Archive for the 'iPhone' Category

Requirements for a proper iPhone sudoku app

Saturday, July 12th, 2008
  • A sudoku generator. The game should not cap me at x-hundred or x-thousand puzzles. Give me all the sudoku the iPhone OS’ PRNG can create for me.

  • Proper sudoku puzzles, not Number Place puzzles. The difference is that a sudoku puzzle is rotationally symmetric: if you turn the puzzle 180°, it still looks the same.

    Starting with a proper sudoku puzzle, → 180° → rotation gets you the same layout of starting numbers.

    Many sudoku generators actually generate Number Place puzzles, which don’t have this constraint. (In particular, all the Will Shortz puzzles are like this.)

  • Obvious input method. A row of numbers at the bottom doesn’t work because I can’t tell whether the game is prefix (tap number first, then cell) or postfix (tap cell first, then number). I could get used to either way, but a good interface doesn’t make me guess.

    • Ambrosia’s Mr. Sudoku uses handwriting recognition.

    • Platinum Sudoku is clearly postfix, because its input method is a ring of numbers around whatever cell you tap on.

  • The ability to set pencilmarks, to keep track of what numbers are viable for a cell (helping to avoid wrong numbers, especially at higher difficulty levels).

  • Simple, usable interface. This means two things:

    • No excessive artwork like Big Bang Sudoku has. I only have 16 GB of flash memory—don’t waste it!

    • No garish colors. If your sudoku game is in CGA, then I don’t want to look at it, which means I don’t want to play it, which means I don’t want to buy it.