# Kakuro u — user reviews

> 132 indexed App Store user reviews of Kakuro u by The Chess Solitaire Sudoku Factory Ltd, rated 4.60/5 from 299 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kakuro-u/id306200861/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kakuro-u/id306200861.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 224 · 4★ 46 · 3★ 11 · 2★ 6 · 1★ 12

## What do users think of Kakuro u?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Glitchy but great
- 👍 Love this game, keeps you thinking
- 🚀 Good standards on games
- 👍 Awesome game for any Kakuro fan
- 👍 Addicting
- 👍 Excellent, easy to pick up and play

**Cons**

- 🐛 Ruined by updates
- 🐛 No hard levels
- 🐛 Ruined by updates
- 🐛 Can't even input numbers
- 🐛 Broken
- 🐛 Crashes too often
- 🐛 Terrible presentation
- 🐛 BAD Logic!

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Glitchy, crashes often
- Doesn't work on iOS 8
- Doesn't work anymore after updates
- Buttons don't respond
- Loses progress when app is interrupted

**Most requested features**

- Easier way to mark the board and rewind to an earlier mark
- Dark mode option
- More hints for beginners

## Newest reviews (16 of 132)

### 4/5 — Glitchy but great

*2025-05-31*

I’m giving only 4 stars because… I’m not sure this game is even playable without a paid account at the moment, because of bugs in the way IAP and ads work. Which I know because my paid account somehow turned into a free one in a previous update. They manually restored it for me, which is very cool, but obviously it would be better if it didn’t happen in the first place. And there have been a few times over the many years where the game just didn’t work for months (e.g., way back when, IIRC, the iPhone 6 came out, it couldn’t handle the extra screen space and would crash if you clicked there). Of course most games from that long ago were just abandoned and won’t work on anything newer than iOS 9 or something, so not having this game for a few months every few years is not a huge tragedy by comparison.

But once you get past that, it’s as great as it ever was, and miles ahead of any other Kakuro app I’ve found.

It can generate puzzles that are genuinely difficult but not unsolvable—the only other apps that have any difficult puzzles have a small number (and often charge you for them) rather than an endless stream of new ones. And the whole UI is designed around assisting you in solving those difficult puzzles. It’s a little messy and maybe hard to figure out at first, and kind of ugly (and changes over the years have made it uglier). But as far as usability once you learn it, it’s amazing.

Also, it doesn’t hide behind a bunch of irrelevant gamification features. There’s counts of how many games you’ve won and a few other little things, but no big 30-second celebration when you win or coins to grind for or cheats to ration or special event modes or any of that. If you enjoy Kakuro as a game you don’t need them, and if not, they won’t help, so this app doesn’t have them.

**Developer response:** Thank you for such a thorough and in depth review. Whilst this app is no longer economically viable to develop, I will keep it working for many years to come if I can.

### 2/5 — poor choice

*2022-08-19*

i have over 800 master puzzles solved and you lot cut me down to medium 8 - pathetic

### 4/5 — Good game but no longer challenging!

*2022-04-07*

Really enjoy the game but since the new update I can only do up to medium level and I want to challenge myself more! Please bring back the higher levels!

### 2/5 — Levels

*2022-04-07*

I have been playing this for some time choosing the hard or very hard levels. For some reason, the highest level I can now play is medium. How do you get to play the higher levels

### 4/5 — Yes

*2022-01-09*

One of the best apps out there for this game, thank you.

### 4/5 — Good

*2020-12-31*

Good game

### 2/5 — Frustrated

*2020-07-25*

Every other button I pushed took me to an ad. Not a bad layout. Not intuitive.

