In states and European countries, Sudoku went viral because of daily and weekly magazines published around the country. In Asian countries, people came to know about Sudoku from mobile phones. The 9×9 grid of Sudoku asked the players to complete nine sub-diagonals of 3×3. In each 3×3, players had to fill up numbers from 1 to 9. This game helped people get over boredom and do some simple mathematics to solve the puzzle by ordering numbers correctly. For decades, magazines have been publishing Sudoku, and people have kept solving puzzles weekly. Due to the craze of Sudoku, we have reviewed the best games like Sudoku in 2022 that you will love you play.
After solving similar problems regularly, people’s mind requires either extra challenging sudoku puzzles or other appealing alternatives similar to Sudoku. Therefore, I have compiled a list of 20 games that resemble Sudoku in shape, objective, numbering, and problem-solving approaches. These similar number puzzle games like Sudoku are easy to learn because of your Sudoku experience and are more challenging to keep your interest in the game.
Number Puzzles/Games like Sudoku
Let’s explore each of these extremely interesting alternatives to Sudoku.
Also Read; Games Like Uno in 2022
Blockudoku – Puzzles Like Sudoku
Blockudoku is a puzzle game resembling Sudoku in 9×9 diagonal and nine sub diagonals of 3×3. The player is supposed to scrape puzzle pieces shown under the 9×9 diagonal. Then, using the suggested puzzle piece, the player needs to place it somewhere inside the diagonal in such a way that a row gets completed. Once a row gets completed, it will fade away from the screen, giving you the points you deserve. Under the 9×9 diagonal, you will have three shapes or puzzles for one round. To earn more points, you must use these shapes to eliminate as many rows as possible.
Once you understand the concept and achieve high scores by implementing the learned concepts, you will always want to break your previous highest score. You are making streaks that can help you break these records. For example, you will earn the highest points by successively making more than two row-eliminating moves. You do not have to wait for the best block to come inside the suggestion box. Use your mind to eliminate rows or columns with the help of given shapes.
7 Little Words- Games Similar to Sudoku 2022
This game resembles Sudoku in using your mind to guess an English word from the given piece of information. Each puzzle you play on a daily basis will ask you to find seven hidden words, while the interface will also give you seven clues. There will be around twenty sub-word groups taken from seven complete words. As the game can be very tricky, there is no time limit. The primary purpose of this game is to test your spelling knowledge and increase your capability to create words from sub-words.
According to the given clues, you can select multiple sub-words to create a complete word. Once you have completed the word, you click on the guess button, and the guess button will turn green if your word was valid according to the given clues. If your guess is wrong, the guess button will be red. After guessing one word correctly, you can shuffle the suggestions using the Shuffle button. You can move on to more grids after completing one challenge. If the task is difficult, you can complete it anytime in the day.
Masyu – Sudoku Like Puzzles
Masyu has a rectangular grid similar to Sudoku, but instead of numbers, black and white circles are available in the grid. The main objective of this game is to go through all the given circles to create one single loop under the light of different sets of rules. Two of the most straightforward rules include;
- You have to go straight through the white circles
- Crossing a black circle means you should diverge from the straight path
When you are creating a loop, make sure that the loop should turn into any neighbor cell while going through white circles. You can also turn it in both neighboring cells. While going through the black circles, you have to ensure that the loop does not go through any neighboring cells. Going through the black circle, make sure the loop covers at least two steps after diverging. As you have to create a loop, no branch line or crossing is allowed to achieve the goal. The only acceptable solution is to create one single loop with the given set of rules.
2048 – Number Game Like Sudoku
2048 is a pretty popular and best game like Sudoku in 2022. Also, 2048 is one of those similar games to Sudoku, which comes up with a grid and some numbers. The most straightforward interface of the 2048 game includes a big diagonal with two starting numbers, an option to restart the game, a block to show the game’s current score, and a block to show your highest score in 2048. As the game starts, you have to keep the biggest number at the bottom left corner. Then, all you need to do is to move the number that keeps appearing inside the grid after each move.
The fundamental rule is that you can only join two equal numbers. Joining numbers means multiplying them. You can only join and multiply numbers by moving them row-wise or column-wise. You are not allowed to move a number diagonally. If there is no way to join & multiply numbers, you can move back and forth to ask the grid to add more numbers. With every move, your total score of the game gets updated, and you have to beat the given number, which is 2048.
