Off the AppStore: Restore medieval history in Dundoku!

• It's time to use your sudoku skills to save ancient history!
• You're the apprentice in a record dungeon vault with plenty of scroll puzzles
• Restore the scrolls, earn money, and unlock new parts of the dungeon

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, that while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone's browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game, though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

There was a time when Sudoku was all over the place; you couldn't take any form of public transportation without seeing someone solving one. Even for people who aren't particularly into math (or just don't like numbers), Sudoku is structured so that even someone who doesn't know 2+2 can still enjoy and solve it. While they may not be as popular as they once were, you can't deny their longevity and their contribution to the casual market. And there's still plenty of potential there to present Sudoku in fun and interesting ways, and A42 Games. They're making Sudoku your main tool in Dundoku: Dungeon Sudoku Puzzle.

Congratulations! You've just earned an apprenticeship in the record dungeon of some old castle. The man in charge is looking to you for help, since there are SO many scrolls to be organised. However, organising them is only the final step; first, they must be restored. Many of the scrolls are missing fragments that need to be properly arranged so they accurately reflect their original contents. There are elements of sudoku that come through in the placement and alignment of tiles, ensuring that tiles already in place won't feel… out of place. It's all about making sure everything meshes.

After you make your way through the first scrolls, the later scrolls will get more complex and challenge you to find the solution through careful observation and planning. The process of elimination will only get you so far and won't look very good on your apprentice evaluation. There are also many aspects of the record vault waiting to be unlocked, and you'll need your earnings and treasures from restoring the scrolls to unlock and rebuild the different areas. Only then can you realise your full potential as a scroll-restoring sudoku master of tiles, puzzles, and curiosities. You've got to earn your library privileges.

Dundoku: Dungeon Sudoku Puzzle plunges you into a 2D, puzzle-heavy dungeon (not really) where you help an old man sort and restore ancient scrolls using sudoku-related skills. The more you solve, the more difficult the scrolls will become, and the more you'll have to think about your moves and techniques to make sure everything goes where it's supposed to go. You'll earn from your efforts, and from there you'll get access to new perks and areas of the sudoku dungeon. Reject the doom scroll, embrace the dundoku scroll.

Dundoku: Dungeon Sudoku Puzzle is available to download and play on its itch.io page!