Microsoft Sudoku

About Microsoft Sudoku

Microsoft Sudoku is the sudoku app from Microsoft Casual Games, which also publishes Microsoft Solitaire Collection and Microsoft Mahjong. It runs on Windows through the Microsoft Store and as an app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Outside the daily part you can play freshly generated Classic and Irregular puzzles at six difficulty levels as often as you like.

The Daily Challenges tab holds three new puzzles each day. One is a Classic sudoku, one is an Irregular sudoku, where the nine boxes are odd jigsaw shapes instead of squares, and one is an Ice Breaker board. In Ice Breaker some cells are frozen, and every correct number you place sends a shockwave across the board that cracks the ice around it. Each challenge pays coins and counts towards that month's progress bar, and finishing enough of them earns the month's badges.

The app is free with ads. Signing in with a Microsoft account saves progress in the cloud and adds Xbox achievements. On iPhone and iPad a Premium subscription removes the ads and lets you go back and play Daily Challenges from earlier months. It suits players who want a sudoku habit with a little more structure than a single grid a day, and anyone who already collects badges in Microsoft's solitaire app.

How to play Microsoft Sudoku

1. Open Microsoft Sudoku and go to the Daily Challenges tab.
2. Pick one of the day's three puzzles: Classic, Irregular or Ice Breaker.
3. Fill the grid so every row, column and box holds the numbers 1 to 9 once; in Irregular the boxes are the coloured shapes.
4. In Ice Breaker, place correct numbers next to frozen cells to break the ice until the board is clear.
5. Finish all three to collect the day's coins and move along the month's badge track.

Screenshots

Tips

• Turn on notes; the app updates them for you as you fill cells, which saves rubbing out by hand.
• In Irregular puzzles, start from the small odd-shaped boxes near the edges, which often have fewer places for a number.
• Use the Block Duplicates or Show Mistakes settings while learning Ice Breaker, then turn them off for a cleaner test.
• Sign in with a Microsoft account so your challenge progress and badges carry over if you change device.

Questions