How to play

LAUNCHING THE GAME

In the Apps Menu, highlight "Sudoku" and press OK to load the game. The EA splash screens appear first, followed by the Sudoku main menu.

SETTING UP YOUR GAME

From the Sudoku main menu, highlight menu options by using the Up/Down arrows on the direction pad. To activate an option, highlight the option in the menu and press Select. There are eight options on the Sudoku main menu:

Regular Grids - Opens the Difficulty menu. Use the Up/Down arrows or the keypad to highlight Basic, Easy, Medium, Hard or Insane (when unlocked) and press Select to set the difficulty level.

Newspaper Grid - Opens the Editor screen. Copy a Sudoku grid from another source, or create a grid on your own. Press Done to verify that the grid has only one correct solution.

Statistics - Opens the Statistics screen.

JAMDAT Sudoku tracks the following four statistics:

• Completed Grids - The total number of Regular grids you completed successfully.
• Logic Points - The total number of Logic Points earned.
• Time Played - The total amount of time playing JAMDAT Sudoku in all game modes.
• Grade - The current grade corresponding to the total number of Logic Points earned.

Press the pound (#) key to erase all statistics and saved games, and start over as a Blue Sudoka.

Options - Opens the Options menu. Highlight an option in the list and press Select to change its value. Eight options are available:

• Show Errors - Turn the Show Errors feature on or off.
• Skin - Set the grid layout to Square, Circle or Classic.
• Color - Set the game color to one of the color schemes unlocked by the player.
• Pencil - Set the cell annotation system to Numeric or Dot.
• Music - Turn the game music on or off.
• Sound FX - Turn the sound effects on or off.
• Tutorial - Turn the tutorial screen on or off. The tutorial screens appear at the start of each game and describes the goals and controls.
• Vibration - Turn the vibration feature on or off.

Help - Opens the Help section.

About - Displays copyright and development information.

More Games - View information about more great games from EA.

Exit - Exit JAMDAT Sudoku.

Basic Rules

In Sudoku, players fill in every cell of a 9x9 grid in such a way that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains one instance of the numbers 1 to 9. There are no duplications.

Every Sudoku grid begins with a certain amount of pre-placed numbers, called "givens," that help you solve the puzzle. The givens cannot be changed.

After you finish the grid, you are told if you entered the correct solution. If you made errors, you can correct them, but the game finishes once you complete your corrections. You are not warned about new mistakes.

Grid Annotations

You can annotate your Sudoku grid by entering a list of candidate numbers for any given cell. Press the Pen/Pencil key to enter Pencil mode, and write up to 6 candidate numbers in the cell.

Candidates can be written as numerals, or as dots corresponding to the number keys on your keypad. You can select the annotation style from the Options menu.

Grid Helpers

JAMDAT Sudoku offers four kinds of grid helpers to assist you in solving a grid:

• Area Shade - When you select a cell, the row, column and 3x3 box containing that cell is highlighted.
• Number Shade - Press the asterisk (*) key to highlight every cell containing the number of the currently selected cell. Further key presses from this cell or key presses from an empty cell highlight all numbers on the grid in sequence.
• Show Errors - When the Show Errors option is turned on, incorrect cell entries are immediately highlighted. Each error revealed by this feature reduces the point value of the grid.
• Cell Hint - Press the pound (#) key to highlight one of the cells in the Sudoku grid that is solvable, given your current entries. Each Cell Hint reduces the point value of the grid.

Creating New Grids

To create new grids in JAMDAT Sudoku, select "Newspaper Grid" from the Main menu and press Select.

The editor tutorial screen appears. Press Next.

The Editor screen appears. Use the D-pad to move the cursor, and press the 1-9 keys to enter the givens for the grid. Press 0 to clear a cell, and press the pound (#) to clear the entire grid.

You must enter at least 22 givens for the grid.

Once you have entered the givens, press Done. JAMDAT Sudoku validates the grid to ensure that there is only a single correct solution to the grid.

When the grid is validated, you can play the grid.

Logic Points

Logic points are earned by correctly solving Sudoku grids in Regular Grids mode. The base value of each grid depends on the difficulty level. Errors made while the Show Errors option is active, and cell hints reduce the final value of the grid.

As you accumulate Logic Points, you earn additional Sudoku grades and unlock new color schemes.

Sudoku Grades

There are seven different Sudoku grades. Each grade unlocks a new color scheme for your grids.

• Blue Sudoka 0 pts
• Red Sudoka 100 pts
• Green Sudoka 400 pts
• Orange Sudoka 1,000 pts
• Purple Sudoka 2,500 pts
• Brown Sudoka 5,000 pts
• Black Sudoka 10,000 pts

The Black Sudoka grade also unlocks a new difficulty level - Insane.

Game Modes

Regular Grids

Solve one of thousands of grids generated by the game, and earn Logic Points for each correctly completed grid.

Newspaper Grid

Enter Sudoku grids from other sources, such as the daily newspaper, or even grids of your own invention. JAMDAT Sudoku validates all grids to verify that they have a single correct solution. You do not earn Logic Points for these grids.