Gemdoku

If you’ve not heard of Su Doku by now then you simply don’t read the newspapers.

After modest beginnings on the back of The Times, the addictive Japanese puzzle game has spread out across every newspaper and many magazines in an attempt to obsess the world with its number crunching madness. And its domain isn’t restricted to print media alone, oh no, there’s even a TV show dedicated to it now featuring the lovely Mistress of Mathematics Carol Vorderman and now, thanks to Ikkyou, it’s about to takeover your mobile!

Rather than just copying the newspaper game however, Ikkyou have decided to jazz things up with the addition of coloured gems although at this point it’s hard to see what effect this will have on the game other than visual enhancement.

Of potentially more interest is the unique board generator and solver engine, the former can generate new boards (including the toughest Su Doku puzzle that’s still solvable by logic) whilst the latter offers you the chance to confound fellow commuters and look a bit of a smart arse by entering boards from other sources and solving them instantly!

There are five levels of play on offer from Easy to Impossible, a handy hint function and assistance system which indicates possible values for particular squares and even a ‘plain’ mode which gets rid of the rocks and returns you to the familiarity of numbers.

Perhaps most intriguing though for all you number nerds out there is the rumoured addition of the number crunching femme fatale herself Carol Vorderman, who could be adding her gracious visage and mathematical genius to the project.

All the more reason to check out the website at www.gemdoku.com and don’t forget to tag this tale to ensure you don’t miss our imminent review!