Daily puzzles
Every day there are new puzzles in three games – Sudoku, Number Streets and Futoshiki, three difficulties each, so nine puzzles, the same for everyone. Solve them, time yourself and come back tomorrow. Solve all nine and you earn the daily crown 👑.
You play daily puzzles with your account – that keeps your progress safe across devices and the leaderboards fair.
Action mode & penalty time
Daily puzzles and competitions run in Action mode: every entry is checked immediately. A correct number clicks into place. A wrong one is not written at all – a short shake shows the mistake – and costs penalty time that is added to your solve time.
What does a mistake cost?
- Very easy and Easy (and the kids board): a flat 10 seconds.
- Medium and Hard: the amount depends on how empty the board still is – a mistake on an almost empty board costs more than one close to the finish – and on how many mistakes you have already made.
| Level | Base penalty | Empty board | Half full | Almost full (90%) | From mistake no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 s | always 10 s | – | ||
| Medium | 30 s | 45 s | 30 s | 18 s | 4 (+25% per further mistake, at most double) |
| Hard | 45 s | 68 s | 45 s | 27 s | 3 (+40% per further mistake, at most triple) |
So the first mistakes cost the normal amount (three on Medium, two on Hard), after that it gets more expensive step by step – up to a cap. Values are rounded and apply to Sudoku and Number Streets; for Futoshiki and Towers they are scaled to the shorter solving time so one mistake doesn't weigh disproportionately.
Time-out: long thinking breaks
The clock runs while a puzzle is open – even if you leave the app. Thinking breaks of up to 45 seconds cost nothing: a fine line around the selected cell makes one lap in that time. When it's full, the time-out begins. The first minute per puzzle is free (it counts down next to the clock); after that penalty time grows second by second until you enter something again.
Best times
Under “Your best times” (the card with your level on the start screen) you see your fastest times per game and difficulty – for the week and all time. Every week is a fresh start; the small curve shows your weekly bests: if it falls, you're getting faster.
Beat a best time and you get a little celebration – and your friends see your new all-time best.
XP & levels
You earn XP for every puzzle you solve – harder puzzles give more, dailies and duels a little extra. Your XP only ever goes up: you keep it even when you lose a duel. Levels are endless – each needs a bit more XP than the last (level 1 to 2 takes 120 XP, then 30 more each time).
Your level is separate from your ranking: it shows how much you play, not your place. That's why it has its own hexagon badge. The badge also moves up to a new colour tier every 10 levels.
Board designs & backgrounds
As your level grows you unlock new looks for the 9×9 Sudoku. On the start screen there is the “Board designs” tile: tap a design to preview it – locked ones too – and pick it with “Apply”.
| Design | Unlock |
|---|---|
| Classic | from level 1 |
| Newspaper | from level 3 |
| Wood | from level 6 |
| Watercolour | from level 10 |
| Chalkboard | from level 15 |
| Night neon | from level 22 |
| Gold | from level 30 |
| Pumpkin | Season: 24 October to 3 November |
| Winter | Season: 24 November to 6 January |
Seasonal designs are only available during their season. Outside it your board falls back to “Classic”.
You choose the background (Lines, Aurora, Mesh) in the same sheet – all of them are free for everyone.
Light effects while solving
A finished row, column or box lights up as a wave, a completed digit glows gold, and when you solve the puzzle the cells tip over like dominoes. The Light effects while solving switch is in the same sheet. The effects are purely visual – turning them off is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.