Universal Sudoku Sweeper - minimalist retro mashup

Hey everyone, just to let you know I've been working on a new game with some top people:
Art - Ewa Chrusciel
Music and sound design - Nic Nell

Sudoku Sweeper is a mash up of (you guessed it!) sudoku and Minesweeper, which launches on April 27th.
($2.99 iOS and Android, no ads, no in-app purchases)

Basic concept is pretty simple: You get a grid where every row, column and zone has a single bomb in it. You need to tap the numbers, and avoid the bombs.

Of course, as with the inspiration games, just those simple rules lead to what can be a fiendishly difficult puzzle game.

I originally came up with the idea a few years ago, when I was thinking about sudoku and minesweeper independently, as well as a bunch of other grid based games, and trying to work out how to improve the UX for mobile. Sudoku as found in the newspaper doesn't make a very good mobile game - the cells are too small in the grid, you need to keep flipping between inserting notes and the actual numbers, and it's difficult to play one handed, as well as super boring looking.

I realised the game got a lot more fun when you limited the grid to 7x7, made the zones irregular shapes, and got rid of the whole notes vs. answers thing by just making players avoid a bomb (you just switch out the highest number for a bomb and it has similar behaviour).

We started out thinking the game would have this funky disco vibe to it that was all neon colours and flashing lights on a black background, but the more I played the game, the more I realised it's about zoning out and relaxing, letting your mind focus on the logic and not on whatever else in life is stressing you out. So we doubled down on that, which shows in the art and the sound. The art became just like paper cards being flipped over, and the music had this eastern feel to it, which together with a background of raindrops to gives you the sensation of meditating.

So... that's pretty much the whole story. If you are keen to try it out, I've got 5 iOS and 5 Android promo codes to give away if you promise to post honest feedback in this thread... just PM me ;-)

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Universal Sudoku Sweeper - minimalist retro mashup