### 1/5 — Was pleased, now I’m a hostage to a crap update

*2018-11-25*

I used to use this app pretty often, and I was really good at it. I purchased it when it was new in 2009. The latest update added ads, the “option” to update to pro; which I would assume is ad-free, but does nothing. So instead I’m forced to watch ads that i can’t click out of and mess with my timing on the app. Then there’s the lack of responsiveness on the app. It went from a fully functioning touch screen to smaller buttons and slow responses. For instance, when clicking a number triangle you see the options but you can’t click the done button because they decreased the size of clickable area and get stuck clicking it a few times until released. I used to enjoy this app but I won’t use it again until they fix this terrible update

**Developer response:** Hello, please email support@mastersoftmobiltsolutions.com . Which device model are you using?

### 1/5 — Worst update

*2018-11-24*

Actually hate them for updating this... was in my opinion one of the best kakuro games before via layout and design. Now the buttons are harder to hit, can’t visually see which are hit or not unless you strain your eyes, the timer isn’t working properly now either. So trying to improve to beat my time on master difficulty is basically null and void until they fix it. Also now the only way to not have the apparently 6 second win time on the difficulty is to reset my statistics beating the whole point of trying to improve my record...

### 1/5 — Not as good as the older version

*2018-11-23*

The # buttons are too small (especially the 1 & 9), so you easily hit the wrong # out miss the #’s which takes you to different field. I wish I never upgraded this or paid for the upgrade

### 1/5 — Game destroyed

*2018-11-21*

The latest update adds adverts to a game that was previously paid for.  I didn’t clone my old phone to this new one, & cannot start at master level on this new version, but would need to complete many games from the EASY level on.  The old version allowed this.  As such UNPLAYABLE!
DON’T UPGRADE.

### 1/5 — Do not upgrade to V3!

*2018-11-21*

After happily playing V2 for years, I upgraded to V3 which was supposed to include unspecified improvements. Big mistake. V3 is now full of ads. To get rid of ads, you must upgrade to PRO version. I figured I can pay $3.99 for an app that I use almost daily and get rid of the bloody ads. So, I upgraded to V3 PRO. Another big mistake! I lost all the progress stats I had accrued over the years playing the regular version! Goodbye Level 4th Nanadan! Pro app even tells me that I cannot even select to play an Easy Kakuro because I have not reached that level yet! Very displeased. Will never download another Mastersoft app ever.

### 1/5 — Oops

*2018-11-21*

Your recent update has resulted in disaster. It doesn’t fit screen and the grid is missing. None of the buttons respond

### 3/5 — Great, but with a bug

*2015-09-05*

I like this app, but if you are using and iOS interrupts it for anything (a call, an alert etc) it reverts back to the last time the app was started, losing all progress. As such, I have to regularly leave the app and go back in to act as a 'save point'. Frustrating.

### 1/5 — ?

*2015-08-29*

Doesn't work anymore.

### 1/5 — No longer works

*2015-01-31, version 2.66*

No longer works in in iOS7 since the last update.  Used to be great, now it's just wasting space.   Hope it gets fixed soon.

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Ruined by updates

*2025-05-28*

A previous update to this game has turned what was the best kakuro app for almost a decade into a borderline unplayable mess. And the next update took away features while changing nothing else. And the latest one makes it unplayable. You can’t even start a new game, because all the difficulty levels have weird labels about ads instead of being level numbers, and then, when selected, they each give some different error about some GDPR service. So, that’s that; I can’t play even if I wanted to. But I rarely wanted to anymore anyway, for quite some time. Here’s my review of the previous changes to explain why: First, the new color scheme and “flat” look is hideously ugly. It’s also less usable—a touch interface with tons of fiddly little buttons crammed onto the screen really needs visible borders. (Imagine the iPhone keyboard without the white squares around the keys.) Second, there’s now a banner ad on the bottom, right where you want to click to unselect the current selection. For a game that I paid for (even if the paid version was merged with the free version a few years ago), this is especially unacceptable. Third, it now randomly pops up intrusive ads. Worst of all, it keeps trying to get me to pay for a “Pro” upgrade. (I have no idea what’s included in “Pro”, but whatever it is, I haven’t needed it for the past decade.) It sometimes even spontaneously triggers a payment confirmation that I have to cancel. Presumably the interface tricked me into clicking a “Upgrade” button that appears under my finger when I’m trying to click something else, or something like that. But however they’re doing it, it’s not just seriously unethical, and annoying, but also a serious violation of Apple’s rules. So, what improvements do we get to compensate for all these downgrades? Not a single one of the features people had requested over the past decade (like an easier way to mark the board and rewind to an earlier mark) has been added. They did finally fix the bug where, on any screen bigger than an iPhone 4, there’s a dead space on the top and bottom that can crash the game if you accidentally click it. But because they filled that dead space with a banner ad that pops open an ad page in Safari if you accidentally click it, this isn’t really an improvement. I wish I could go back to the previous version. A new version came out at some point, and I upgraded hoping it would solve some of the problems. But I’ll never find out, because it disabled enough features that it’s not worth even trying. You can’t even start a game above medium difficulty anymore. So now, it’s gone from a game I pick up every once in a while when I’m not too annoyed to deal with the frustrations to one that I will never even think about playing. Nice job ruining it for good.

