Gridwork

Solve one sudoku by hand. Then teach the machine to solve the rest.

Gridwork is a slow idle game about sudoku. Your first puzzle pays your first points, and your points hire assistants: one fills the cell that has only one possible digit, another spots digits with only one home, others write pencil notes, find pairs and triples, and spot the wing patterns that make hard puzzles hard. Each one fills in squares on its own, using the same logic a person would.

How it plays

• Start with a single board and a keypad. New features show up as you earn them, and a ghost card tells you how close the next one is.
• Hire and upgrade assistants. Every few levels they jump in speed.
• Extra desks let you work several boards at once, and harder puzzle tiers pay far more.
• The Library holds one-off research that changes how the machine works.
• Gold sparks appear on the board now and then. Fill the cell yourself for a bonus.
• Ascend to reset the run, keep your rank, and spend stars on permanent perks. Each rank unlocks something new, and every run starts stronger than the last.
• Close the tab and come back later. Your assistants keep working while you are away, up to a limit you can extend.

Controls

Tap or click a cell, then a digit. Notes mode writes pencil marks. Keyboard: arrow keys, 1-9, N for notes, Backspace to erase.

The game saves in your browser. It is a long, slow game: expect about eight hours or more to reach Grandmaster rank. Balance is still being tuned, so feedback on pacing is welcome.

Works on desktop and phones, in portrait or landscape.