudoku puzzle is a grid of nine by nine squares or cells, that have been subdivided into nine sub−grids or “regions” of three by three cells. The objective of sudoku is to enter a digit from 1 through 9 in each cell, so that each row and column contains each digit once.
Sudoku Free by A1 Factory Limited has the following features.
• 1500 puzzles five difficulty levels.
• Smooth interface and graphics.
• Statistics tracking, including fastest times, average times and completion % for each level.
• Optional hints and board aids.
• Two sets of Sudoku board art and fonts.
• Two different modes for notes input.
• Supports undo.
The game has an easy to use interface. Screenshot 01 shows the opening display of the program. It is a completed game. The black numbers were the starting given numbers of the game. The blue numbers have been filled in by the player.
Screenshot 02 shows that I have completed puzzle 80 on difficulty level 4. It took me 16 minutes and 20 seconds. The arrows on the side of the grid allow you to advance to the next puzzles or return to previous puzzles. There is also a button to replay the puzzle.
In Screenshot 03, I’ve advanced to puzzle 81 and am ready to hit the play key. Screenshot 04 shows the opening grid after I’ve started the game. In the Screenshot 05, I’ve entered the digits 1 and 5 in the upper left block of the lower left grid. These are the two possible numbers that could fit in this space. I’ve also entered the number 9 to demonstrate an incorrect entry. To correct it, I could either hit the 9 button or the Undo key. Screenshot 06 shows the game options selectable by the player.
If you like to play Sudoku, I can highly recommend you download and try Sudoku Free from the Google Play Store. It is ad supported, but I can honestly not tell you if they are obtrusive. After playing a game or two I purchased Sudoku for $1.99. That was more that seven years ago.
Thanks for reading.