The object of Sudoku is to fill in the 9x9 grid so that each row, each column, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits 1 through 9.
Controls
Use the keys on your Smartphone to navigate the Sudoku grid and enter digits.
D-Pad
The D-Pad is the 4-way directional pad or joystick on your mobile device.
- Press a direction on the D-Pad to change the selected cell.
- Pressing and holding a direction on the D-Pad will cause the selection to move until it stops at the edge of the grid.
Release the key and press it again to move (wrap around) to the opposite edge of the grid.
Digit keys
The digit keys are the 0 through 9 keys normally used for dialing.
On some devices, you may have to enable the number lock mode on the keyboard to enter digits.
Action key
The Action key is the center button on the 4-way directional pad or joystick.
- Press the Action key to toggle between pen and pencil mode.
- In pencil mode, a small triangle will appear in the upper left of the selected cell.
- The current mode is saved when you exit the game.
Pen mode
- Press a non-zero digit key (1 through 9) to enter a pen mark (answer) in the selected cell.
- Press the 0 key to clear the selected cell.
Pencil mode
- Press a non-zero digit key (1 through 9) to toggle a pencil mark (candidate) in the selected cell.
- Press the 0 key to clear the selected cell.
- Press and hold a non-zero digit key to enter a pen mark in the selected cell. You
don't need to constantly switch between pen and pencil modes if you use this feature.
- Press and hold the 0 key to clear illegal pencil marks from the selected cell. If
only one valid pencil mark remains, it will be promoted to a pen mark.
Undo
- Press the Back key (it usually has a left-arrow printed on it) to undo the last operation.
Some devices do not have a Back key. On these devices, choose "Assistance, Undo" from the menu to undo the last operation.
Statistics
- Press the left softkey to display the current puzzle pack name, the current puzzle name, the level of the current puzzle, and the time spent solving the puzzle.
- The timer automatically pauses when you switch to another application.
Press the right softkey to access the main menu and choose one of the following items.
New
- Starts the next puzzle in the puzzle pack.
Restart
- Restarts the current puzzle.
Open...
- Enters the "Open Puzzle Pack" dialog.
- Choose a puzzle pack from the list, and select "Open" to open the puzzle pack.
- Select "Reset" from the menu to restart the selected puzzle pack.
- Select "Cancel" to continue playing the current puzzle pack.
Create
- Clears the grid and allows you to manually enter a new puzzle.
- Press the number keys (1-9) to enter digits into the puzzle.
- Choose "Play" to play the puzzle.
Undo
- Choose this menu item to undo the last operation.
Assistance, Undo Mode
Allows you to selectively undo and replay moves for the current puzzle.
- Use the left and right directional keys to undo and redo moves, respectively.
- Use the "Up" key to move to the previous bookmark, then the first move.
- Use the "Down" key to move to the next bookmark, then to the last move.
Assistance, Set Bookmark
- Saves the state of the current puzzle so you can return to it later.
Bookmarks are not saved when you exit the game.
Assistance, Goto Bookmark
- Returns to the last set bookmark.
Assistance, Set Candidates
- Calculates and enters all legal pencil mark values for the current puzzle.
Assistance, Clear Candidates
- Removes all pencil mark values from the current puzzle.
Assistance, Highlight Candidates
- Highlights cells that contain the selected candidate (pencil mark).
- Select the candidate to highlight by pressing a digit key (1 through 9), or by using the Up and Down keys.
- Press the Action key to stop highlighting.
Assistance, Highlight sets
- Highlights cells that contain the selected number of candidates (pencil marks).
- Select the number of candidates to highlight by pressing a digit key, or by using the Up and Down keys.
- Press the Action key to stop highlighting.
About
Displays information about the installed version of Smoresoft Sudoku.
Exit
Exits the game.
Game Options
Choose this item to enter the game options dialog.
Illegal moves
An illegal move is a digit in a row, column, or 3x3 box that already contains
that digit. Remember, the rules of Sudoku allow only one of each digit (1 through 9)
in every row, column, and 3x3 box.
Note that an illegal move is different than an incorrect move, which is
an incorrect answer (one that does not match the solution) in a cell.
- Select "Allow" to allow illegal moves.
- Select "Flag" to display illegal moves in a different color (usually red).
Assistance level
Use this option to select the level of automated assistance provided by the game.
- None: No assistance.
- Flag Illegal pencil marks: Display illegal pencil marks using a different color.
- Auto pencil marks: Automatically update pencil marks by removing illegal pencil marks after each answer is entered.
- Auto-play singles: Automatically updates pencil marks and plays forced moves (cells with only one remaining pencil mark) after each answer is entered.
Pencil mark style
Use this option to change the way that pencil marks are displayed on the grid.
- Squares Displays pencil marks as squares in position in each cell (1 is a square in the upper left corner of the cell, and 9 is a square in the lower right corner of the cell).
- Circles: Circles instead of squares.
- Digits (in position): Displays pencil marks as digits in position in each cell.
- Digits (in order): Displays two rows of pencil marks in increasing order from left to right in each cell.
Keypad navigation
Use this option to change the way you navigate around the grid.
- When this option is selected, use the number keys to move the current selection in the grid (2=up, 4=left; 6=right; 8=down).
- To enter a digit, press "5". The next keypress (and only the next keypress) will be treated as a normal pen or pencil entry.
Display Options
Choose this item to view and modify settings that affect the appearance of the game.
Theme
- Select a theme from the list to apply it.
- A theme may change the background image and colors of the grid.
Background image
- Choose a background image for the grid.
- Select "(Default)" to use the background image from the current theme.
- Select "(None)" to remove the background image.
Use full screen
- Selecting this option removes the title bar and the menu bar from the top and bottom of the display, allowing the grid to expand to the largest size possible.
- The softkeys activate the menus as usual.
Backlight always on
- On supported devices, this option keeps the backlight on while the grid is visible.
- If you display the puzzle statistics or switch to another application, the backlight will timeout as usual.
Shortcut keys
- Press "*" to highlight candidates (Assistance, Highlight Candidates)
- Press and hold the Back key to enter undo mode (Assistance, Undo Mode)
- In pencil mode, press and hold a number key (1-9) to enter a pen mark in the selected cell.
- In pencil mode, press and hold the 0 key to clear illegal pencil marks from the
selected cell. If only one valid pencil mark remains, it will be promoted to a pen mark.