Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#1

Post by joelalcedo » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 3:23 PM UTC

Hello HN,

I've created a new Sudoku app for iOS and Android that prioritizes simplicity and privacy. It's free to download and use, and I'd be grateful for any feedback or suggestions.

Features:

> 4 difficulty levels, accessible at any time

> No personal data collection of any kind

> Clean, minimalistic design that focuses on the game

> Takes up significantly less space than other popular apps (by a factor of about 10x)

> Minimal use of advertisements

I was frustrated by how many of the popular Sudoku apps feel excessively over-engineered, consume a lot of storage space and some that even collect unnecessary personal information, like location and contacts. So I put this app together without any of those things (using flutter).

Links:

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/sudoku-puzzle-palace/id1668683822

android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kingfisher...

Here's a screenshot of the main app page: https://imgur.com/a/FbCf2IJ

Thanks for taking a look and happy solving!

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#2

Post by y-curious » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:35 PM UTC

I play sudoku daily and will give it a DL. That being said, I already see a big gripe from the screenshots: No pencil tool. At higher levels, it's critical. Will report back :)

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#3

Post by paranoidxprod » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:36 PM UTC

Really like the look of this based off images. Just downloaded on iOS and going to give it a try during my lunch. I've pretty much refused to play Sudoku on my phone due to the reasons you've listed. They all seem to have either massively intrusive ads, or they are ridiculously over designed. I'm looking forward to trying this out!

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#4

Post by y-curious » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:41 PM UTC

y-curious wrote: post #2

I play sudoku daily and will give it a DL. That being said, I already see a big gripe from the screenshots: No pencil tool. At higher levels, it's critical. Will report back :)

Yes: No pencil tool, no active checking. Also, you should trickle free hints at people instead of forcing an ad click, that's how you get 'em.

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#5

Post by Melkor765 » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:42 PM UTC

For anyone looking for a great open source Sudoku app with no ads: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.moire.open...

This looks great but I was sad to see advertisements and consider that a bell if not a whistle. I would pay a few bucks for this if it could match the features of the above with this clean visual style.

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#6

Post by joelalcedo » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:47 PM UTC

Melkor765 wrote: post #5

For anyone looking for a great open source Sudoku app with no ads: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.moire.open... This looks great but I was sad to see advertisements and consider that a bell if not a whistle. I would pay a few bucks for this if it could match the features of the above with this clean visual style.

Hey, thanks for that! I can implement some type of feature for people who want to get rid of ads altogether for a buck or two. Appreciate the suggestion.

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#7

Post by joelalcedo » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:48 PM UTC

y-curious wrote: post #4

y-curious wrote: post #2

I play sudoku daily and will give it a DL. That being said, I already see a big gripe from the screenshots: No pencil tool. At higher levels, it's critical. Will report back :)

Yes: No pencil tool, no active checking. Also, you should trickle free hints at people instead of forcing an ad click, that's how you get 'em.

Thanks! A pencil tool should be straightforward to add. Do people usually use a stylus for these purposes? Someone else mentioned the ads, I can easily embed some mechanism to remove them.

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#8

Post by joelalcedo » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:49 PM UTC

paranoidxprod wrote: post #3

Really like the look of this based off images. Just downloaded on iOS and going to give it a try during my lunch. I've pretty much refused to play Sudoku on my phone due to the reasons you've listed. They all seem to have either massively intrusive ads, or they are ridiculously over designed. I'm looking forward to trying this out!

Thanks! A couple people on here have mentioned they like their gameplay to come with 0 advertising so I will remove ads altogether as a feature. Would love to hear how the gameplay went and if you have any suggestions.

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#9

Post by paranoidxprod » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:53 PM UTC

joelalcedo wrote: post #8

paranoidxprod wrote: post #3

Really like the look of this based off images. Just downloaded on iOS and going to give it a try during my lunch. I've pretty much refused to play Sudoku on my phone due to the reasons you've listed. They all seem to have either massively intrusive ads, or they are ridiculously over designed. I'm looking forward to trying this out!

Thanks! A couple people on here have mentioned they like their gameplay to come with 0 advertising so I will remove ads altogether as a feature. Would love to hear how the gameplay went and if you have any suggestions.

Personally, the banner ads at the bottom of the screen and ads for hints don't bother me at all. Most apps I find seem to have a system where you have to watch an ad after completing a puzzle or when you make a few incorrect guesses, which bother me. I do always appreciate when apps have an option to turn of ads for a buck or two so I'm sure others would appreciate that too. I'll be sure to check back in once I get a chance to play through a full game!

Re: Show HN: Sudoku with 0 Bells or Whistles

#10

Post by y-curious » Wed, Feb 01, 2023, 4:56 PM UTC

joelalcedo wrote: post #7

y-curious wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes: No pencil tool, no active checking. Also, you should trickle free hints at people instead of forcing an ad click, that's how you get 'em.

Thanks! A pencil tool should be straightforward to add. Do people usually use a stylus for these purposes? Someone else mentioned the ads, I can easily embed some mechanism to remove them.

You can keep ads, but the sudoku app I use gives you a few hints for free, first.

Pencil tool is usually a toggle- you default to `pen` but toggle `pencil` mode to fill them out. Look at the top android sudoku app's implementation, it's slick.