Sudoku Royale vs Sudoku by Staple Games: Two Simple Apps

Sudoku by Staple Games and Sudoku Royale are both clean, classic sudoku apps with a daily puzzle, and the board looks much the same. The differences: Staple's app shows ads (its age rating says so) and its listing has no purchase to remove them, stops at four levels, and its hint fills in a number. Sudoku Royale has no ads and nothing to buy, goes to six levels, and its hint names the technique instead of the answer. If you like Staple's app and only want to know whether Royale is worth trying alongside it, this page goes through it feature by feature.

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.

Feature by feature

Staple's listing is short, a list of six features. Everything it does not mention is marked that way below; it may still be in the app.

Two takes on a minimal sudoku app

Staple's description promises a "simple, modern design" that "removes the distractions", and the feature list backs that up: a daily puzzle, four levels, notes, a hint, statistics. There are no events, no currencies, no social features. It has been on the App Store since 2021 and has 104,454 US ratings, which suggests many players want exactly that.

Sudoku Royale's game screen is just as plain, with a light, dark or system theme and no pop-ups. Around it there is more: a Journey map, a Dojo of drills, a weekly Belts league and optional live games. None of that is in your way when you open a Practice puzzle, but if you want an app with nothing beyond the grid, Staple's is closer to that.

The hint: an answer, or a pointer

This is the clearest difference between the two. Staple's listing says its hint will "fill in missing number when you are stuck". That is fast, and if you only want to finish the puzzle, it is what you want.

Sudoku Royale's hint keeps the number back. In Practice, after about 90 seconds without progress, a bulb lights up; tap it and it marks the cell and names the technique that solves it, such as a hidden single or a pointing pair, with a link to the lesson. You still place the digit yourself, so the next time the same pattern appears you have a chance of seeing it. The hint needs an internet connection. Our page on sudoku hints goes into why this style helps more over time.

How far the difficulty goes

Staple's four levels end at expert. Sudoku Royale has the same four and then Master and Extreme, which unlock after a few solves at the level below. The hardest Royale puzzles need techniques like X-Wing and XY-Wing, which the Journey teaches in order. If you finish Staple's expert puzzles comfortably and want something harder, that is the main reason to try Royale.

The daily puzzle

Both apps have a Daily Challenge. Staple's listing names it without details. Sudoku Royale's Daily Challenge adds a streak with your best streak, a leaderboard against friends and the world, and an archive of past days you can go back and play. It gives you three lives; after the third mistake the run continues but is no longer ranked. It needs a connection, so it is not one for a flight.

Where Staple's app is the better pick

• You want nothing but the puzzle. Staple has fewer extras by design.
• You want the answer when stuck. A hint that fills the cell gets you moving at once.
• You like the keypad to drop finished digits. Staple lists it; Royale highlights the same number on the board instead.
• You want to choose whether mistakes are checked. Royale always checks and has no undo. Staple's listing says nothing either way, so try it and see.
• You prefer an app with a long record. Staple's has years of ratings; Royale is new.

Where Sudoku Royale is the better pick

• No ads at all. Not removed by a purchase, just absent, and there is nothing to buy.
• More levels. Two above expert.
• Hints that teach. Technique names and lessons, plus drills in the Dojo.
• A richer daily puzzle. Streaks, a leaderboard and an archive.

Which should you choose?

Keep Staple's app if its ads do not bother you and you like a hint that simply fills in the number. If you want the same calm grid with no ads, harder top levels and help that explains itself, get Sudoku Royale. Leaving Staple for another reason? Our Staple Games Sudoku alternatives covers more apps, and Sudoku Royale vs Tripledot Sudoku compares another plain classic. Everything else is on the comparisons hub.