The Anniversary Special is no longer active and has been replaced by more recent versions of the app. The latest version of the app can be downloaded from the App Store.
The remainder of this page is the same as originally published.
The remainder of this page is the same as originally published.
What is the Anniversary Special all about?
This is a special version of the app, to celebrate 5 years since Sumaddle first appeared in the App Store! Version 1.0 of the app went live in February 2021.
The special edition contains an extra set of free puzzles and features some graphical adaptions, to give the app a celebratory look.
The special puzzles are also intended as a THANK YOU to the many loyal players who have been playing the app regularly over the last 5 years. It is hoped that these players will enjoy the exclusive 10x10 puzzles in particular! Especial thanks goes to all players who have helped to promote and improve the app, whether by posting a positive review or by sending helpful feedback. Your support is much appreciated, thank you!
The special edition contains an extra set of free puzzles and features some graphical adaptions, to give the app a celebratory look.
The special puzzles are also intended as a THANK YOU to the many loyal players who have been playing the app regularly over the last 5 years. It is hoped that these players will enjoy the exclusive 10x10 puzzles in particular! Especial thanks goes to all players who have helped to promote and improve the app, whether by posting a positive review or by sending helpful feedback. Your support is much appreciated, thank you!
Where can I find the special set of puzzles?
The special puzzles can be found in the section Puzzle Packs. If the special puzzles are not already selected when you navigate to this section, just tap the selector at the top of the page and select Anniversary Special.
What is so special about the puzzles?
There are three groups of puzzles in the extra set:
Pencil Cases
To solve these puzzles, it is necessary to think which values can still be considered as candidates for the squares that are empty. These are the squares where it is not yet known, whether they will be a number or a block.
It may help to use pencil mode for solving these puzzles, so that the candidate values can be visualized. The separate FAQ section about pencil mode explains how it works.
It may help to use pencil mode for solving these puzzles, so that the candidate values can be visualized. The separate FAQ section about pencil mode explains how it works.
Most Intriguing
These puzzles all have a quirky twist! In some cases, the clue values are a bit out-of-the-ordinary. In other cases, the peculiarity is seen when the puzzle is solved, or maybe just partially solved.
Giant Brain Muddlers
This group contains a selection of large puzzles, including some exclusive examples of 10x10 puzzles! These are some of the largest puzzles of this type ever seen. It may even be the first time that puzzles of this size have ever been published.
For solving the giant puzzles, it may help to turn on some or all of the optional features relating to number combinations. In particular, the setting to "only show combinations with the right number of values" might be useful. The separate FAQ section about settings explains how this setting works.
For solving the giant puzzles, it may help to turn on some or all of the optional features relating to number combinations. In particular, the setting to "only show combinations with the right number of values" might be useful. The separate FAQ section about settings explains how this setting works.
Where can I find more puzzles like these?
Some of the other categories of puzzle pack include puzzles that are similar to the ones in the special collection:
The puzzle generator built into the app can also generate more puzzles like the ones in the Anniversary Special selection. The recommended settings for this are:
More information about the other parts of the app can be found in separate FAQ sections:
- The Quirky category contains puzzles that are out-of-the ordinary.
- The Scary category includes 9x9 puzzles.
The puzzle generator built into the app can also generate more puzzles like the ones in the Anniversary Special selection. The recommended settings for this are:
- Play mode Expert.
- Equal weights for the different categories of puzzle difficulty.
More information about the other parts of the app can be found in separate FAQ sections:
How does the leaderboard work?
The leaderboard for the Anniversary Special is like a cross between the leaderboards for the puzzle packs and for the puzzle generator:
- The leaderboard resets every 2 weeks.
- The score posted to the leaderboard is the cumulative total for all puzzles in the special set on a single device. This can include puzzles that were solved during a previous leaderboard period.
- A score on the leaderboard will only be replaced by a score that is higher, not by a score that is lower. This also applies across devices.
- If the puzzles are reset, the score on the leaderboard does not get wiped. The score on the leaderboard can be improved by playing the puzzles again and scoring more.
- When the leaderboard resets, the previous period is frozen and no further changes are possible.
- After a leaderboard reset, a score that was posted to the previous period does not get posted again to the new period. To participate in the new period, at least one of the special puzzles needs to be solved. If all the puzzles have already been solved, it will be necessary to reset one or more of the puzzle groups (packs), so that the puzzles can be played again.
- If the puzzles are played offline, the points will only be posted to the current leaderboard period when back online if no score exists for a previous period.
How were the 10x10 puzzles generated?
With great difficulty! A specially adapted version of the Sumaddle puzzle generator was used. On average, each puzzle required several days of computer processor time to be generated!
Why do the 10x10 puzzles have pre-filled blocks?
Generating a 10x10 puzzle is very difficult and requires a lot of computer processor power, as described above. This is why it was only possible to generate puzzles which start with a small number (2-4) of pre-filled blocks.
Based on the way the puzzle generator currently works, it is esimated that it could require one or more years of computer processor time to generate a 10x10 puzzle that starts completely empty, with no pre-filled blocks. In order to have a more realistic chance of generating such a puzzle, the generator would probably need to work about 100 times faster. This may perhaps be possible in the future if the generation process can be accelerated, or if computer processors get significantly faster!
Based on the way the puzzle generator currently works, it is esimated that it could require one or more years of computer processor time to generate a 10x10 puzzle that starts completely empty, with no pre-filled blocks. In order to have a more realistic chance of generating such a puzzle, the generator would probably need to work about 100 times faster. This may perhaps be possible in the future if the generation process can be accelerated, or if computer processors get significantly faster!
The 10x10 puzzles are a bit fiddly to play on a small screen, is there a way to zoom the display?
Yes. A zoom feature is available as standard on all iOS devices. The FAQ page about playing a puzzle has more details.
How long will the Anniversary Special be available?
The Anniversary Special will be active throughout February 2026.
From the start of March 2026, the app will revert back to its normal look. However, players who already started playing the special puzzles will be able to finish playing them, until the leaderboard resets again. This will happen on 9th March (UTC).
Around the end of February 2026 there will probably be a new release, so that the app icon reverts to the normal look too. The special puzzles will still be available in the new version for players who already started playing them, as outlined above.
From the start of March 2026, the app will revert back to its normal look. However, players who already started playing the special puzzles will be able to finish playing them, until the leaderboard resets again. This will happen on 9th March (UTC).
Around the end of February 2026 there will probably be a new release, so that the app icon reverts to the normal look too. The special puzzles will still be available in the new version for players who already started playing them, as outlined above.