Hexlands vs Detective Sudoku
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hexlands
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Hexlands is a tile-laying strategy game where every match paints a new world. Draw hex tiles one by one, fit them into a growing map of forests, rivers, villages, and cities — then deploy your meeples to score the features you complete. Features: *Fast-paced multiplayer: play with friends in real time *Single-player mode against the game's logic engine *50+ unique hex tiles with rich hand-drawn terrain *Strategic meeple placement: roads, cities, chapels, and fields *Special overlay tiles that destroy tiles or remove meeples — shift the balance late game* *Clean SwiftUI + SpriteKit rendering, built natively for iOS and iPad *Tap to Voice Chat How to play: Place a tile so its edges match neighbors. Optionally place a meeple on a road, city, or chapel. Complete features to score points and return meeples to your hand. Simple rules. Deep choices. A new map every time. Terms of Use: https://hexlandsgame.com/terms.html
Detective Sudoku
Engage in a murder mystery where you solve puzzles by deducing the placement of characters based on their true statements. Use logic to identify the murderer and solve cases, with new daily challenges and themed folders.
- Sudoku-style deduction gameplay
- Murder mystery theme
- Daily new cases
- Themed case folders
- Offline play
- Hint system
- Automatic saving
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A murder has happened. Everyone is a suspect — and the board is the crime scene. Detective Sudoku turns sudoku-style deduction into a murder mystery. Place every character on the grid so all of their statements hold true. Each row and each column holds exactly one person. When only one suspect shares a room with the victim, you have found the murderer. HOW TO PLAY • Read each suspect's clue — "north of the plant", "beside the bed", "alone in the kitchen". Every clue is true. • Rooms, walls and furniture all matter. "Beside" never crosses a wall. • Rule out squares with crosses, pencil in possibilities with notes. • Place the last suspect and close the case. FEATURES • The Daily Case — one new mystery every day, the same for everyone • 150+ cases in themed case folders, from easy to hard • Score and star ratings on every solved case • Hints that nudge your reasoning, and reveals for when you are truly stuck — your supply refills every day you open the app • Automatic save — leave anytime, resume exactly where you were • Fully offline — solve cases anywhere, no internet needed • Available in 23 languages No numbers, no guessing — just pure deduction. Can you close every case?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Detective Sudoku at none against Hexlands's shown. Hexlands's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, 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
Both are free to download. Hexlands sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Detective Sudoku sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Hexlands ships an update every 11 days, Detective Sudoku every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hexlands | Detective Sudoku |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.9 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | David Lai | Pixelated Development |
In-app purchases
Hexlands
- Hexlands Creator7 Days trial$1.991 Month
Detective Sudoku
- Pocket Clues$2.99
- Detective Case$5.99
- Treasure Chest$9.99
Questions
Is Hexlands free?
Is Detective Sudoku free?
Do Hexlands or Detective Sudoku have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hexlands or Detective Sudoku?
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