Threes
Threes is a slightly tricky game to play, and you need to keep playing it to learn the basics and be a king of Threes. Before I define the rules, you need to know the game’s interface. You will see a grid(4×4) having 16 cells while some of the cells will be empty and some will have different numbers. The basic rule is that you can merge 1 with 2 to make it 3, 3 with 3 to make it 6, and 6 with 6 to make it 12. A basic mathematical formula takes care of your score in the game, which gets updated after every move. You need to swipe numbers to merge and add. Swiping numbers will also bring new numbers to let you keep going.
The Undo button is unavailable in this game, so swipe the numbers wisely. Similar to 2048, you can only swipe numbers row-wise or column-wise. Swiping diagonally is not allowed here. Keep merging the recently appeared numbers according to the rules defined and become a pro in Threes.
Nurikabe – Number Games Like Sudoku
Nurikabe is a number game like Sudoku, with one rectangular grid without sub-grids. Similar to Sudoku, some cells in the grid of Nurikabe have pre-determined numbers. The rest of the cells are white/empty. The main objective of this exciting game is to evaluate which cells are black and which of them are white. You will have to find white & black cells with some set of rules. Before I move on to the rules, keep in mind that the cells with numbers are always white.
White areas in the solved puzzle are called islands, while each island should have at least one number. The number involved in the island shows the number of cells included on that island. The islands are not allowed to touch each other. Instead, you should create a group of all black cells, and the group should be named a stream. The stream should not have a 2×2 block anywhere in the grid.
Killer Sudoku – Japanese Number Puzzles
As the name suggests, killer sudoku is a true alternative to simple Sudoku, having a grid layout similar to the original game. There are nine rows and nine columns with 9-subgrids. The main objective in this game is also the same. You have to fill up each grid with numbers one to nine with some specific set of rules. The difference comes when each grid is divided into cages. The dotted lines clearly define the cages when you see the interface for the first time.
Each cage will have a number pre-written, which defines that the total of the numbers in that cage should equal the pre-written number. This rule makes things slightly easier because you can go for guessing the numbers. However, there is one more rule you have to follow to process the puzzle. Each cage must contain unique numbers. Summing up those numbers in a single cage should equal the pre-written number in that cage. That is how you solve the whole puzzle.
Futoshiki – Math Games Like Sudoku
A square grid is given with four rows and four columns. Each row has four blocks. When you start the game, you will see that some blocks already have a number written. The main objective of Futoshiki is to fill up all the blocks with some numbers according to the rules I will describe here. Filling up the numbers in the grid is similar to Sudoku. Like killer sudoku, duplicates are not allowed in any given row. Similarly, there should not be any repetition of numbers in any column.
Besides filling, there are some greater-than & less-than signs given between blocks. These signs ask you to fill the blocks according to the inequality sign. Futoshiki is the most straightforward game to solve, yet the rules make the game more and more enjoyable. Unfortunately, the more you play, the more difficult it becomes to crack the puzzle.
SudoCube – Sudoku Type Games
SudoCube has precisely the same grid as Sudoku, but in this game, you play with shapes instead of numbers. Besides a 9×9 grid, you will have options of using three different shapes to play the game. Once you use all three suggested shapes, three newer ones appear instead of the ones used. Keep in mind that the suggested shapes will always have three boxes. With the help of given shapes, you must completely fill up sub-grids or squares of 3×3. Once a square gets completed with the proper gameplay, the square turns complete White.
The game is simple, and you will enjoy filling up the boxes to solve puzzles. Moreover, if you have already played Sudoku, you won’t find it challenging to get through the basics of SudoCube.
Numbers Addict – Number Puzzles Like Sudoku
Numbers addict is another time-killing game that is slightly tricky yet interesting enough to pass your free time. In this game, you will have the option of placing numbers inside bubbles. You can choose a column of your own choice. When you start the game, you will have numbers from 1 to 5. You need to join bubbles to add the numbers available in those bubbles.
For example, number 1 will stay on the screen as long as you do not merge it with any other number. Once you join 1 with any other bubble, two of 2s, three of the 3s, and four of the 4s available on the screen will disappear. The game is over as soon as your bubbles reach the top and touch the boundary line.
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Conclusion
Sudoku has helped millions of people kill their free time, but people usually get bored after playing it too much. So they always need interesting replicates of Sudoku. Recognizing the demand of users on the internet, I played around two dozen games like Sudoku and enlisted ten best number puzzle games similar to Sudoku. Each game has its own set of rules which make it enjoyable and slightly tricky. If you have played Sudoku a lot, you can become king of any of these enlisted games.