Blockudoku Alternatives: Block Puzzles and Real Sudoku

Blockudoku is a block puzzle, not sudoku. It borrows sudoku's 9x9 grid and its 3x3 squares, but you drop shapes onto the board to clear lines and squares, and there are no numbers to place. If you want more of that, Woodoku and Playdoku are the closest games. If the grid made you curious about the puzzle it comes from, a real sudoku app such as Sudoku Royale (free, no ads, nothing to buy) or Sudoku.com is the next step.

Blockudoku is made by Easybrain, the studio behind Sudoku.com, and has been out since 2019 with 666,207 US ratings. It is free with ads, and its listing sells Blockudoku No Ads for $14.99. Most people looking for an alternative want one of two things: the same game without the ads, or a puzzle with a bit more thinking in it. This page covers both.

The App Store facts

From each app's US App Store listing, checked October 26, 2026. Prices and paid items change, so check the listing before you buy.

Block puzzle or real sudoku: how they differ

The first three rows are block games, the next two are sudoku. Feature cells come from each app's own listing.

Why Blockudoku is not sudoku

In sudoku, every row, column and 3x3 box must end up holding the digits 1 to 9 exactly once. The puzzle starts with some digits filled in, and there is one correct way to fill the rest. You work it out by logic: this cell cannot be a 4 because there is already a 4 in its row, so it must be the 7. A hidden single is the first technique most people learn.

Blockudoku keeps the board shape and the rule that a full 3x3 square clears, and drops everything else. There are no digits and no single answer. You get a few shapes, place them, and the game deals more. Its own tips say it is risky to wait for a good block, because you cannot know which shapes come next. That randomness is what makes it relaxing for some people and frustrating for others. Sudoku has none: the whole puzzle is on screen from the first second.

Block puzzle alternatives

Woodoku

The closest match. Same 9x9 board, same clearing of rows, columns and squares, with wooden pieces and sound effects its listing calls satisfying. Its listing says it is playable offline. It shows ads (its age rating notes advertising) and sells numbered packages (Package 2 $1.99, Package 5 $4.99, Package 19 $18.99 among them) without saying on the listing what each contains. We compare it in more detail on the Woodoku alternatives page.

Playdoku

Playdoku adds structure: a relaxed Classic mode, a Challenging mode that gets harder as you go, and a Journey of levels where, its listing says, you cannot replay a level to improve your score. If endless high-score runs started to feel aimless in Blockudoku, the Journey is the reason to try it. It shows ads per its age rating and sells coin packs and bundles (Coin Pack $1.99, Booster Bundle $6.99, Starter Bundle $6.99).

Real sudoku, if you want logic instead of luck

Sudoku Royale

If you liked looking at that 9x9 grid and want a puzzle where every move can be worked out, Sudoku Royale is a clean place to start. It has no ads, no purchases and no subscription. Easy puzzles are gentle, each number is checked as you place it so a wrong one never stays on the board, and when you get stuck in Practice a hint points to the cell and names the technique without giving the answer away. The Journey teaches one technique per chapter, and the six levels run up to Extreme for later.

What it does not have: block puzzles, variants, undo, or an Android version. It is classic sudoku on iPhone and iPad. Live games against friends or other players are there if you ever want them, and you can ignore them completely.

A tip for the first week: Blockudoku trains you to scan the board for gaps a shape could fill. Sudoku asks for a different scan, one digit at a time. Pick a number, look at every box that does not have it yet, and ask where it can still go. That habit alone gets you a long way through Easy puzzles.

Sudoku.com

From the same studio as Blockudoku, so the look, the daily challenges and the events will feel familiar. It shows ads, and its listing sells Sudoku.com No Ads for $14.99. It also runs on Android. Our Sudoku Royale vs Sudoku.com comparison covers the rest.

Number Match

A third Easybrain game and a middle ground: numbers on a grid, but you clear pairs that match or add to 10 rather than solving a fixed puzzle. See the Number Match alternatives if that sounds right.

Where Blockudoku is the better pick

• You want to play without thinking too hard. A Blockudoku round needs attention, not deduction. Sudoku at Hard and above asks for real concentration.
• You like chasing a high score. Combos, streaks and tournaments are the point of Blockudoku. Sudoku is about solving, not scoring.
• Short sessions. You can drop a few pieces and put the phone away. A sudoku is more satisfying when you finish it.
• Android. Blockudoku is on Android too; Sudoku Royale is not.

Which should you try?

Want Blockudoku with a different feel: Woodoku. Want levels and a sense of progress: Playdoku. Want the puzzle the grid was borrowed from, without ads: get Sudoku Royale and start on Easy. If sudoku is new to you, naked singles are the first thing to look for. Every other matchup is on the sudoku app comparisons page, and calm games without ads are collected under brain games without ads.