# Sudoku Master: Learn & Solve — Hints that teach, 9x9 & 16x16

> Hints that teach, 9x9 & 16x16 (iPhone/iPad app by Nusaif Valappil.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-master-learn-and-solve/id6813008175 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Nusaif Valappil](https://appshunter.io/developer/6807993069)
- Category: Games, Education, Board, Puzzle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 10 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-22
- Data updated: 2026-10-09
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-master-learn-and-solve/id6813008175/reviews.md

## What is Sudoku Master?

Most Sudoku apps give you the answer. Sudoku Master teaches you how to find it.

Every hint works in three steps. First it shows you where to look. Then it explains why. Only if you ask does it fill in the digit — and only that step costs points. Each hint names the technique it used and links to its lesson, so the next time that pattern appears you'll spot it yourself.

HINTS THAT TEACH
• Where to look → why → the answer, one step at a time
• Hints respect your pencil marks and work from your notes
• Wrong entries are explained: which cell or house clashes, and why

LEARN THE TECHNIQUES
• Illustrated lessons for fourteen techniques, from Scanning and Hidden Singles through Pointing and Naked Pairs to X-Wing, Swordfish and XY-Wing
• Practice mode: drops you into a real puzzle at the exact moment that technique is the next step, pencil marks already in
• The Rules, a 16×16 guide, an X-Sudoku guide, a glossary and a solving routine used by strong players

PUZZLES YOU CAN TRUST
• 9×9, giant 16×16 grids (digits plus A–G), and X-Sudoku, where both long diagonals must hold every digit too
• Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert — every puzzle verified to have exactly one solution, so it never needs guessing
• Easy puzzles need only singles; Hard and Expert genuinely need the advanced techniques
• Puzzle Info shows which techniques the solver needed, so you know what to look for
• Daily Challenge — the same puzzle for everyone, with streaks

BUILT FOR THINKING
• Pencil marks, auto-notes, unlimited undo and redo
• Hold a number to pencil it in
• Row, column and box highlighting; matching-digit highlighting
• Optional mistake checking and three-mistake limit — or play it like paper
• Statistics, best times and scoring that rewards clean solving
• Share your result when you solve
• Six colour themes, light and dark mode

COMPETE AND KEEP THE STREAK
• Game Center: weekly best-time leaderboards for every difficulty, an all-time daily-streak board and 15 achievements
• Home and Lock Screen widgets for the Daily Challenge
• An optional daily reminder at a time you choose

IPHONE AND IPAD
• Full landscape layouts on iPhone and iPad
• Hardware keyboard support on iPad: digits, arrows, undo, notes and hints
• Progress, statistics and achievements sync between your devices with iCloud

FREE, WITH ONE OPTIONAL PURCHASE
Play unlimited 9×9 puzzles, X-Sudoku, the Daily Challenge and the Basics and Intermediate lessons for free, with three explained hints a day. Premium is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks unlimited hints, the Advanced lessons, 16×16 puzzles and removes ads. No account needed.

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $4.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.2 — 2026-09-30

X-SUDOKU
A new variant where both long diagonals must also hold every digit. The board draws them so you always see which cells are involved, the hint engine reasons about them like any other house, and there's an illustrated guide in Learn. Easy through Expert, and it keeps its own save slot and best times — a classic game in progress is never overwritten.

GAME CENTER
Weekly best-time leaderboards for Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert, an all-time daily-streak board, and 15 achievements that mirror the ones already in the app.

WIDGETS
Home and Lock Screen widgets for the Daily Challenge — see today's puzzle and your streak, and tap straight into it.

DAILY REMINDERS
An optional nudge at a time you pick, so a streak doesn't quietly end.

ALSO IN THIS UPDATE
• Hold a number key to pencil it in
• Confetti on a flawless solve or a new best time
• Larger accessibility text sizes no longer crowd the grid, the HUD or the toolbar
• Hardware keyboard support on iPad: digits, arrows, undo, notes and hints
• Statistics and saved puzzles keep a backup if a file can't be read, so progress survives an upgrade
• Fixes to hint explanations, the completion sheet and iCloud sync

### 1.0 — 2026-09-22

No release notes.

## More apps by Nusaif Valappil

- [TickDown: Countdown & Tasks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tickdown-countdown-and-tasks/id6807993067)
- [Stack Squeeze: Color Sort](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stack-squeeze-color-sort/id6811156300)

All apps by Nusaif Valappil: https://appshunter.io/developer/6807993069

---

*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 2026-10-09.*