Sudoku puzzles come to Android devices

My local newspaper keeps getting smaller and among the casualties of the squeeze is the daily Sudoku puzzle that appeared among the daily comics. The puzzle had been a regular feature in many newspapers since the game hit the US in the early 2000s.

The game has a particular appeal to people who like to work with numbers. The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid with digits so that each column and row, plus each of the nine 3x3 sub-grids, contain all of the digits between 1 and 9 with no duplication.

Today, most puzzle fans are probably playing electronic versions like Sudoku Free, an app designed for Android phones and tablets. Like the printed versions, the app presents a grid that is partially populated with numbers. The challenge for players is to fill in the open squares with the correct digits.

Sudoku Free has three difficulty grades - Easy, Medium and Hard - and multiple levels in each grade. It will check for errors and save unfinished games and it has an auto-fill mode that can be set as on or off.

Sudoku Free is available as a free download in the Google Play Store.