I’m spending way too much time on these, but having a blast! I wish the corner and center pencil marks were separate like they are on classic sudoku app. In this app, if you change one, the other changes too. Might as well not pretend they have different functions.

There’s a fixed list of puzzles that don’t seem to be in any particular order, so there’s no way to set up a difficulty or do new puzzles. The interface is completely inscrutable; just a bunch of unlabeled buttons with meaningless symbols. This is clearly a quickly hacked together Unity project meant to make a quick buck.

The mechanics of this app are beyond fantastic. The puzzles range from rudimentary to challenging. The array of settings provided are plentiful to accommodate any sudoku solver’s needs. I hope they some day create a sequel to the Sandwich Sudoku app!!! I tried the chess sudoku and was let down in comparison. I find this style more rooted in deduction based reasoning and critical thinking when comparing the two.

I have been enjoying this and other Sudoku apps by this maker. However, sometimes when I get stuck and look at the hints, the hint is not explained well. Can’t get past the hint let alone the puzzle unless I just accept the ultimate result of the hint (i.e. the stated hint result is to place a specific number in rXcY). I understand there are word space limitations, but I suggest improvements in the hints as this is a way of learning. Also, the game does NOT identify what level you are in after you initially select a level or when closing. So when you stop and want to come back to it, what level/game were you on? There is no indication such as “do you want to continue with...” or icon depicting a partially completed puzzles. Frustrating.

After discovering Cracking the Cryptic on YouTube recently, I went on a sudoku binge. They completely renewed my puzzle passion and I learned a ton of new tricks for expert puzzles. So I was easily able to justify spending $5 on their app to support them. Like the headline says, it has incredible puzzles! I really enjoy the challenges and the fresh feel to them. My biggest complaint is the interface and the hints. For comparison: the sudoku.com app has a MUCH better hint system. I actually learned some new logic processing from it. This app is wordy and doesn’t “show” hints that apply to your specific notes. And I wish I could press-and-hold a number to “lock” it (also like the other app) If they could incorporate a better hint system and better entry (instead of opening the menu, toggling, exiting) it would be a flawless app!

I’ve been playing a normal sudoku app for a while and got pretty bored of the puzzles. These are so challenging and so much fun. They are also fun to play again and again as you learn different strategies. I also love the interface compared to other sudoku apps. It’s really easy to use once you get the hang of it! Worth the money!

I would give $5 bucks and get nothing in return just to support CTC, so maybe I am a bit biased. With that said, the controls are super easy to use, the premise is explained well, and hints follow a natural progression to guide you through if you need it. Along with the tons of levels of various difficulties, the amount of gameplay options you have to fine tune it to your skill level is insane. Can’t wait to grind through the rest of these levels.

I don’t rate many apps, but this app will become an exception for me. This app is fantastic and will capture Sudoku fans interest for hours. The puzzles are intuitive and all contain a logical process compared to standard computer generated Sudoku puzzles. Well done.

Recently been watching Cracking the Cryptic videos and was very pleased to learn about the multiple variations on the game. Sandwich being one. Really enjoy the app. Definitely challenging enough. Plan to replay levels at least a second time to see if I can beat past times. Hoping to see other variations as well in the future. If you love Sudoku, definitely give this well-made app a strong look. Edit: Removed a couple stars since game progress not shared across devices. And on iPad, it forces you to only play in a single orientation. Removed another star as the update makes things frustrating. For example, if you hop into settings, then go back, the welcome message pops up. Hint messages also come up automatically. Wish there was a way to turn that off. Still cannot share game state between devices. Removed yet another star. Your implementation of Landscape mode was to literally just resize the UI to fit? And now have buttons very small or UI in the unsafe areas on iPhone X or 11? Fun concept of a game but absolutely horrible app experience. Drains battery massively as well even with the so-called battery saver app. Now deleting this app. No response from Cracking the Cryptic on all the issues first reported months ago. Also, not going to purchase any other titles since they will suffer the same horrible experience. Tip: rewrite the app to have a great iOS experience and I’ll return as a customer.

Excellently written puzzles, nice interface, and very helpful support!

Even with out handcrafted and absolutely brilliant puzzles, the user interface of the app already makes it the best sudoku out there. I find myself looking forward to the beginning of each month to get the newest puzzles. I highly recommend

The app is great. I love the different puzzles. There’s just enough of a grind to keep you from skipping puzzles, but not so much it gets tedious. I really find that tapping on the sandwich totals is helpful. You should consider adding a way to see the options outside the sandwich. For instance, if it’s 23, have a button to show options for 12 as well.

