Sudoku Slam is a fresh web-based Sudoku game. Built for speed, the Sumo mode really is fun!

I’ve posted a new build of NetSudoku. A few new features to cover:

• There is now a built-in puzzle generator, but it’s in a very early form. It takes about five minutes to generate a puzzle, mainly because I generate 100 of them and pick the hardest one. I’m working on a new system that will generate puzzles in the background and keep a few of each difficulty around between sessions so that you can get into a game quickly. Then, when you pick a new game it will have one available. This is all a work-in-progress, but I wanted to get this out there so that others could use it and see how well the generator builds puzzles.
• The solver can now solve anything (was required to make a generator), including backtracks and guessing. The hint feature will still only display a single hint at a time though, and it will tell you if it had to guess to get the answer.

I think those are the highlights, enjoy!

This version adds a few new features:

• Load/Save Games
• Restart Game (clears all selected numbers)
• Create custom game
  This feature lets you place a custom grid into the game. You first select Game, Create and are presented with an empty grid. At that point, you place all the numbers for the grid. After you are done, you select Game, Create again (unchecking it) and the placed numbers are marked as givens. At that point, the game is ready for play (and available on the network if you have network support enabled).

Enjoy!

I just published a new build of NetSudoku. This version includes a number of new features:

• Logic-based solver
  It’s not going to solve every puzzle yet, but it’s a step in that direction. It can be used in two modes, a complete solve and a hint. Note that the hint feature should only be used once all the candidates have been found (using Ctrl+F). Otherwise, you can get false cells and it will break. The solver automatically refreshes all candidates first so that’s not a problem there. The solver will output every technique it used to solve the puzzle, so you can see as you go along what logic is used to complete the puzzle. I’ll expand the methods of the solver later to include X-Wing, Swordfish and other variants to help with some of the trickier puzzles.
• Grid Control Style Design
  I’ve enhanced the grid control using GDI+ to be more colorful and stylized. I think it looks good, but I’m open to suggestions.
• Threading Engine Changed
  The method I was using threads before was causing a lot of delays in the networking code. I was also recreating some objects way too often, adding to the network lag. I rewrote the threading code to be more responsive to user actions. This should result in smoother network game play.
• Settings Saved
  When exiting the game, all user settings are stored. This includes the window positions, network and chat windows, and a few other things. It also includes all of the colors used in the game. At some point, I’ll probably add a UI to change some of the colors for those that don’t like the default settings. For you advanced folks, feel free to tweak the settings to your liking.
• Smart Cell Population
  In the previous version, if you had several folks hammering to plug that last few cells of a puzzle, you could end up clearing cells since others were setting it at the same time. I’ve put some logic in to hopefully prevent the cells from being cleared if multiple players had the same intentions.

Those are the highlights, I’m sure there are a few bug fixes or something thrown in as well.

Things that are still being developed include a Skype network layer (which is partially done, but disabled in this release since it is still very incomplete), the ability to pull games from popular RSS feeds, the option to create a custom game board (for entering puzzles you want to do as a group). I’m also still finding new things to try out in the .NET 2.0 runtime, so who knows what else might show up.

If you already have installed NetSudoku, the application should update automatically through ClickOnce. If you have not yet installed NetSudoku, you can install it from here (note, using IE makes the installation the easiest, so close FireFox and use IE for the best installation experience — then go back to FireFox).

Well, it seems somebody has finally put up a page on NetSudoku.com, certainly not related to my Sudoku game. I’m sure at some point I’m going to have to come up with a better name for the program…

Bah I say!

I’ve published a new version of NetSudoku. This latest release includes multiplayer support. You can install the application here (be sure to use IE to enable ClickOnce deployment for automatic updates).

If you are on a network, you can click Network->Enabled to make your game visible on the network. At that point, other players can click Network->Join Game to find your game. At this point, it joins the first game that responds. Later I’ll add the ability to pick from a list of received games before actually joining the game.

The multiplayer support uses multicast datagrams, so there are no connections required. When you join a game, you actually become a host of that game. As moves are made, they are multicasted out to the other people playing the same game (all games have a unique identifier on the network). At any time, players can leave and join the game without any interruptions. If all players leave the game, the game no longer exists on the network and cannot be continued.

There is currently no timing and all moves are cooperative towards solving the puzzle. This mode prevents people from getting into a number rush and let’s players enjoy the game at a slower pace (particularly for the harder puzzles). I’ll probably add competitive play later, including timed games and a scoring system based on the difficulty of the move (naked singles one point, hidden quads a lot higher).

I’m sure there are still bugs as this is an early work in progress, but several of us have had it up and running for a few hours without any major snafus.

Oh, you can also chat with everyone else playing the game when networking is enabled so that’s fun.