Best Number Puzzle Games: Arithmetic or Pure Logic

The best number puzzle game depends on whether you want to calculate. If you do, Crossmath and Arcadia Zen Math are crossword-style equation puzzles using all four operations, and killer sudoku asks for addition inside sudoku's rules. If you want numbers without the math, sudoku is the classic: the digits 1 to 9 are just nine symbols, and the puzzle is pure logic. Number Match sits between the two, with pairs that match or add up to 10.

That split matters more than any feature list. Someone who loved mental arithmetic at school and someone who wants a quiet reasoning puzzle will both search for "number games", and they want different apps.

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.

How much math each one asks for

From least arithmetic to most. Rules and features are taken from each app's listing.

For players who like to calculate

Crossmath

Guru Smart's Crossmath has more modes than the other math crossword here. Its listing describes four difficulty settings from Easy to Expert, a Daily Challenge, and an Endless mode where your answers are only checked when you submit, scored by how many levels you finish within two mistakes. Power-ups give hints and "advanced notes". It is free with ads, and its paid items mix a premium tier with coins, hints and tickets: Crossmath Premium $7.99, 4000 Coins $1.99, 1000 Coins $0.99, 100 Hints $5.99 and more. Our Crossmath alternatives page looks at what else plays this way.

Arcadia Zen Math

The same kind of equation grid with a calmer frame: a quiet background, large numbers, a plant collection that grows as you finish puzzles, and weekly, world and regional leaderboards. Its listing also promises an offline mode. No in-app purchases are listed, and its age rating notes advertising.

Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com

If you want arithmetic and logic in equal measure, this is it. You play sudoku, but cages of cells must add up to a printed total, and you combine both rule sets to place each digit. The sums are small (no cage can exceed 45), so it is addition you do in your head, not a test. Free with ads; Killer Sudoku by Sudoku.com sells Killer Sudoku No Ads $14.99. See our best killer sudoku apps for the alternatives.

For players who want numbers without the math

Sudoku confuses people because it is full of numbers. But you never add anything: you could replace the digits with nine colors or letters and the puzzle would be the same. What you do is reason about where each digit can still go. We wrote a whole page on whether sudoku is math or logic; the short answer is logic.

Sudoku.com

Easybrain's app has 1.87 million US ratings, more than any other sudoku app we track. It has daily challenges, seasonal events and an auto-check you can turn off. It shows ads, removable with Sudoku.com No Ads for $14.99.

Sudoku Royale

Our app. It plays the same classic 9x9 sudoku with six levels from Easy to Extreme, and adds the part number-game apps rarely have: a way to learn the next technique when you get stuck. Hints name a technique such as a pointing pair and show you where to look, and the 88-level Journey teaches one technique per chapter. Its price line reads: Free, no in-app purchases. It has no undo, no killer mode and no math puzzles of any kind; if you came here for arithmetic, it is not your app.

Number Match: the in-between game

Number Match has 250,720 US ratings and a simple idea, per its listing: cross out two numbers that are equal or add up to 10, connecting them across rows, columns, diagonals and line ends. When you run out of moves, the remaining numbers are copied as new lines at the bottom. There is no time limit, and the listing stresses that there are many ways to clear a board. The arithmetic is trivial; the puzzle is in choosing the order. It is free with ads, removable with Number Match No Ads for $14.99. If you have outgrown it, our Number Match alternatives page is the next stop.

Where a sudoku app is not the right pick

• You want to practise mental arithmetic. Crossmath and Arcadia Zen Math make you calculate on every move. Sudoku never does.
• You want something you can play without thinking hard. Number Match is more relaxed than a hard sudoku, and you cannot get permanently stuck.
• You want both sums and logic. Killer sudoku combines them. Sudoku Royale and Sudoku.com are classic only.
• You play on Android. Sudoku Royale is iPhone and iPad only.

The short answer

Calculators should start with Crossmath or Arcadia Zen Math. Logicians should start with sudoku, and if you want it without ads or anything to buy, download Sudoku Royale. For the wider family, read games like sudoku, the best logic puzzle apps and our sudoku app comparisons.