A new setting has been added to Random Play in version 1.31.0 that makes it possible to give more weight to either easier or harder puzzles, if preferred. Players who like playing the easiest or hardest puzzles the most, now have a way to generate these puzzles more often.

Also in this version:

• New logic has been added to the puzzle generator for generating puzzles with even more cunning! The new logic is encountered in the Advanced and Expert play modes of Random Play. The (free) Random Play preview also includes some examples.
• More small improvements to the help explanations.

More information about the levels of difficulty can be found in the FAQ section levels of difficulty. Previously, this information was spread over a number of FAQ sections, but it has now been consolidated into a section of its own.

A new setting for the Random Play puzzle generator has been introduced in version 1.30.0, released today. This makes it possible for the permutation logic in the Advanced and Expert play modes to be throttled back, delivering puzzles that only use permutation checks to a lesser (and easier) extent.

​Players who are not keen on working out the permutations of the number combinations will appreciate the new setting! Alternatively, permutation logic can be avoided altogether by switching to Normal play mode.

In version 1.29.0, the buttons for a puzzle in play have been made bigger and are generally better proportioned. There are also some small fixes relating to play interaction. This version has gone live today.

The changes in detail:

• When playing a puzzle, the number buttons and game control buttons are usually bigger. This makes the buttons easier to hit or, more to the point, harder to miss. The change benefits all devices larger than an iPod, but devices with large screens (larger iPhones and iPads) benefit the most.
• A fix to ensure that all squares with pencil markings are changed to number squares when a sum value is tapped and two blocks are present.
• A fix to ensure that empty squares outside the blocks are changed to number squares when a sum value is tapped and the squares between the blocks already have values.
• A fix to prevent a pencil square with a single candidate value from being cleared unintentionally when double-tap is used to eliminate the same value from another square in the same row or column.

Version 1.28.0 is a bundle of usability improvements and small enhancements. The offline playing experience has been improved too, which will also benefit players who prefer not to sign in to Game Center. This version has gone live in the App Store today.

The changes in detail:

• When a puzzle is solved in the Challenge Trail or in a Puzzle Set, the new leaderboard total is shown below the points scored (after the first puzzle and space permitting), even when playing offline.
• Likewise, the new total is always shown below the points scored when a puzzle is solved in Random Play, even if the points cannot be posted to the leaderboard straight away. This makes it possible for players to track their total score and perhaps aim for a certain target when playing offline or when not signed in to Game Center.
• If the Random Play simulator is reset just before Random Play is purchased, the best score from the leaderboard will be used as the points base for continued play.
• ​When the squares between two blocks are selected by tapping a sum value, any cells outside the blocks that are still empty are now changed to number cells automatically. This works for a sum of 0 too.
• When pencil mode is active, a candidate number can be eliminated from a square by tapping the number twice, just like in normal mode. Previously, it was unpredictable whether one or two taps were necessary, which made the process of pencil value elimination awkward to use.
• Fix to prevent squares with single candidate values from being cleared unintentionally when double number tapping is used to eliminate numbers from other squares in the same row or column.
• Dark mode is observed in more places (secondary buttons, popup options menu).

Random Play now has a free preview, with the possibility to try out some puzzles in the different play modes. This preview includes lots of free new puzzles!

This is the main change in version 1.27.0, which has gone live today.

Version 1.26.0 provides better support for offline use and some visual enhancements to assist players with solving a puzzle. This version has gone live today. The changes in detail:

• If points are scored when the player is offline, the leaderboard will be updated when the player goes back online later. This makes the app an ideal game for extended periods of offline use, such as a plane journey or a holiday to a remote region!
• The settings option to “show if sums add up correctly” has been enhanced to provide more visual feedback for when the candidate values form a valid sum combination (or not, as the case may be).
• Changes to the way a leaderboard is shown, with the aim of resolving a problem where a blank page was sometimes being shown instead of the expected leaderboard. This problem was occasionally happening on an iPhone, but more commonly on an iPad.

More information about playing offline can be found in the FAQ sections app insights and leaderboards. The new visual feedback is illustrated in the FAQ section playing a puzzle.

Improvements for dark mode have been added in version 1.25.0:

• In the settings, players can choose the appearance for a puzzle when dark mode is active on the device. Three lighting variations are supported: bright, dimmed or dark.
• Adjustments throughout the app to reduce glare when dark mode is in operation.

This version has gone live in the App Store today.

Version 1.24.0, which has just gone live in the App Store, brings more enhancements to Random Play:

• Added new logic to the puzzle generator in expert mode, making it possible for puzzles with hidden sum values to be generated with even more cunning!
• Tweaked the way that the difficulty of puzzles is estimated for puzzles with hidden sum values. These puzzles are now more likely to be estimated as one level harder than previously. This can mean, 5x5 puzzles generated in expert mode may be Very Difficult. A higher difficulty rating means more points are earned when these puzzles are solved.
• If an 8x8 puzzle is taking too long to generate, a new button makes it possible to skip to a smaller puzzle instead.
• When Keep It Simple is selected as play mode and an 8x8 puzzle is generated on demand, it will often be generated faster than previously.

Other changes in this version, benefitting all players:

• Minor cosmetic improvements to the menu page and Puzzle Sets overview.
• Improved error handling for when the app is unable to start up properly due to problems loading saved data.

A problem was identified with the new play mode Keep It Simple in Random Play, introduced in version 1.23.0. If an attempt was made to generate a large puzzle in this mode (either a 7x7 puzzle with the possibility of hidden sums, or an 8x8 puzzle), the generator would sometimes not finish working - it just went on whirring.

The problem has been resolved in version 1.23.1, now available in the App Store.

The play mode Keep It Simple has been added to Random Play in version 1.23.0. This mode is ideal for novice players - the puzzles are never harder than MEDIUM and the puzzle generator can be configured to generate 4x4 puzzles!

Other Random Play players may enjoy playing a 4x4 puzzle now and again too. This is possible without switching play mode if the buttons for selecting the size of the next puzzle are enabled in the Random Play settings.

Also in this version:

• A fix for rare cases of the help not performing any changes (only affected Random Play in expert mode).
• Support for iOS 13 has been dropped (ref. previous post).