# Classic Sudoku! — by Cracking the Cryptic > Expertly curated Sudoku puzzles with a star-based progression system. (iPhone/iPad app by Nick Carney.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classic-sudoku/id1488838275 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Nick Carney](https://appshunter.io/developer/1434235673) - Category: Games, Board, Puzzle - Price: $4.99 - Rating: 4.70/5 from 249 App Store ratings · 145 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 10.0 · 66 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2019-11-25 - Data updated: 2026-09-03 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classic-sudoku/id1488838275/reviews.md ## What is Classic Sudoku!? ***** NOVEMBER UPDATE ***** 10 new puzzles, all 100 puzzles are out now! ------------------------------------- Presented by Cracking The Cryptic, YouTube's most popular Sudoku channel, this is the brand new “Classic Sudoku” game that their viewers have been requesting for the last two years! Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe, the hosts of Cracking The Cryptic, have assembled a most extraordinary collection of sudoku puzzles. The sudokus in the game cover a wide range of difficulty with something for everyone - and also require an incredible range of techniques to solve them efficiently! Each of these special puzzles had to qualify for inclusion in the game by passing our rigorous play-testing - a test that NO other sudoku game on the market would pass. This play-testing ensures that a human being has actually thought about the journey you, the solver, will go on as you work through the puzzle. No computer testing here! Indeed our more advanced puzzles have been carefully designed to showcase some of the diabolical techniques in an intuitive way with the aim of helping solvers UNDERSTAND the patterns involved. In Cracking The Cryptic’s games, players start with zero stars and earn stars by solving puzzles. The more puzzles you solve, the more stars you earn and the more puzzles you get to play. Only the most dedicated (and cleverest) sudoku players will finish all the puzzles! Featured authors include (obviously) Simon and Mark but also some other authors who have produced popular puzzles on the channel! Mark and Simon have both represented the UK many times in the World Sudoku Championship and you can find more of their puzzles (and lots of others) on the internet’s biggest sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Features: 100 beautiful puzzles Many themes to choose from Hints written by Mark and Simon! ## Key features - 100 beautiful puzzles - Wide range of difficulty - Advanced technique showcase - Star-based progression - Hints from expert solvers - Multiple themes ## Chart rankings - #48 in Top Paid · Board (US App Store) - #103 in Top Paid · Puzzle (US App Store) ## What do users think of Classic Sudoku!? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Excellent interface - 👍 Intuitive and customizable - 🧠 Challenging and well-crafted puzzles - 💡 Dual notation feature - 👍 Helpful hints and tips - 🧠 Puzzles designed by real people, not algorithms **Cons** - 🐛 Incorrect or confusing hints - 🔋 High battery consumption - 🔍 Difficulty finding completed puzzles - 📱 Lack of iPad support and landscape mode - 🔍 Puzzles not always unique **Commonly reported bugs** - Puzzles with multiple valid solutions - App freezing or crashing - Pencil marks not working as expected **Most requested features** - Dark mode option - Ability to input custom puzzles - More puzzles added regularly - Improved sync between devices - Graphical representation of hints instead of text - Ability to pause/resume puzzles ## Recent user reviews (10 of 145) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classic-sudoku/id1488838275/reviews.md ### 5/5 — This is the one *2025-06-26* Brilliant. ### 5/5 — Needs auto fill candidates *2025-04-22* For people with carpal tunnell ### 4/5 — good stuff *2025-03-26, version 2.1* love it. great puzzle quality. a few glitches. for example, i finish some puzzle but then the timer keeps counting for some reason, and then there’s a white flag. what’s that mean? ### 1/5 — App Too Confusing *2025-02-12, version 2.1* Don’t waste your money. This app is way too confusing to use. Sudoku is a simple game. This app makes playing it almost impossible. ### 4/5 — Not the very best *2024-08-04* I have the other app by Nick Carney: “Cracking the Cryptic curated sudoku puzzles” that I absolutely love. Was somewhat disappointed by this one as it’s not user friendly at all or perhaps I’m somehow unable to figure out how to use it. There are only three colours for shading the cells. I can’t select a number to see highlights of places I’ve noted it. Selection and deselection of cells is rather odd. I really dislike seeing the numbers in a line at the bottom. I wished I could