Comparison

Smart Sudoku vs Shark Bridge

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

Head to head
About

Smart Sudoku

This app offers advanced Sudoku solving assistance by identifying complex patterns and providing professional tips to eliminate candidates. It features a unique scoring system based on solution efficiency and allows for quick manual puzzle entry and import.

Highlights
  • Powerful hint system for solving strategies
  • Fast manual puzzle entry
  • Simultaneous multiple square handling
  • Show/hide candidates
  • Innovative efficiency-based scoring
  • Import puzzles from text and internet
  • Unlimited undo/redo
Features
Read full description

Are you familiar with terms like "X-Wing", "2-String Kite", or "Locked Candidates"? If yes, Smart Sudoku is for you. If not, even more so. Unlike most Sudoku apps, Smart Sudoku helps you solve tough puzzles by not simply revealing cell solutions, but by giving you professional tips. It tells you what patterns to look for in order to eliminate candidates. Smart Sudokus' unique scoring system ranks your solution not by the time you spent, but by how efficiently you solved the puzzle. Smart Sudoku comes with hundreds of challenging puzzles built-in. Copying a puzzle from a newspaper is a breeze – think of typing in a few phone numbers. "Excellent. Very simple to enter puzzles from the newspaper. Candidate numbers are displayed, allowing solutions to really tough puzzles to be solved without the laborious job of setting up candidates." (UK user) Features: • Powerful hint system based on the most popular solving strategies • Very fast manual puzzle entry method (typically 40 seconds or less) • Multiple squares may be handled simultaneously • Show or hide candidates anytime while solving the puzzle • Innovative scoring, based on efficiency of solving instead of time spent • Copy/paste puzzles in standard text format, incl. "HoDoKu Library Format" and "Simple Sudoku Format" • Import puzzles from the Internet • Share partially or fully solved puzzles via e-mail • 509 puzzles built-in, from easy to almost unsolvable • Unlimited undo/redo • Built-in user's manual • Landscape mode (iPad, Mac, Vision Pro) Hints Learn how to eliminate candidates by finding standard patterns. Let Smart Sudoku tell you what pattern to look for next. Still stuck? Smart Sudoku can even show you the squares and numbers involved. The affected squares are selected automatically, so eliminating candidates is a snap. Patterns handled by Smart Sudoku include: • Naked and Hidden Singles, Pairs, Triples, Quads, and Quintuples • Locked Candidates Type 1 and 2 • X-Wing • XY-Wing • XYZ-Wing • W-Wing • Skyscraper • 2-String Kite • Swordfish • Jellyfish • Empty Rectangle • Unique Rectangle Type 1 and 2 Input checking After copying a printed puzzle, Smart Sudoku will tell you whether the puzzle has a unique solution or not (usually caused by a typo or missing number.) Efficient solving Smart Sudoku helps you solve Sudokus in a professional way. Never add candidates, only remove them, even from multiple squares in one step. Should you ever get stuck (and no hints are available), let Smart Sudoku solve any square you wish. Or all squares for a given number. Or even the entire puzzle. Novel scoring method Unlike many Sudoku apps, Smart Sudoku rates your efficiency in solving a puzzle, not how quickly you do it. Solve one square at a time and your score will remain at zero. Solve as many squares as possible for a given number simultaneously and watch the progress bar grow. To get the maximum of 1000 points requires you to finish each number in a single step. The current score is shown in the title. Share puzzles Send an e-mail of a puzzle at any stage to your friends. If partially or fully solved, they'll also get the original puzzle. And, of course, they'll see your score, even a message about your making use of candidates. Recipients may paste the puzzle into their own copy of Smart Sudoku. Puzzles from the Internet Smart Sudoku supports the well-established text format for Sudokus (a string of 81 digits and decimal points), as well as export formats used by programs like HoDoKu and Simple Sudoku, giving you access to thousands of puzzles available on the Internet. Just download the text strings and paste them into Smart Sudoku.

About

Shark Bridge

Learn and play the card game of bridge with an AI opponent that adjusts to your skill level. Offers unlimited hands, duplicate games, and tournament play, with options for offline or online play. Analyze past competitions and share hands with friends.