This app is great. I found it through their YouTube channel and I’m pleased with it. But, I believe it suffers from the same things a lot of unity engine apps do, in that it drains the battery really quickly. Often because the frame rate is not capped and it uses way more resources than it should. A basically static display shouldn’t use many resources at all. Fix that and it’d be 5 stars.

The hints are too cryptic. I wish there is a detailed step by step walkthrough of the solution. That will e better than YouTube views that I enjoy on a daily basis.

All of the puzzles are unique in their own way so solving them never seems tedious. Great app, especially after the most recent update which supports even more detailed notation.

Great puzzles, very well crafted. Some easier than others, several were a real challenge for me. I have had a lot of entertainment working on solutions, thanks so much for creating this app.

This is a great app. The controls are clear and offer multiple ways to mark cells including colors, corner pencil marks, center pencil marks, and Xs. I was initially disappointed that I couldn’t combine corner pencil marks with center marks in a cell to denote different things, but found that it wasn’t necessary. It took me a while to find a use of colors, but I ended up using it to mark cells in a row or column of a square that must contain either a 1 or 9 but for which I couldn’t yet determine which. Only the hardest levels required this for me to solve them.

I was not immediately sure that it would be worth paying for a fairly small number of handcrafted puzzles, compared to the seemingly infinite variety of other (free or ad-supported) apps I have used. I am extremely glad that I took the chance. The initial 40 puzzles are fantastic. The difficulty scales nicely, and over time I learned new techniques for solving which became necessary. Puzzle 36 may be one of my favorite sudokus of all time. Initially some of the features of the UI were a bit of a mystery to me, until I watched some of the puzzle designers’ videos on YouTube (search Cracking the Cryptic). The UI closely reflects the solving styles of the designers and the tools they have developed for solving. In their solving style, notes occupying the nine number pad positions are candidates which _could_ be in a given square (I was familiar with this style). Notes closely spaced together and centered horizontally represent the _complete_ list of candidates for a given square. Numbers can be entered into multiple cells at once using multiple selection, which can be done by dragging or by using the multiple selection tool to select discontiguous squares. The tools have a lot of modality, having slightly different effects depending upon the context of the current selection(s). By the last puzzle I was extremely proficient with the UI but there was a bit of a learning curve to use it effectively. I am well aware that creating an in-app tutorial would be a lot of programming work, but I think creating a video tutorial for the UI would be well within the wheelhouse of the cryptic crew and the app could link to it to be helpful for future users. I am now a convert to handcrafted sudoku, I hope the promised new monthly content materializes!

I often find standard sudoku puzzles a little frustrating, but this variant of the game gives me more clues to work with, and that seems to help. I’ve played 32 of the games so far. I like the user interface, although I might want to make a few suggestions after I’ve had more experience playing the game.

i just spent hours playing this game, loving it the whole time. its nice to see a refreshing change to such a classic. the puzzles are well designed... clearly handcrafted. well done to the creators. anyone complaining about the ui should take a chill pill. its better designed than most (if not all) sudoku apps out there. now give me more hand crafted puzzles already.

** I know one of the developers** I’ve never cared about sudoku, despite liking games. Knowing one of the developers was enough for me to try. If you like sudoku, hard to imagine not liking this app. UI is clean and bug free. The ‘tools’ set this apart from other “brain games” I play. They’re intuitive and functional, even for a beginner. Without the tools, I would play this for 30 sec on someone else’s phone, and never touch it again. With the tools, I’ll pay $5 in a heartbeat, and play it on my daily commute. If you’re a sudoku fan, you will not regret buying this app.

This is the most fun I've had with a Sudoku app. It's well designed and each puzzle presents a really nice challenge. Cracking the Cryptic and their dev have really done a great job with this app. The interface was a bit confusing at first but after the first couple of puzzles I've grown very accustomed to it.

Bigger font for notes and saving progress even when you make an unorderly exit are huge! I Really enjoy the challenge of this game.

Give the interface a little time and you’ll love it. Seemed clumsy at first but after a few puzzles it grows on you. I really hope there’s an update that allows horizontal play on my iPad. Thanks to everyone involved for a great app.

Love this app! I’m not an advanced sudoku player, but I’m really enjoying this variation. The tools are great and enhance the puzzles. And although I haven’t needed a hint so far, I’m glad they are available as I’m sure I’ll need some later in the game. Cracking the Cryptic and Studio Goya have created a smooth, polished game. Looking forward to more variations in the future!