**Developer response:** Hello, please email support@thechesssolitairesudokufactory.com so that we can get you back your paid for version.

### 1/5 — No hard levels

*2022-10-06*

Please reinstate the harder levels !!!

Better options out there if they are not re introduced

### 1/5 — Ruined by updates

*2022-09-03*

The previous update to this game has turned what was the best kakuro app for almost a decade into a borderline unplayable mess. And the latest update takes away features while changing nothing else. First, the new color scheme and “flat” look is hideously ugly. It’s also less usable—a touch interface with tons of fiddly little buttons crammed onto the screen really needs visible borders. (Imagine the iPhone keyboard without the white squares around the keys.) Second, there’s now a banner ad on the bottom, right where you want to click to unselect the current selection. For a game that I paid for (even if the paid version was merged with the free version a few years ago), this is especially unacceptable. Third, it now randomly pops up intrusive ads. Worst of all, it keeps trying to get me to pay for a “Pro” upgrade. (I have no idea what’s included in “Pro”, but whatever it is, I haven’t needed it for the past decade.) It sometimes even spontaneously triggers a payment confirmation that I have to cancel. Presumably the interface tricked me into clicking a “Upgrade” button that appears under my finger when I’m trying to click something else, or something like that. But however they’re doing it, it’s not just seriously unethical, and annoying, but also a serious violation of Apple’s rules. So, what improvements do we get to compensate for all these downgrades? Not a single one of the features people had requested over the past decade (like an easier way to mark the board and rewind to an earlier mark) has been added. They did finally fix the bug where, on any screen bigger than an iPhone 4, there’s a dead space on the top and bottom that can crash the game if you accidentally click it. But because they filled that dead space with a banner ad that pops open an ad page in Safari if you accidentally click it, this isn’t really an improvement. I wish I could go back to the previous version. A new version came out at some point, and I upgraded hoping it would solve some of the problems. But I’ll never find out, because it disabled enough features that it’s not worth even trying. You can’t even start a game above medium difficulty anymore. So now, it’s gone from a game I pick up every once in a while when I’m not too annoyed to deal with the frustrations to one that I will never even think about playing. Nice job ruining it for good.

### 1/5 — Can’t even input numbers!

*2022-02-06*

And so clunky! Clumsy, badly thought out app. Pity as the game Kakuro is good on paper.

**Developer response:** Hello, does this new version help?

### 1/5 — One star

*2019-09-06*

The screen is black on my iPhone 8 Plus. I guess the application doesn’t work. 
By the way, it has ads.

### 1/5 — Waste of a download

*2019-09-05*

Terrible app. I downloaded, and could not even see what I was doing. Just saw numbers on a black screen and big ads at the bottom. Not user friendly at all.

### 1/5 — Broken

*2019-04-26*

Does not work

### 1/5 — Kakuro

*2019-02-04*

Do not waste your money on this game. I have not even been able to play it once. I’ve tried several times to delete and download the game and nothing changes. I am very disappointed that I wasted my money and time on this.

### 1/5 — Won’t work on my iPhone

*2018-12-23*

It used to work and now it won’t load so I can’t play anymore.

### 1/5 — Update has blown it

*2018-12-01*

Now only get a black screen with numbers!

