# Bullpen: Logic Puzzle Game — Sudoku × Minesweeper, no ads > Logic puzzle game combining Sudoku and Minesweeper mechanics. (iPhone/iPad app by David Williames.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bullpen-logic-puzzle-game/id6642673670 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [David Williames](https://appshunter.io/developer/848810698) - Category: Games, Casual, Puzzle - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.90/5 from 1,270 App Store ratings · 270 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.2 · 38 MB - Languages: British English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (France), German (Germany), Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian and 11 more - Released: 2025-02-18 - Data updated: 2026-08-30 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bullpen-logic-puzzle-game/id6642673670/reviews.md ## What is Bullpen? Welcome to Bullpen – a clean, logic-based puzzle game where every bull must be placed just right. It's like Sudoku meets Minesweeper. Simple Rules, Deep Strategy – Place one bull per pen, row, and column – Bulls cannot touch each other, even diagonally – For extra difficulty, hard mode requires two bulls per pen, row, and column Ad-Free & Privacy-Focused – Enjoy uninterrupted gameplay with no ads and complete data privacy – Also doesn't require internet to play Daily Puzzles – New puzzles every day to keep your mind engaged – See if you can get the fastest time Pro Mode – Access all 5,000 levels + unlock Free Play mode – Advanced statistics and sync progress across devices with iCloud Why Bullpen? – Minimalist design for a focused, enjoyable experience – Easy to learn yet challenging enough to satisfy puzzle enthusiasts – Ideal for both quick sessions and longer play times Ready to test your logic? Download Bullpen now and start solving puzzles your way! ## Key features - Place one bull per pen, row, and column - Bulls cannot touch each other (diagonally included) - Hard mode: two bulls per pen, row, and column - Ad-free and privacy-focused gameplay - Daily new puzzles - Pro Mode with 5,000+ levels and Free Play ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Pro Version | $4.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Bullpen? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - ✨ Excellent design and visuals - 🧠 Smart and challenging puzzles - 🕹️ Intuitive and responsive controls - 🕰️ Relaxing gameplay with timer off - 🔍 Helpful hint system - 💰 Worth the price for full version **Cons** - 🔒 Limited levels in free version - 🎢 Leaderboards susceptible to cheating **Commonly reported bugs** - Annoying bull sound effect - Difficulty progression issues (needing to replay lower levels) **Most requested features** - More levels for free version - Auto-placement tool for faster solving - Additional customization options (colors, markings) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 270) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bullpen-logic-puzzle-game/id6642673670/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Addicted, to say the least *2026-08-12, version 2.2* I love this game so much. I play every single day and I love love love the hard levels. Please port to android!!! I got a new phone but I kept my old one and all I’ve been doing on it is playing bull pen lol ### 5/5 — Great! *2026-08-10, version 2.2* Great game ### 3/5 — Cute idea *2026-08-08, version 2.2* But annoying execution. I found the solution to a puzzle, but it didn’t count because it wasn’t the one they chose. You have to solve the puzzle their way, not yours. Deleted. 😕 ### 1/5 — Overly easy then a guessing game *2026-08-06, version 2.2* Every free level can be beaten within like 3 hours without hints before they hit you with a pay wall. The only way they could create any meaningful difficulty is by making the hard levels break the pre-established rules. Most of the time it devolves into a guessing game of where you have to place the two bulls required for every pen, row, and column. If you bother to use the hints in the hard levels, they throw some obscure clue about so many colors in so many rows, but is usually some bad advice. Not worth the 3 hours of your life, skip this one. ### 1/5 — no mobile battles *2026-08-05, version 2.2* i have an obsession to this game and love battling my friends but recently the battles never connect. please fix it🥲 additionally, prior to the error preventing the start of a game, there was another connection error that would claim a player left even tho that didn’t occur ### 5/5 — Great Ethics Make a Stellar Game *2026-08-03, version 2.2* It seems every mobile game today is an AI generated, “free to play” ad farm designed to steal and sell your data. But Bullpen returns to the roots of authentic game design. It is genuinely just a pleasant time. I was complaining about one of these mobile game ads I kept seeing to my partner, and my partner (who is a fan of puzzle and logic games) ended up downloading it. I went down a rabbit hole to try and find an alternative for her when I stumbled upon this absolute gem of a game. For the past few weeks, every time I’ve glanced at her phone, she’s been playing this game. It is a genuine breath of fresh air. The free to play aspect here works more like a demo for potential players to decide whether they want to keep playing or not. Afterwards, it’s a single $5 charge to purchase the full game. No “gamepass” or subscription of any kind. Whether you have the full version or not, there are no ads. Combined with charmingly minimalistic visuals, sweet sound design, and a simple, evident love of game making from the developer, I cannot help but give this game a perfect 5 stars despite not playing much of the game myself. ### 4/5 — Fun but boring *2026-08-03, version 2.2* At the beginning when learning this game is was fun the levels were hard cause i didnt know the strategy and i was reluctant to use the hint button. But after i started using the hint button and learning how to play the game better i naturally got better which is great and all but now the normal difficulty is stupidly easy. At first i thought it was just cause i got better at the game but no i click one bull that i know is right and the level simply gives me the rest, that is boring, i even went back to older levels to see if i was a me problem or the game and the older ones were harder even with my newfound skills. Theres normal levels i can clear faster than the easy levels which i think is ridiculous. I just want the harder levels actually require me to think a bit more and not just