Sudoku is a fun game, and thus Pure Sudoku has a lot going for it for that reason alone. The program itself, while serviceable, doesn’t do much to impress.

The interface is simple and uncluttered, but is not particularly attractive. A vaguely Asian theme frames a changing background of photos ranging from the Great Wall to Stonehenge. To its credit, the program is very easy to navigate, allowing users to start playing in a matter of moments. Pure Sudoku offers four levels of difficulty, from “very easy” to “difficult.” A variety of functions, including the ability to save games, get hints, and check one’s work, are available only with the purchase of the deluxe version. The free version does offer some options; users can determine whether or not the game shows duplicate numbers and can turn the sound and random background images on and off. One particularly obnoxious feature of the program is the so-called full-screen mode; this is achieved by changing the monitor’s resolution settings. No thanks.

The actual gameplay is fine; Sudoku is a simple game, and the program does not complicate it needlessly. Users can inelegantly make notes by clicking on a number from the left side of the screen, and then right-clicking to place it in a game square. Overall, Pure Sudoku is neither particularly impressive nor disappointing. Users who’d like to try it should be aware that uninstallation will leave a folder in their system’s program files.