Below are user reviews of Play at Joe's Sudoku Challenge and on the right are links to professionally written reviews.
The summary of review scores shows the distribution of scores given by the professional reviewers for Play at Joe's Sudoku Challenge.
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Higher scores (columns further towards the right) are better.
User Reviews (1 - 4 of 4)
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Great Brain Food!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 28 / 31
Date: October 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User
I got hooked on Sudoku when I traveled to the UK on business. Everyone there was doing puzzles daily. I got caught up in the madness! These puzzles are great for keeping your mind sharp and are a great exercise for school children to learn logic and deduction. Not only am I hooked now, but my wife, 9 yr old, 12 yr old and 16 yr old all take a daily dose of Sudoku.
I had bought Sudoku software while in the UK, but the puzzles were not true Sudoku puzzles- meaning that they fudged the puzzle and many of the puzzles could not be completed correctly. The Play at Joe's puzzles are formulated in the same way as the Japanese masters have done for centuries. Play at Joe's Sudoku Challenge is authentic and addictive!
The Sudoku Challenge is a great game for anyone who loves crosswords, word searches, mahjongg, brainteasers, solitaire or any addictive game. You can even print out puzzles to take along for your commute. Highly recommended game!
moderately decent game, horribly inconvenient
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 22 / 23
Date: December 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User
Play at Joe's Sudoku is a moderately decent version of Sudoku, not half as nice as the shareware version I had downloaded. I bought this version because I wanted a CD, rather than paying for a software key that could get lost. Boy did I miss the point! This game REQUIRES the CD to start. Who does it that way today and why? I like to play games like this while I'm busy with other tasks, like burning copies of home movies for relatives. Unless I remember to start the game first, I'm out of luck. And I've got to keep that CD on my desk, available in case I want to play it. In other words, I DON'T play it, I'm back to playing Solitare. I spent $20 on a totally worthless game.
Sudoku-Play at Joe's
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User
the games cannot be identified so that you can save them and do later. I like to print out the blank game, then print the possibilities and then see the answers. I tossed this product as unusable for me.
Disappointing implementation
2
Rating: 2,
Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User
I bought this game after looking at several choices on store shelves, and deciding this was the best choice I bought it. I immediately discovered that my choice was a poor one.
On the surface, this looks like a very capable version of computerized Sudoku, which is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something with LOTS of puzzles, some variety in difficulty levels, the ability to print, and an intuitive GUI for playing. This version does all four of these. For that, it is to be commended - it has the features most serious players will desire.
That said, the implementation and additional features make this game a less than ideal choice.
One of the most annoying features is that it requires the CD to be in the drive when playing, and for some that is inconvenient.
More of an aggravation, though, are the sounds for the game. There is background music that serves only to be distracting. There also happens to be a voice element to announce the numbers as they are placed - the voice sounds very much like you would imagine for an anime schoolgirl that's entirely too happy for her own good. I cut the speakers for that one. With no sound, gameplay is a lot more pleasant and is acceptable.
The game allows the player to show mistakes during play. HOWEVER, once that setting is turned on, it is not possible to turn it off except when there is no game being played. For players that are learning to play, this is fine, but once a player knows the lay of the land, either the current game needs to be quit in order to toggle this setting, or it needs to be turned off at initial launch.
In the box with the CD was a bright orange card that stated that there was an update to the game available to patch a problem with printing. While I realize that this likely went in the box after the golden image was sent to the duplicator, it still is annoying to find that your brand new game is already outdated.
I looked for another Sudoku game the very next day and found a better one with more features, a better interface, and a smaller price tag. If you want a good Sudoku game for your computer, I cannot recommend Play at Joe's Sudoku Challenge unless there are no other options available. Your money is better spent on other choices.
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