blatantly tell me where to put the bull after i find the first one. ### 5/5 — Solid game, no ads *2026-08-01, version 2.2* Great game, 5 stars. Love a game that doesn’t limit you with daily energy or coins. This game lets you play as much as you like with no ads. Very refreshing. Game play is simple to learn/ play yet has challenging moments. I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone that is just looking to kill some time but doesn’t want to deal with in game quests or other ancillary processes. ### 5/5 — Ad Free Meowdoku *2026-07-30, version 2.2* Meowdoku purports “no annoying ads,” but that’s essentially weasel words. After 10 levels or so, there’s an ad that plays after every single level. They also use AI. This game is the same concept, but ad-free. Highly recommend! ### 5/5 — Great game *2026-07-30, version 2.2* This game is so good! It really nice because it doesn’t need WiFi and doesn’t have ads, so you can play anywhere. I like how many puzzles we can do for free. ## Frequently asked questions about Bullpen ### What is Bullpen? Bullpen is a logic-based puzzle game that blends mechanics from Sudoku and Minesweeper. The core gameplay involves placing bulls within a grid according to specific rules, such as one bull per pen, row, and column, and ensuring bulls do not touch each other, even diagonally. ### What are the key features of Bullpen? Key features include placing bulls with adjacency restrictions, an optional hard mode requiring two bulls per unit, daily puzzles to keep gameplay fresh, and an ad-free, privacy-focused experience. Pro Mode offers over 5,000 levels and unlocks Free Play. ### Is Bullpen free to play? The base game is free to play, offering daily puzzles and core gameplay. In-app purchases are available, such as Pro Mode, which unlocks all levels, Free Play, advanced statistics, and cross-device progress syncing via iCloud. ### What kind of puzzles does Bullpen offer? Bullpen offers logic puzzles that are a hybrid of Sudoku and Minesweeper. Players must deduce the correct placement of bulls based on rules about their proximity and distribution within pens, rows, and columns. The game provides daily puzzles to ensure a continuous stream of new challenges. ### Can I play Bullpen offline? Yes, the game is designed to be playable without an internet connection. This allows for uninterrupted gameplay wherever you are, without needing to worry about data usage or Wi-Fi availability. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.2 — 2026-05-26 • New: Hay Bales! Keep your Daily Challenge streak going. Earn them by playing daily, and they'll automatically protect your streak if you miss a day • Daily Challenge calendar is here — revisit previous puzzles and replay them anytime • Hints are now available in Daily Challenges — they recharge over time and add a 20-second penalty when used • Added “Darken Used Squares” to Theme Settings • Added a few subtle theme improvements, with more on the way • Squashed more Arena Battle bugs ### 2.1.2 — 2026-05-19 • Added a new Advanced Setting to enable multi-touch • Added a new Advanced Setting to enable screen auto-lock • High Contrast themes are now unlocked for everyone by default • Fixed several Battle Arena rating issues where ratings could be miscalculated after matches • Included the usual round of small fixes, cleanup, and polish ### 2.1.1 — 2026-05-13 • You can now hide the Battle Arena from Arena Settings if it’s not your thing • There’s a new Schedule view in the Battle Arena, making it easier to check upcoming availability • Battle Arena matches should now run more efficiently and use less battery • Fixed an issue where Hard boards in the Battle Arena appeared smaller than intended • Improved error messages for Arena Matchmaking • Continued improving iCloud sync reliability • Plus the usual round of small fixes, cleanup, and polish ### 2.1 — 2026-05-11 • You can now hide the Battle Arena from Arena Settings if it’s not your thing • There’s a new Schedule view in the Battle Arena, making it easier to check upcoming availability • Battle Arena matches should now run more efficiently and use less battery • Fixed an issue where Hard boards in the Battle Arena appeared smaller than intended • Improved error messages for Arena Matchmaking • Continued improving iCloud sync reliability • Plus the usual round of small fixes, cleanup, and polish ### 2.0.1 — 2026-04-30 Fixed an issue that was causing a lot of continuous lag on launch for some users --- This is a huge update for Bullpen! NEW: Battle Arena Go head-to-head in live puzzle battles, climb the rankings, and challenge your friends. Battles open at selected times throughout the week, so keep an eye out and jump in when the arena is live. Also included: • New Axes Lock setting in Advanced Gameplay Settings • Performance improvements to reduce battery drain, especially on iPad • More reliable iCloud syncing • Fixed the Daily Challenge timer continuing in the background • Fixed some hint generation issues, mainly in Extreme levels • Lots of smaller bug fixes and polish As always, thanks for playing Bullpen! ## Apps similar to Bullpen | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [square: The Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/square-the-game/id6742043172) | 4.7 (283) | Free | Games | | [Merge Maestro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-maestro/id6670491302) | 4.8 (138) | Free | Games | | [Oxytone](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oxytone/id1673677183) | 4.5 (72) | Free | Games | | [Puzzmo: Solve. Smile. Share.](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puzzmo-solve-smile-share/id6714482734) | 3.8 (156) | Free | Games | | [LOK Digital](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lok-digital/id6476513210) | 4.7 (159) | Free | Games | | [Mindset GO!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindset-go/id6478108983) | 3.9 (40) | Free | Games | ## More apps by David Williames - [Color Mate - Convert and Analyze Colors](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-mate-convert-and-analyze-colors/id896088941) All apps by David Williames: https://appshunter.io/developer/848810698 ## Related topics [star battle puzzles](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/star-battle-puzzles) · [queens puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/queens-puzzle) · [no ads puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/no-ads-puzzle) · [minimalist game](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/minimalist-game) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*