Canoku

About Canoku

Canoku keeps the rules of sudoku and swaps the symbols. Instead of the digits one to nine, each cell takes a Canadian emoji, the kind of thing you might find on a Canuckle share card. A puzzle starts with some emojis already placed, and it is complete when each emoji appears exactly once in every row, every column and every section of the grid.

Each day there are fifteen new puzzles, and the game congratulates you when you finish all of them. You select a cell and tap an emoji to fill it. A notes mode lets you pencil in several candidates in one cell, a hint reveals the correct emoji in the highlighted cell, and settings can highlight the selected row, column and section or tint each emoji with its own colour.

Stats track your active streak and longest streak of days in a row with at least one puzzle completed. It comes from Canuckle Games, who also make the Canadian word game Canuckle, and runs in the browser.

It suits sudoku players who want a lighter look, younger players who find pictures friendlier than numbers, and Canuckle fans looking for a second daily.

How to play Canoku

1. Open Canoku and choose one of the day's puzzles.
2. Select an empty cell.
3. Tap a Canadian emoji to place it; turn on notes mode to pencil in candidates.
4. Make sure each emoji appears once in every row, column and section.
5. Finish the grid, then move on to the next of the day's fifteen puzzles.

Tips

• Treat the emojis like digits: scan each row, column and section for the one that is missing.
• Turn on emoji colour highlighting so each symbol is easy to spot at a glance.
• Use notes for cells with two or three candidates rather than guessing.
• Solve at least one puzzle a day to keep the streak, even if you skip the rest.

Questions