Sudoku

Inspiration

My original Sudoku world was... okay. It had 4 puzzles (one for each difficulty), used 3D blocks you had to point at with controllers, and honestly wasn't great on mobile. When I saw this competition about elevating existing worlds, I thought "I can definitely make this WAY better." I wanted to create something people would actually come back to every day, not just play once and forget about. Real Sudoku apps have endless puzzles and daily challenges - why couldn't mine?

What it does

Now it's a full Sudoku experience with:

Infinite puzzle generation - Never run out of puzzles, with 4 difficulty levels
Daily challenges - Everyone gets the same puzzle each day, with streak tracking
Smart note system - Pencil in possibilities that auto-clear when you place numbers
Progression tracking - Achievements, leaderboards, tier system (Starter → Rainbow)
Mobile-first design - Clean touch controls, no more awkward controller pointing
Interactive tutorial - Actually teaches new players how to play

How I built it

The biggest change was ditching the 3D approach and building a custom UI using TypeScript and UI Gizmos. I wrote algorithms to generate valid Sudoku boards with unique solutions, implemented a cell removal system based on difficulty, and created a date-based seed system for daily challenges.

The progression system uses Horizon's persistent variables to track player stats, achievements, and daily streaks. Everything is optimized for mobile with efficient rendering and touch-friendly controls.

Challenges I ran into

The biggest challenge? I made it TOO complex at first. I had this whole hint system where players could buy hints with points, advanced solving algorithms... it was killing performance. Had to make the tough call to cut features to keep the game smooth. Also, date handling in Horizon is tricky. I originally used YYYYMMDD format for daily challenges but hit precision issues with large numbers. Switched to YYMMDD format and it works perfectly now.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The daily challenge system with streak tracking - seeing players come back every day to maintain their streak is exactly what I hoped for. Also really proud of the smart note system that auto-clears conflicts when you place a number. It was tricky to implement but makes the experience so much smoother. The puzzle generator ensuring unique solutions while maintaining minimum clues per region? That took forever to get right but it's worth it.

What I learned

Sometimes simpler is better. My first instinct was to add every feature possible, but the core experience matters more than feature count. A smooth, responsive Sudoku game beats a laggy one with hints. Also learned a ton about TypeScript and UI optimization. Caching cell states, only updating what changes, efficient event handling, all crucial for mobile performance.

What's next for Sudoku

I want to carefully add back the hint system once I figure out how to optimize it better. Also planning to add:

Puzzle sharing - challenge friends with your best times
More detailed statistics tracking
Themed puzzle packs for special events or achievements -Hint system with hint purchasing options and hint gifted when complete achievements and/or daily challenges
Maybe even a puzzle creator mode where players can make their own

The foundation is solid now, so I can focus on building community features around it :)