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Kakura

*2022-10-12*

Love this game, keeps you thinking.

### 5/5 — Best layout and dark mode!

*2022-07-23*

This is by far the best version and I have tried many! The layout and submenus are so user friendly. And for those of us who like playing at night before sleep it has the BEST dark mode, no more bright blinding background, that keeps you up! But a beautiful black background and dimmer lettering mode! To give a full review, there is one submenu where the “sliders” at the bottom are still messed up, but now that I know they actually DO read the reviews I am confident they will look into that too! 

Update: The developers got back to me and gave me back my paid version! Old review:Used to be the best, USED TO Now, even though I bought it way back when, it wants me to pay to upgrade so I can play the more difficult levels. I already paid. I will not pay again! I would rather find another to pay for than put up with that kind of deceit.

### 5/5 — Great Game!

*2015-08-30*

I love playing this game

### 5/5 — Works fine

*2015-01-31*

Works fine for me on iPad mini 2, iOS 8.1.

### 5/5 — Mr.

*2014-10-27, version V2.62*

Was very fun to start with, but now crashes when I try to load it. What's up with that?

### 5/5 — Great Kakuro game

*2014-09-19, version V2.62*

I love this version of Kakuro. Unfortunately, after upgrading to iOS8 last night, it is unusable. Had some minor problems with iOS7, but now the tools menu doesn't work at all, which is where you select a new game. I hope they put an update out to support iOS8. If you haven't upgraded to iOS8, I highly recommend this app! I'm not deleting so that it will update if an update is released.

### 5/5 — Enjoyable kakuro

*2014-07-08*

Of the kakuro apps I have played, this is the only one still one on my iPad.
Pros:
Addictive! The puzzles are well-generated and the solving tools are very useful.
Cons:
A full page ad shows up at the beginning of each game, but when you know where the close button is then who cares? It costs me perhaps half a second.
Room for improvement:
No substantial updates in a long time, and it runs as an iPhone app on my iPad. I would add persistence to the combinations helper, and auto-update the pencil marks. Storing stats in the cloud to combine scores from multiple devices would be nice, too. 

Summary: 
The 'pros' have it. The cons are completely irrelevant, and the only reason I'm taking off a point is -- um -- no good reason.  I'll leave it 5 stars.

### 5/5 — A real, great kakuro! You won't ever play sudoku again.

*2013-09-18*

(in French below)
For those who love numbers, not only digits!
With this game you'll train your brains, memory and concentration skills.
The rules are simpler than sudoku but this time, numbers have a meaning, they are not only 9 different symbols! Once you've played Kakuro, you won't want to change.
And this app is really great for this, starting, improving or mastering kakuro!
----FR
Pour ceux qui aiment les nombres, et pas seulement les chiffres !
Avec ce jeu vous améliorerez votre réflexion, votre mémoire et votre concentration, et ferez du bien à votre tête.
Bien que les règles soient encore plus simples qu'au sudoku, cette fois les chiffres reprennent leur sens au lieu d'être juste 9 symboles différents (avouez qu'on mettrait A,B,C...H,I au sudoku que ça ne changerait rien).
Une fois que vous aurez goûté au Kakuro, vous ne voudrez plus revenir à l'autre !
Et cette app' est excellente pour découvrir, progresser ou maîtriser le kakuro !
Ça va chauffer sous les méninges !

### 5/5 — Now completely free

*2012-10-25*

Wer die Version bis einschließlich 2.60 hat sollte nicht updaten auf 2.62, der einzige Unterschied ist, daß in der neuen Version Werbung eingeblendet wird. Ohne Werbung = Superspiel.

### 5/5 — Great fun!

*2011-10-16, version 2.60*

Love this game. Only complaints are:
1) I sometimes accidentally tap the row/column numbers rather than the game board which disqualifies that game from eating me points. Maybe there could be a way to disable all hints?
2) when looking at the reference guide for combinations it's sometimes frustrating to use the upper slider because it is super sensitive. Maybe include a type-in option?

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*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 2026-08-27.*