PDActions

Astraware Sudoku Okay. Right off the bat, this software should come with a disclaimer. You know, something along the lines of, "Playing Sudoku will noticeably reduce your productivity" or "Playing Sudoku in public will cause strangers to peer over your shoulder and bother you with repeated questions." Seriously, this is one captivating game and once you start playing, it's difficult to stop. Before downloading and installing Astraware's Sudoku, I had no idea what Sudoku was. I had begun to notice references to it popping up on-line, but could not have told you if it was a new Japanese food fad, the latest anime character or a new challenge on MXC. Fortunately, Astraware's Sudoku is perfect for the beginner as well as the advanced player. I installed the game and a puzzle pack, started Sudoku and was given the option stepping through a tutorial, which quickly showed me the basics and had me playing in no time. For those new to Sudoku, a Wikipedia entry defines the puzzle as, "to enter a numeral from 1 through 9 in each cell of a grid, most frequently a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various numerals given in some cells (the "givens"). Each row, column and region must contain only one instance of each numeral. Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability." Astraware has done a great job in bringing Sudoku to the PDA. Some of its features:

• a tutorial introducing you to the basics of how to solve Sudoku
• Pencilmarks --manual or auto
• Choice of pencilmark styles
• Excellent graphics
• Integrated Sudoku solver:
  • Provides hints on what techniques to apply to find a number...rather than just giving you the answer!
  • Can solve any "true" Sudoku
  • Rates the difficulty of a Sudoku on more than just number of empty cells - takes into account the advanced Sudoku techniques needed to find a logical solution

As well, registered users get:

• New puzzle packs FREE from http://www.palmsudoku.com
• Manually create your own Sudoku.
• Built in puzzle generator with the following features:
  • Generates puzzles of varying difficulty levels, from the simplest to diabolically difficult
  • Puzzles generated at the higher difficulty levels require use of various advanced techniques
  • Creates "true" Sudoku (true Sudoku can be solved by logic alone by using the right techniques - no guessing required

As an added bonus, Astraware has put together a Sudoku website. You can find tips and techniques, a puzzle of the day, links to other Sudoku sites, puzzle pack downloads for registered users, and so much more. Without a doubt, the purpose of the site is to help sell Astraware's Sudoku. However, there's a lot of helpful information for any fan of these puzzles. My only picky complaint (apart for the two "weaknesses" listed in the first paragraph ;) ) is the lack of documentation or help files. The way the program plays is simple and largely self-evident, but I would have appreciated some supporting documents when I came across a couple of options whose workings were not obvious to me. Astraware products are of the highest quality among handheld games and this version of Sudoku is one of their flagship offerings. link