Highlights
  • Adjustable AI difficulty
  • Unlimited hands
  • Duplicate bridge games
  • Daily tournaments
  • Offline and online play
  • Hand analysis
  • Import/export hands
Features
Read full description

Shark's 5th generation robot can be adjusted from an excellent beginner to a full-scale AI expert player. Shark Bridge offers unlimited hands, duplicate bridge games, and Daily Tournament with MP (%) scoring. Play bridge with friends or practice on your own. Study the hands of your bridge teacher. Play deals online from your library, classroom hands, and generator You can play and review boards with the complete auction and play details from International, North American, and European competitions. Internet is not required, except for Daily Tournaments and the Online Bridge Club. Shark Bridge won the 2014 and 2011 World Bridge Computer Championships. You can email hands to your partner or other bridge friends for discussion if they have Shark or another bridge app capable of opening PBN/LIN files. Share the fun! You can also import bridge deals from your computer disk or the Internet. Shark Bridge features: - Bidding systems: Standard American 5 card major( SAYC or Shark flavor), 2/1 Game Force, Std English Acol (in development) bidding systems. - Duplicate bridge game. - Bridge tournament boards. - Play bridge offline ( no Internet ) or live on the Internet with your friends and foes. - Never wait for a bridge table to fill in; our high-quality robot will play bridge when needed. - Hints and auction analysis are available at any time. Ask the Shark Bridge, and it will help. - Get suggestions when the declarer is on the lead to a trick; Shark will recommend a play strategy. - Open PBN (Portable Bridge Notation) and LIN ( VU-Graph) files from your email. - Choose from regular and 4-color card decks. Bridge Enthusiast In-App purchase ($29.99) upgrade offers: - Play an unlimited number of random deals. - 9 WBF, ACBL, and European bridge tournaments from 2014,2013,2011. - Email bridge hands from your Personal Deal Library. - Basic Online Bridge Play: create, join, and kibitz at any table. - Deal Analysis. - One year free VIP subscription. VIP subscription ($34.99/year) unlocks additional features and services: - Daily tournament with 16 boards; compare your skill with the rest of our VIP members. Study the deals from past competitions. - 32 WBF, ACBL, and European bridge tournaments in recent years, including 2016. More are in the works. - VIP online play: create, join, and kibitz at any table, manage friends, block players, invite players. - Par Contract Calculator. - Personal Deal Library: all saved deals are instantly available to all of your devices. - Advanced Deal Generator. - Classroom hands - Access to The CommonGame hands, via the Classroom hands module - Highest priority for feature requests. Bridge Bidding Systems: Standard American 5-card major( SAYC or Shark flavor), 2/1 Game Force, Acol, and Swedish 5-card major bidding systems, and more are in the works. Each bridge system includes the most popular conventions, and you can further customize it with : 1NT / 2NT range and hand distribution options Gambling 3NT or strong 25+ HCP 3NT Stayman Jacoby and Texas Transfers Weak two Spades, Hearts, Diamonds Strong 2 Clubs Blackwood: 4 Aces / 5 Aces, RKCB, RKC 1430, Exclusion Blackwood Jacoby 2NT Sandwich 2NT Two-way new minor forcing (XY-NT) Leaping Michaels Michaels Cue Bid Maximum Overcall Double Negative Doubles Takeout Doubles Responsive Doubles Support Double Splinter Bids Lebensohl Unusual 2NT Drury DONT Landy Multi Landi BPH The Shark Play bridge engine was designed and programmed by John Norris, an international bridge master and Danish Bridge Champion. Shark robot is the most human-like playing bot; it has been tested against professional players and proved a worthy opponent.

Screenshots

Smart Sudoku4 screens
Shark Bridge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Shark Bridge at Free against Smart Sudoku's $0.99. Shark Bridge also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 3). Smart Sudoku's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Shark Bridge is free to download; Smart Sudoku costs $0.99 up front. Shark Bridge sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Smart Sudoku asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smart Sudoku holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shark Bridge has 1.2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Smart Sudoku's written reviews are positive against 73% of Shark Bridge's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Sudoku ships an update every 9 months, Shark Bridge every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Smart Sudoku versus Shark Bridge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart SudokuShark Bridge
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.6 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews73.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings31.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB164 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCuVee SoftwareThe Shark Bridge Company Inc

Customer experience

Smart Sudoku

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

Shark Bridge

All ratings1,159 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral10.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Smart Sudoku

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Shark Bridge

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • iPad app keeps quitting when saving hands
  • Identical daily hands repeated

Requested features

3 requests
  • Help files for analysis interruption and interpretation
  • Option for standard North American carding
  • Show lead card on results page

In-app purchases

None

Smart Sudoku

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Shark Bridge

One-time2
  • Bridge Enthusiast$29.99
  • Yearly VIP subscription$34.99

Questions

Is Smart Sudoku free?
Smart Sudoku costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shark Bridge free?
Shark Bridge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Sudoku or Shark Bridge?
Smart Sudoku is rated higher. Smart Sudoku averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Shark Bridge averages 4.6 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Smart Sudoku or Shark Bridge have ads?
Neither Smart Sudoku nor Shark Bridge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Sudoku or Shark Bridge?
Smart Sudoku ships an update every 9 months, and Shark Bridge every 2 weeks. Most recently, Smart Sudoku was updated on October 20, 2026 and Shark Bridge on October 25, 2026.

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