Comparison

Microsoft Sudoku vs Decade Duel

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Microsoft Sudoku

Enjoy classic and unique Sudoku puzzles with adjustable difficulty. Engage in daily challenges, track your progress, and customize your gameplay with various themes and settings. An optional premium subscription removes ads and unlocks past challenges.

Highlights
  • Classic and Irregular Sudoku modes
  • 6 difficulty levels
  • Daily Challenges with badges
  • Multiple themes and symbol options
  • Note-taking and mistake erasing
  • Cloud save and Xbox Live achievements
  • Progress tracking and statistics
Read full description

Relax and keep your mind sharp with a game of Microsoft Sudoku, the world’s best Sudoku app. Classic: Play puzzles you’ve come to love now with 6 difficulty levels to choose from! Elegant, clean and intellectually stimulating. Play at your leisure where every puzzle is freshly generated giving you a never-ending supply of unique classic Sudoku games to play. Irregular: Try a whole new take on Sudoku! Rules are the same but the blocks have irregular shapes. You might not ever go back to the classic way of playing again! It’s cool to be Irregular. Daily Challenges: Play 3 unique challenges every day, collect coins and win badges! Classic, Irregular and an all new Ice Breaker game mode! In Ice Breaker placing correct numbers sends shockwaves across the board that break the ice. Give it a try, it’s a breeze! Features… • Freshly generated puzzles every game across 6 levels of difficulty for Classic and Irregular Sudoku • 3 new Daily Challenges every day • Multiple different themes to choose from. Are you a visual person? Try the Charms theme that uses symbols instead of numbers and can be played in any game mode! • Take notes like you would like you did on paper that get automatically updated each time you fill in a cell. • Made a mistake? No problem just erase it • Sign in with a Microsoft account to earn Xbox Live achievements and save your progress in the cloud across all your Apple devices. • Track your Statistics for all game modes including your Best Time, Average Time, and Games Played. • Customize the way you play with tons of settings including Block Duplicates, Show Mistakes, Show All Notes, and more! • Play by choosing a square first or a number first. Any input method works! • Pick up right where you left off, your classic and irregular puzzle progress is saved when you close the app! Upgrade to Premium on iPhone and iPad. You can purchase the Microsoft Sudoku Premium Subscription for $1.99 per Month or $9.99 per Year. Benefits that come with a Premium Subscription include: • Removing advertisements from your game • Play Daily Challenges from previous months NOTE: Premium Subscription grants premium experience on mobile only. It is non-transferrable to other platforms. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account on confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews monthly or annually depending on the subscription type purchased. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period ($1.99 monthly, or $9.99 annually, depending on the subscription type purchased). You can turn off your auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. If auto-renewal is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, you will not be charged for the next period. All cancellations will take effect at the end of the current period. © Microsoft 2025. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Casual Games, the product logos and Sudoku, and the Sudoku logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Acceptance of Microsoft Services Agreement and Privacy Statement are required to play. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement) Microsoft account registration required for cross-platform play. Game offers in-app purchases. Persistent internet connection required. Features, online services and system requirements may vary by country and are subject to change or retirement over time.

About

Decade Duel

Features
Read full description

Think you can name that tune before your friends do? Decade Duel is the neon-lit, real-time music party game where everyone in the room competes to identify songs from original era-accurate synth riffs and trivia clues across the 80s, 90s, and 00s. No accounts, no sign-ups, no hassle. One person hosts and shares a four-letter room code. Everyone else joins instantly from their own phone with just a nickname. In seconds, your whole crew is live — and the competition is on. CHOOSE YOUR ERA Pick the 80s, the 90s, or the 00s — or mix all three and let chaos reign. Up to 20 fast-paced rounds keep the energy high and the pressure building from the very first riff. SPEED IS EVERYTHING Every correct answer scores points, but the faster you buzz in, the more you earn. The live leaderboard updates in real time across every phone in the room, so one hot streak can flip the whole game in an instant. BUILT FOR THE ROOM Decade Duel is designed to be played together, not over the internet. Synchronized rounds mean everyone hears the same original synth riff at the exact same moment — on their own phone, with no lag. It's the kind of game where someone shouts the answer a half-second too late and the whole table erupts. NEON ARCADE VIBES The full 1980s arcade aesthetic wraps every round in bold neon visuals and satisfying haptics. The top three players earn a full confetti podium finish — and an instant rematch option means nobody has to wait long to get their revenge. Grab your squad, pick your era, and find out who really knows their decades. Download Decade Duel — the party starts the second you share the code.

Screenshots

Microsoft Sudoku4 screens
Decade Duel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Decade Duel at none against Microsoft Sudoku's 2. Decade Duel also leads on ads (none vs shown). Microsoft Sudoku's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Microsoft Sudoku sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Decade Duel asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Microsoft Sudoku versus Decade Duel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft SudokuDecade Duel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (7.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings7.5K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size153 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationColin Boland

Bugs and requests

Microsoft Sudoku

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Daily challenge progress not syncing across devices
  • Levels and scores resetting unexpectedly
  • App getting stuck on loading screens
  • Ads hijacking device controls and interrupting background audio

Requested features

5 requests
  • Landscape mode support for tablets
  • More customization options for notes and highlighting
  • Ability to replay past daily challenges
  • Improved undo/redo functionality
  • Autofill or auto-complete options for advanced players

Decade Duel

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Microsoft Sudoku

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
None

Decade Duel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Microsoft Sudoku free?
Microsoft Sudoku is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Decade Duel free?
Decade Duel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Microsoft Sudoku or Decade Duel have ads?
Microsoft Sudoku shows ads; Decade Duel does not.

Other comparisons