Hey sudoku nuts, are you ready to tear your hair out? Christmas Sudoku is a holiday-themed sudoku game where the typical rules apply… even when you’re playing with “goodies” instead of numbers.
That’s right, in this game you can choose to play with either numbers or nine little Christmas goodies like candy canes, snowmen, and jingle bells. I’ve never been good at sudoku to begin with, and it only gets harder when you take away the numbers and throw in the tiny pictures.
Not only does Christmas Sudoku come with the fully functional sudoku game, it also includes a bunch of other extras like “Hug-a-Friend” for creating and sending a Christmas card from within the app, “Tug-a-Friend” which pits you vs. another player via bluetooth as you race to finish the puzzle first, and several different background themes for the game.
I have absolutely no complaints about the sudoku part of this app… it offers hints, a “campaign” mode which is timed, and a “Quick Game” mode which isn’t timed, and you also have solve and undo options. I’ll say again, playing sudoku with the goodies is a LOT harder than playing with numbers, but if you really love this kind of puzzle then it should be a refreshing departure from the hundreds (or thousands?) of puzzles you’ve already completed.
The Hug-a-Friend holiday card thing, on the other hand, could use a little work. It’s hard to expect this part of the app to be perfect since the main focus is the game instead of greeting cards, but as long as the greeting card is there it would be nice if the text would behave better than it does. The card starts off with a “To:” field, but when you input a name the “To” disappears. No big deal, just type “To: So and So”, right? But when you go to email it, the word “Dear” is inserted in the stock email that’s appended to your card, leaving you with “Dear To: So and So”. The actual creation of the card is done pretty well, though, and if you have a child it might be fun to dress up one of the four different card backgrounds with stars, holly, ornaments, and a lot of same “goodies” that are featured in the game.
I haven’t tried the two player Tug-a-Friend mode because, as always, I have no friends, but I’m impressed that it’s there.
If you’re up for a new sudoku challenge that’s in keeping with the holiday spirit, Christmas Sudoku should be worth the $2 price tag. It’s a fun take on a classic game, albeit agonizingly difficult for sudoku noobs like me.
iTunes Link – Christmas Sudoku
Version 1.1
Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS3.1.2
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