Andoku Sudoku 3 (Andoku 3) is a popular offline sudoku application for mobile phones and tablets. It is developed by Markus Wiederkehr and is the third version of Andoku Sudoku, which was originally published in 2009. Let’s dissect why this app is considered one of the most well-known in the sudoku community.
Once installed in your phones, you will first see this.
Let’s discuss each tab.
New Game Tab Andoku Sudoku 3
In this tab, you will see different variations of sudoku for you to choose to play. This game introduces exactly 14 variants: Standard Sudoku, X Sudoku, Hyper Sudoku, Percent Sudoku, Center Dot Sudoku, Asterisk Sudoku, Color Sudoku, Jigsaw Sudoku, Jigsaw X Sudoku, Jigsaw Hyper Sudoku, Jigsaw Percent Sudoku, Jigsaw Center Dot Sudoku, Jigsaw Asterisk Sudoku, and Jigsaw Color Sudoku. This feature alone made me excited with this application as it gives me more options to level up my knowledge about sudoku.
To make the game even more interesting and definitely challenging, each variant has nine levels of difficulties–very easy, easy, moderate, challenging, tricky, hard, very hard, extreme, and lastly, ultra extreme!
If you’re unfamiliar with the mentioned variants, do not worry since the game also includes the general rule of your chosen sudoku variation. So useful! For your reference, here is a sample figure wherein I chose the X Sudoku variant with moderate level of difficulty. I solved this puzzle in three minutes!
Also, this game is very easy to use since you just need to tap the number before clicking the cell you want to place that number or the other way around. You can also undo and redo your answers if you make a mistake. If you’re not sure with your answer, you can check it by easily clicking the “check” button and it will tell you if your inputs were correct or not by seeing a cross (X) figure in the puzzle after clicking it.
Moreover, if you get stuck, you can ask the app for a hint at any time during the game. Andoku 3 does not just reveal a random digit like many other apps do. Instead, it shows the next logical move and explains how it can be carried out step by step.
This app even allows you to change the theme (light, dark, or system default) of the puzzle depending on your taste.
Resume Game
If you did not finish or solve the puzzle you are working on completely, do not panic since it will be automatically saved and will go to your Resume Game tab. You can go back and work on it anytime you want to.
Custom Puzzle on Andoku Sudoku 3
One of the best features that this application offers is the built-in puzzle editor. Capturing puzzles with the camera is very fast and convenient but Andoku 3 also has a puzzle editor that allows you to enter puzzles manually. This is very useful for you to invent your own puzzles or enter puzzles that could not be captured automatically because they were already partially filled in, for example. As you enter the digits, the editor continuously tries to solve the puzzle. It indicates which digits are possible for each cell and when the puzzle has reached a unique solution. Sample custom puzzle that I made using this application is shown below.
In this tab, you will also notice a camera icon. This icon allows you to capture sudoku puzzles you see in newspapers, books, or online sudoku sites and solve them on your mobile phone. Simply start the recording function, point the device’s camera at the puzzle, and it will be recognized instantly.
Tutorials on Andoku Sudoku 3
Andoku 3 does not only cater to experienced sudoku solvers but to first-timers as well since this app includes tutorials. In this tab, you can learn many well-established solving strategies to improve your puzzle solving skills. This tutorial feature is very commendable for me since the logical reasoning behind each strategy is explained in detail using concrete examples.
Statistics
To help you monitor your improvements all throughout the game, Andoku 3 introduces a statistics tab. In this tab you can see your fastest to lowest time you have solved in a certain sudoku variation. It somewhat motivates you to do better if you see in this tab that you’re not doing well in a certain variation!
Another thing that made Andoku 3 better than other sudoku applications is that it allows you to save your progress in the cloud. This also allows running games to be synchronized between different devices. You can start a game on your smartphone and continue to play on your tablet later!
If you are worried that you will run out of puzzles, do not! Because each level per variant has 75-250 sample puzzles! Insane total number! So what are you waiting for? Download Andoku 3 right now and play! Enjoy your game!
