Sudoku Royale vs MobilityWare Sudoku: Free, Arcade or Ad-Free

MobilityWare makes its colorful sudoku in two versions. Sudoku Color by MobilityWare is free, its age rating notes advertising, and its listing lists no purchase that removes the ads. Sudoku by MobilityWare+ is the same game in Apple Arcade: no ads and no in-app purchases, but you need an Apple Arcade subscription to play it. Sudoku Royale has no ads and no subscription. Where MobilityWare eases beginners in with color and smaller puzzles, Sudoku Royale teaches the classic grid with lessons and goes up to two levels above Expert.

So there are three ways to pay for an ad-free colorful or classic sudoku here: watch ads, pay Apple a recurring subscription, or pick an app that has no ads to begin with. The right one depends on whether you already have Arcade and on how you want to learn.

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.

Two MobilityWare apps, one game

Both MobilityWare listings use the same description, so expect the same game in each. The difference is how it is paid for.

• Sudoku Color by MobilityWare is a regular free download. Its age rating notes advertising, and its privacy label lists data used for third-party advertising. It has 34,922 US ratings.
• Sudoku by MobilityWare+ is in Apple Arcade, and its App Store page says "No ads. No in-app purchases." It has 32,497 US ratings.

Apple Arcade is Apple's paid games subscription: one recurring fee unlocks a catalog of games, all without ads or in-app purchases. The App Store listing for a game does not show the Arcade price, so we cannot quote it here; Apple shows the current price, and any free trial, on the Arcade tab of the App Store. Arcade can also come bundled in an Apple One plan. If you already pay for it, Sudoku by MobilityWare+ costs you nothing extra. If you would be subscribing for this one game, compare that recurring fee with an app that is free and ad-free.

Feature by feature

Two ways to make sudoku less scary

MobilityWare's whole pitch is approachability. Its listing argues that black and white grids are "stark" and that color is easier on the eyes, and it starts you on smaller puzzles before you face a mostly empty 9x9. Hard mode is a setting you switch to later, and veterans can go straight to the original black and white board. If a full grid has always put you off, that gentle ramp is a real strength, and nothing in Sudoku Royale works quite like it.

Sudoku Royale starts you on the normal 9x9 grid but explains it step by step. The Journey opens with first steps and a hidden single and builds, chapter by chapter, to techniques like XY-Wing. When you get stuck in Practice, the hint names the technique that applies and shows where, without filling in the number. The Dojo lets you repeat one pattern until you see it quickly. Our best sudoku apps for beginners page compares these teaching styles across more apps.

Events and a reason to come back

MobilityWare keeps players returning with variety: weekly events, holiday puzzles, Travel Events and a Garden you water with cans earned from puzzles. Sudoku Royale's reasons are quieter: the Daily Challenge with a streak and a leaderboard against friends, and the weekly Belts league, where every solve earns shurikens toward the next belt. There are optional live games with friends too, but nothing in the solo app depends on them.

Where MobilityWare is the better pick

• You already pay for Apple Arcade. Then Sudoku by MobilityWare+ is ad-free at no extra cost, alongside the rest of the Arcade catalog.
• You find a black and white grid hard on the eyes. Colored grids are the default. Sudoku Royale has light and dark themes but no color-coded grid and no color-blind mode.
• You want a gentler start than a full 9x9. Smaller puzzles come first.
• You like collecting and events. Travel Events and the Garden give each week a theme.

Where Sudoku Royale is the better pick

• No ads without a subscription. Free, with nothing to buy and no Arcade needed.
• You want harder puzzles. Master and Extreme go past Expert; MobilityWare's listing only names a Hard mode.
• You want to understand why a number goes where it does. Technique hints, lessons and drills.
• A daily puzzle with a leaderboard. One shared puzzle a day, with an archive of past days.

Which should you choose?

If you have Apple Arcade and like the colorful approach, Sudoku by MobilityWare+ is the easy answer. If you would otherwise play Sudoku Color by MobilityWare with its ads, or subscribe to Arcade just for sudoku, and you are happy with a classic grid, try Sudoku Royale first. For other options, see the MobilityWare Sudoku alternatives, the best sudoku apps without a subscription and the full comparisons page.