Sudoku ′

I’ve used this exact Sudoku game for years. Of all the Sudoku puzzles I’ve seen and tried, it was, hands down, the best. I upgraded to iPadOS 18.3 today and the game wouldn’t open up on my iPad. No warning; it just wouldn’t open. I went to the App Store and found it, but it said “Get” instead of the usual cloud. I got a bad feeling about that. I hoped something happened as a result of updating the iPadOS, and I could just reload the game. But nope, now it’s a paid/ad-based game. I know it’s the same one I had been using. The icon is exactly the same and it plays the same as the one I had. It was the ONLY game I had that was still completely free. Free to play and free to play without the ridiculously LOUD ads that pop up without warning. It’s SUCH a shame because this was one of the few games out there that hadn’t stooped to making us pay for a game that’s been out there for the better part of a decade. That’s unconscionable as far as I’m concerned. I’m SO disappointed that I could scream. In fact, I just did. It didn’t help. A pox upon the developers of this game and any others that used to be free and ad free. May you go broke and become destitute because of this.

I have loved this game for several years and purchased it. I play it almost every day, play through all levels of difficulty before I end for the night. It’s always been an excellent game. So much better than really any other out there because it is like doing a sudoku on paper. I’m concerned because this week, it appeared as it my app received an update. It looks very different in appearance than before. The standard of play is also different and more awkward. When I went into the Apple App Store to read about the updates or to try to refresh the app, I was able to open the older app. However, I cannot download the original app to my home screen. I am only able to use in from within the Apple App Store. This is the app I originally purchased and want to use. Not only is the new one glitchy, it has commercials after every play. I paid so that I wouldn’t have to experience this. How can I change my settings to go back to the other version? Please respond. Thank you.

For speed, I set the game to “numbers first” mode. But when I select the pencil, to input notes, it switches back to “squares first” mode. But that’s not the worst of it. When I am entering the same number in several squares, one after the other, if I tap on a square that has notes in it, the game goes into notes mode, instead of entering the selected number in the square. So I have to go back and tap on the selected number. Then it’s in the wrong mode again. This really slows down game play. This game is supposed to be a challenge. But the biggest challenge is trying to figure out which mode the game is going to switch into next and when it’s going to do it. When you select numbers first mode, it should stay in that mode until you tell it otherwise. I played 2/3 of the way through a diabolical level game in 10 minutes and spent five minutes of that time trying to get the game back into the correct mode. I should have been through with the game in that time. The only reason I didn’t rate this game 1-star is because it has some of the least obtrusive ads I’ve come across in a Sudoku game. But if the game doesn’t work in a reliable and logical manner, then placement of the ads is immaterial. I think that the developer was trying to show off his skills and forgot the cardinal rule in developing any app. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid. Too bad… I’m deleting this app when I finish writing this review.