Sudoku Shinro, by FAR Apps, is an interesting new twist on the puzzle genre. It’s sort of a blend of nonograms and minesweeper, with a twist of Sudoku thrown in for good measure.

A shinro game consists of an 8 x 8 grid, upon which there are several arrows, pointing horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Your task is to place twelve holes on the grid in their predefined places. The head of each row and column will indicate how many holes are in the respective row or column, often a number between 0 and 3. To further assist you in your hole-placing quest, each arrow points toward at least one hole location. Sounds simple, but in practice, it can be quite tricky.

Sudoku Shinro has four difficulty levels and 4,000 puzzles. Easy mode puzzles can be solved with absolutely no guessing, in true shinro fashion. Medium mode will require one guess to solve, Hard mode requires two, and Nightmare mode will be solved with three guesses. Many purists will argue that this is not shinro, as all puzzles should be able to be solved through deduction. Either way, the game is challenging and fun.

The game graphics are appealing, employing bold colors in Japanese style. Header numbers will change color to indicate when you still have holes to place in the row/column, when you’ve reached the correct number, and when you’ve placed more than the correct amount, which is a nice visual cue that can save you from some unnecessary frustration. Blue circles indicate where the holes should be, and red squares can be placed in spots that you have determined to be barren of holes. When the puzzle is successfully solved, a giant checkmark appears to congratulate you on your success.

There is no soundtrack in the game, but you can listen to your own music during gameplay. Detailed statistics are available if desired. Holes and squares are placed through touch controls, determined by a toggle switch below the grid. Other shinro games have employed controls where double-tapping placed a hole and tapping or dragging placed squares. It’s a much more natural interactive style that could have worked well here. Perhaps FAR Apps could make this an option in a future update.

Other than the controls and the lack of a catchy soundtrack, the game is very solid and will surely deliver days and days of puzzling bliss. The $2.99 price point is a bit steep as far as puzzle games go, though in line with other shinro games and justified by the sheer number of available puzzles. Sudoku Shinro is a very solid 4-Dimple game, with the capability of earning that fifth dimple with a little TLC.

SUDOKU Shinro gets our AppSmile 4-Dimple rating: