One of the podcasts I listen to is currently sponsored by Sudoku Unlimited by Phase2 Media. After hearing the ad several times, I thought I would give it a whirl. Phase2 Media actually has two sudoku applications, Sudoku Unlimited and Sudoku classic. These applications are very similar so the items that are version specific will be noted.
Sudoku, for those who may not know, is a numbers game that requires the numbers 1 to 9 to be filled in once per row, column, and square of 3×3 boxes. See the image below for an example.
The Sudoku games are a portable way of playing the rather addicting game. Both of the games feature the ability to make notes on possible numbers, the option of showing errors, disabling the auto locking feature of the phone during game play, and changing animations.
There are two distinct features of Sudoku unlimited that are not included in Sudoku classic. The first is Skins. Currently there are 4 Skins included with Sudoku Unlimited: ‘Default’, ‘Notepad’, ‘Vanilla’ and ‘Newspaper’. An example of each is below. Sudoku Classic only contains the ‘Vanilla’ skin.
Default
Notepad
Vanilla
Default
The other feature that Sudoku Unlimited has is the ability for the game to create puzzles on the fly. Therefore, a player will not run out of puzzles. I have yet to have a puzzle repeated on Sudoku Classic, but I don’t play that much since I like the Sudoku Unlimited skin ‘Notepad’.
There is one little thing that sets Sudoku Unlimited apart from other games. The attention to detail is something that most would overlook. When you use either the ‘Notepad’ or ‘Newspaper’ skin, if you look closely at the numbers you might notice that they are not always the same. Phase 2 has made it seem more realistic by altering the numbers slightly as if you were actually writing them down. It is a little thing, that I am sure most do not even notice.
There are a couple of features I would like to see in Sudoku Unlimited. The first is customizable skins. I know it’s not easy, but it would definitely be a cool feature. The second feature I would like to see is more skins in general. Whether they are paid or free makes no difference to me. I would be willing to pay for new skins, since it would be a way to keep the game ‘fresh’. Plus this is an option with iPhone OS 3.0.
If you are into sudoku and want an iPhone OS application that will keep you entertained, this is the application for you. Sudoku Classic is $0.99 in the iTunes Application store and Sudoku Unlimited is $2.99 in the iTunes Application store.
