What Does Electronic Sudoku Have To Offer?

What with the Sudoku boom going on all over the world, it is not difficult to understand that it didn't take long for those nifty marketing people to come up with electronic Sudoku games. But are these any good?

Well - it depends!

The most common electronic Sudoku game is the portable handheld LCD replica of the number one puzzle game right now. It aims to offer the same addictive gameplay as your traditional Sudoku game, but without the "inconvenience" of paper and pencil or getting newspaper ink all over your hands - making your hands all stiff and icky.

Since there are so many action games that are seemingly much more impressive than an electronic sudoku game could ever become, it is (for some) hard to understand why anyone would want to try and sell such as device. Most simple electronic Sudoku games do not try to compete with your Ipod or portable gaming system. Instead it relies on the pure addictiveness of the Sudoku puzzle, and many hard core action gamers may be in for a surprise if they open their mminds and give it a try (you'll have a hard time getting your electronic Sudoku device back!).

How well this kind of electronic game works depends mostly on the usability of the device.

Your basic Electronic Sudoku gadget typically includes a memory function for the game state and highest score recording, an automatic answer adjustment and a sleep mode.

While shopping, I have come across at least two distinctly different types of sudoku game. The first one would be the standard push button or "joy pad" edition with various amounts of puzzles installed. They may also include additional functions like a timer, a puzzle assistant, a repeat puzzle option, various skill levels and sound effects.

Then there is also a rather cool touch screen version of Electronic Sudoku with LCD display that includes more than 100,000 puzzles with 2 modes along with 4-level skills each. Some people really prefer this model, while other find the touch screen difficult to work with. My personal favourite is Big Screen Sudoku, which lets you solve puzzles almost like you do on paper.

Buying an electronic Sudoku is a great idea on paper (no pun intended) and can actually be quite handy while travelling, for example. One of the disadvantages of many games of this type is lack of contrast and the absence of a back light, which can make it hard to make anything out on the screen, especially in brightly lit areas.

Another important point is that many of the cheaper models have quite a limited number of puzzles to choose from. Once you have solved them all, the gadget is basically useless. An electronic game that could somehow generate random sudoku puzzles at a chosen level of difficulty would be ideal, but I guess that is too much to ask from these relatively cheap devices.

If you happen to find an electronic Sudoku game that seems to be fairly priced and offer you an adequate number of puzzles, by all means go for it. Electronic sudoku is just as addictive as the traditional game and is great to toss in your bag when you are going on a long and boring road trip.

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