Woodoku for iPhone

Tetris meets Sudoku in this free game

Woodoku is a free puzzle mobile video game that lets you play with both blocks and grids. Developed by Tripledot Studios Limited, this quirky puzzle app is basically a wooden block game fused with a Sudoku grid—as its unique name implies. Unlike most puzzle games, this one doesn’t pressure you into solving it. You can take your time in laying out your blocks to win the most points.

A different kind of challenge

Sudoku is a popular logic-based combinatorial number-placement puzzle that’s beloved all over the world, regardless of whether you like math or not. The objective in classic Sudoku is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 subgrids that compose the grid contain all of the digits from 1 to 9. Don’t worry, though, as you won’t be needing the numbers in Woodoku.

Instead of 1 to 9, you have to fill up the subgrids with differently-shaped blocks quite reminiscent of Tetris. When you start, the game will give you three random blocks. You can place these wherever on the empty grid. You will only get a new batch of blocks after you put all three. You can keep placing blocks for as long as there’s enough space for them.

The goal is to keep earning points for every completed column, row, and 3×3 subgrid. These completed blocks will disappear just like in Tetris, allowing you to continue putting blocks, so you have to be careful in positioning them. Other than this gameplay, you can also do the daily gem challenges, wherein you have to claim bejeweled blocks to win. However, there are no other modes available. 

More about relaxing

All in all, Woodoku is a nice change of pace from Sudoku games since you simply have to deal with shapes rather than making sure each number is in the right place. The game’s overall aesthetic is calming, with its simple interface and satisfying sound effects. While there are ads, this is still a hassle-free game that you can play offline.