Sudoku Junior: Learn to Solve

Sudoku Junior is a first sudoku for kids from about four to twelve, and it explains its own hints. When your child is stuck and asks for help, the board dims everything except the row, column or box that matters (or the shape, on a Jigsaw board), and a short sentence explains the reasoning. The explanation never gives away both the square and the number. The answer is only filled in if your child taps again. There are four classic sizes. A four-year-old starts with an easy 4×4 sudoku and moves up through 6×6 to the standard 9×9, with 12×12 for confident solvers. Jigsaw sudoku adds 122 levels from 4×4 to 7×7 in which the boxes are replaced by irregular shapes. Every puzzle was checked by two separate solver programs and has exactly one solution. For preschool children who can't read numerals yet, the digits can be switched to dots, like the faces on dice. Across the whole game there are 21 badges to earn. Sudoku School teaches logic in 20 lessons over six chapters, from what rows, columns and boxes are to working with notes and finishing a full 9×9. Each lesson shows one technique step by step. Then your child tries it twice with help and twice alone, on new boards. If an answer is wrong, the lesson explains why instead of taking anything away, and the device can read the lessons aloud. Up to four children can keep separate progress on one device. A grown-up adds the profiles, and a child can switch to their own without asking. The grown-ups section shows how many puzzles each child has solved, how long they spent thinking, how often they needed help and which techniques they have learned. Children aren't compared with each other, and the report is worked out on the device. On an iPad held sideways, the level map sits beside the board sizes and the number pad beside the board. iPhone Duo uses the same layout on its inner display, and when you close the phone the puzzle continues on the cover screen. The dark theme switches with the system setting, and the app follows Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast, Button Shapes and larger text sizes. Nothing in the game runs against a clock, and a puzzle that goes wrong costs nothing. There are no ads, no account to make and no personal details to give, and it works offline. The first 10 levels of each size and the first 19 Jigsaw levels are free. One purchase behind a parental gate unlocks all 350, and it works with Family Sharing.