somehow migrate these classic sudokus to the other app 😢 I can at most take off one star because to be fair it’s still way better than other apps apart from the one I mentioned. ### 4/5 — Good play, unreliable hints *2024-05-09, version 2.1* The game is well designed, easy to play, and offers advanced puzzles. However, the hints are sometimes wrong. Rather than use the r#r#c#c# schema, perhaps table headings with alphanumeric coding on the x and y axes may help prevent the hint errors. ### 5/5 — Please add more puzzles *2024-05-04* Love the app. Really wish more puzzles would be added though. ### 5/5 — so much fun but not enough puzzles *2024-04-28* the app was great for learning y-wings, bent quadruples and empty rectangles. i just finished the last puzzle. i need more sudokus please!!!!!! ### 1/5 — You are only paying for 100 puzzles *2024-01-17, version 2.1* Purchased thinking more puzzles will be eventually added… NOPE!!! ### 5/5 — The best *2023-11-21* Real puzzles created by real people, not stupid algorithms. Properly educational tips that help you develop your skills. The game play is almost perfect, just a few small niggles, like selection not being part of the undo. One big issue… only 100 puzzles. I finished them all. Please give us some more puzzles!!!! ## Frequently asked questions about Classic Sudoku! ### What is Classic Sudoku!? Classic Sudoku! is a mobile application featuring a collection of 100 expertly crafted Sudoku puzzles. These puzzles are curated by the hosts of the popular YouTube channel, Cracking the Cryptic, and are designed to offer a wide range of difficulty and showcase advanced solving techniques. ### How do I unlock more puzzles? You earn stars by successfully solving puzzles. The more puzzles you solve, the more stars you accumulate, which in turn unlocks additional puzzles within the game. This system encourages dedication and rewards clever players. ### Are there hints available? Yes, the app provides hints written by the expert solvers, Mark and Simon. These hints are designed to guide you through the puzzles, especially the more advanced ones, and help you understand the patterns involved in solving them efficiently. ### Is this app free to play? Yes, the application is free to download and play. It does not feature in-app purchases or advertisements, offering a pure puzzle-solving experience. ### What makes these Sudoku puzzles special? These puzzles are special because they have been rigorously play-tested by humans, ensuring a thoughtful and engaging solving journey. They are designed to showcase diabolical techniques in an intuitive way, aiming to help solvers understand complex patterns. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.1 — 2020-11-27 10 new puzzles, all 100 puzzles are out now! ### 2.0 — 2020-10-10 5 new puzzles Added continue button to the main menu Redesigned Level Select menu - Added ability to sort puzzles by release order, difficulty, required stars ### 1.09 — 2020-08-30 10 new puzzles! ### 1.08 — 2020-07-01 5 new puzzles! ### 1.07 — 2020-05-27 5 new puzzles Landscape support Dark mode theme ## Apps similar to Classic Sudoku! | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Sudoku: Variants & Classic](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-variants-and-classic/id1530683853) | 4.8 (1,588) | Free | Games | | [Sudoku Classic: Number Puzzles](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-classic-number-puzzles/id6443815428) | 4.8 (382) | Free | Games | | [Killer Sudoku by Logic Wiz](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/killer-sudoku-by-logic-wiz/id1641151077) | 4.9 (188) | Free | Games | | [Sudoku ′ No ads](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-no-ads/id329981776) | 4.8 (28,552) | $1.99 | Games | | [Enjoy Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/enjoy-sudoku/id6466218894) | 2.0 (4) | Free | Games | | [Good Sudoku by Zach Gage](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/good-sudoku-by-zach-gage/id1489118195) | 4.2 (1,322) | Free | Games | ## More apps by Nick Carney - [Achromatic!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/achromatic/id1434235674) - [Sandwich Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sandwich-sudoku/id1476116705) - [Chess Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-sudoku/id1500654482) - [Thermo Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thermo-sudoku/id1513994223) - [Miracle Sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/miracle-sudoku/id1527363795) All apps by Nick Carney: https://appshunter.io/developer/1434235673 ## Related topics [classic sudoku](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/classic-sudoku) · [cracking the cryptic](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cracking-the-cryptic) --- *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 2026-09-03.*