Sudoku Royale vs Sudoku :) by Maple Media: Undo, Looks, Ads

Sudoku :) by Maple Media is a classic four-level sudoku you can make your own: custom backgrounds, an emoji grid in place of numbers, unlimited undo and redo, and Game Center leaderboards and achievements. It is free with ads, and getting rid of them means a one-time Disable Ads at $24.99 or a Sudoku Membership subscription. Sudoku Royale is plainer to look at and has no undo, but it has no ads and no purchases, two levels above Expert, a Daily Challenge and lessons for the techniques hard puzzles need. Put simply: Maple is about how the game looks and feels in your hands, Royale about how far your solving goes.

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.

Maple's Sudoku :) has been listed since 2011 and has 59,163 US ratings; Sudoku Royale came out in 2026 and has 11. Apple shows 10 different paid items on Maple's listing, including membership and premium plans as well as bundles, while Royale's shows none.

Feature by feature

Maple's column comes from its App Store description and version notes.

Making the board yours

Personalization is where Maple stands out. Its listing offers custom background colors and the option to swap the digits 1 to 9 for emojis, and its latest version notes add new background themes, game boards and number options, including a dark board. The listing says some backgrounds and the emoji grid come with the Sudoku Membership, so not all of it is free. If playing with a board that looks like yours is part of the fun, nothing in Sudoku Royale matches it.

Royale offers System, Light and Dark themes, Highlight Same Number, and separate music and sound toggles. The customizing it does have is on your avatar: outfits from the wardrobe, paid for with shurikens you earn by solving rather than with money. If a dark board is all you want, both apps have one; our sudoku apps with dark mode page goes further.

Undo, or a board that catches mistakes

Maple gives you unlimited undo and redo, and highlights duplicates so you spot a repeated number in a row, column or block. You can make mistakes, notice them and walk back as far as you like. For players who try a candidate to see where it leads, that is a real comfort.

Royale has no undo. It checks each number as you place it and rejects a wrong one, so an error never sits on the board waiting to ruin the next twenty moves. You lose the freedom to experiment with a guess; you gain never having to retrace one. Which you prefer is a matter of how you solve. If you want to stop needing guesses at all, this guide explains why a well-made sudoku never requires one.

Membership against nothing to buy

Maple's listing describes the Sudoku Membership as ad-free play with unique backgrounds and the emoji grid, renewing until you turn auto-renew off. Alongside it, Apple lists these paid items, among others: Disable Ads $24.99, Premium Annual $14.99, Sudoku Membership $14.99, Sudoku Bundle $14.99. Prices vary by item and plan length, so read the purchase screen before you tap buy.

Sudoku Royale has no ads, no in-app purchases and no subscription. Every level, the Daily Challenge, the Journey and the Dojo are free from the first launch, and you do not need an account. If you are weighing Maple's membership mainly to lose the ads, our list of sudoku apps without a subscription is worth a look first.

Expert, and what comes after

Maple stops at Expert. Royale has Master and Extreme above it, and they unlock after a number of solves at the level below. The jump is real: the hardest grids need patterns such as X-Wing and XY-Wing. To get you there, the Journey teaches a technique per chapter, the Dojo drills it, and in Practice a hint names the technique and the cell without giving away the digit. The techniques by difficulty guide shows what each level asks of you.

Where Maple's Sudoku :) is the better pick

• You want undo and redo. Unlimited, per its listing. Royale has neither.
• You enjoy customizing. Backgrounds, boards, number styles and the emoji grid.
• You collect achievements. Game Center trophies and activities are part of recent updates.
• Expert is hard enough for you. Then four levels cover it, and the app has a long record on the App Store.

Where Sudoku Royale is the better pick

• No ads, no membership. Nothing to choose between and nothing renewing.
• Harder puzzles, with help. Two levels past Expert, and lessons for the techniques they need.
• A shared daily puzzle. The Daily Challenge ranks you against friends and the world, with streaks and an archive.
• A weekly goal. The Belts league, White to Black belt, fed by every solve.

Which should you choose?

If undo, a board styled your way and achievements are what you love about Maple, and the ads or the membership are a price you accept, stay. If you would rather never see an ad or a renewal, and you want to push past Expert, download Sudoku Royale. If you are leaving Maple and want several options side by side, the Maple Sudoku alternatives page compares five apps; every head-to-head is on the comparisons page.