# Sudoku Sages — Ad‑free, difficulty earned

> Ad‑free, difficulty earned (iPhone/iPad app by JOE BELL.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-sages/id6794529411 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [JOE BELL](https://appshunter.io/developer/6794529413)
- Category: Games, Entertainment, Board, Puzzle
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English, Japanese, Russian
- Released: 2026-08-05
- Data updated: 2026-09-23
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sudoku-sages/id6794529411/reviews.md

## What is Sudoku Sages?

Sudoku without the noise, made for players who enjoy taking their time.

No ads, subscriptions, in-app purchases, forced streaks, or analytics. All nine themes are included from the start, and there is no separate account to create.

DIFFICULTY THAT MEANS SOMETHING
Puzzles are graded by the logical techniques needed to solve them, not simply by the number of given digits. A human-style solver checks every puzzle step by step. Six philosopher-named tiers range from the approachable Thales to the demanding Socrates.

CHOOSE HOW MUCH HELP YOU WANT
Puzzle difficulty and assistance are separate settings:
• Beginner — highlights, mistake checking, and hints are enabled.
• Normal — highlights and hints are available when you ask for them.
• Hardcore — no highlights or mistake checking, just pencil marks.

HINTS WITH AN EXPLANATION
A hint does not immediately fill in the answer. It first names the technique and points you towards the relevant part of the board, giving you a chance to spot the move yourself. If you need more help, you can follow the reasoning one step at a time and then apply the move. Hints also work when you have not entered any pencil marks.

ACHIEVEMENTS WITHOUT OBLIGATIONS
Game Center can mark your first solved puzzle, each difficulty tier, and the completion of all six. There are no achievements for daily logins or hundreds of repetitive games. Game Center is entirely optional.

NINE COMPLETE THEMES
Dark paper, classic, newsprint, blueprint, neon, chalk, and more. Each theme changes the whole board rather than simply recolouring a few controls. Every theme is free and available from the beginning.

Games, settings, and records stay on your device. The app has no servers, analytics, or account system of its own. If you use Game Center, only achievement progress is sent to Apple.

Sound is off by default. Available in English, Russian, and Japanese.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4 — 2026-09-15

A new home screen lets you continue a puzzle, start a new one, or go straight to Technique Practice.

Each technique now has its own page with a short explanation. Practice progress is saved on your device, with separate counts for exercises solved on your own and with assistance.

Game Center achievements have a new screen showing your awards, points, and progress. We also added a brief introduction for new players, refined the animations, and polished the translations.

### 1.3 — 2026-08-25

We added Technique Practice: explore 19 solving methods through 58 curated exercises with step-by-step explanations. When enabled, Input Protection prevents accidental overwrites. The end-of-game summary now includes your time, assistance level, mistakes, and hints used. Hints also cover more advanced techniques.

### 1.2 — 2026-08-19

Game Center achievements are now available for your first win, each difficulty tier, and completing the full ladder. We also made the system achievements screen more reliable.

### 1.1 — 2026-08-15

All themes are now included for everyone — no purchase required.
• Game Center achievements for your first solve and every philosopher difficulty
• A smoother, rebalanced difficulty curve across all six levels
• Smarter teaching hints that explain each logical step and work even without pencil marks
• Full Japanese localization
• Improved VoiceOver and Dynamic Type support
• A refined game layout, adjustable haptic feedback, better theme contrast, and numerous stability improvements

### 1.0 — 2026-08-05

No release notes.

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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 2026-09-23.*