So when I first saw ClassicMoments’ article on the release of Sudoku Ball – Detective, it just looked like they strung three unrelated words together and called it a game. But after a few minutes of gameplay, I have to say I’m surprised. I was actually kind of getting into it! Think of this game as a combination of CLUE, Sudoku and a Rubix Sphere. Let’s take a look.
I’m not going to go too in depth with the story here because I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you (and because there really isn’t much to divulge anyway). But the basic premise is that Edward G. Bannister, an Oxford scholar and retired chief Superintendant of Scotland yard, is invited to a birthday party of an old friend, Jonathan Coleridge. Jonathan falls prey to what at first seems like a heart attack. But soon, Edward discovers that it may have been a carefully planned murder. Edward must now Sudoku his way to the truth!
So yeah, the storyline may not be the most gripping and riveting narrative ever written, but it does serve its purpose. 
It does add a progressive element to the whole game. Once the game begins, you are shown a small town map from which to select your next destination. Believe it or not, all of this actually does give an objective and incentive to all the sudoku-ing.
Speaking of sudoku-ing, the actual Sudoku portion of the game has a few twists as well. First of all, as the name suggests, you solve sudoku puzzles on a 3-D ball. Each ball consists of six Sudoku puzzles. Each of the 3×3 squares in the corners of the puzzles overlap. It’s probably easier to just take a look at the screen shot below.
The Sudoku solving is woven into the storyline via several different scenarios, and each scenario provides an extra twist to the Sudoku solving. For example, during a Lock Pick scenario, your objective is to solve the middle number on the Sudoku Ball. You are given four lock picks, and each incorrect guess in the middle space results in the loss of a lock pick. On top of that, there is a time limit, and exceeding that limit also results in losing a lock pick. This game provides quite a departure from other sudoku games. 
I’m no sudoku expert, but I definitely felt the difficulty level for this game was low. Whenever you fill a row, column or square with all of the correct numbers, you’re notified with a little sound effect that the numbers you chose were correct. This feature makes it so there’s a lot less back tracking, and a lot more guessing. It might sound a bit like cheating, but I think its a great introduction into Sudoku.
The game also provides you with pure sudoku fun, and has a three other modes besides the story mode. If you’re in the mood for some non-story related good old sudoku ball, you can access a total of 90 distinct sudoku balls, divided into three difficulty levels, in Classic Mode. Maybe you want to relive the thrill of lock picking but don’t want to go through the story. No problem! You can plays up to 15 different sudoku balls from each scenario in Story Level mode. And of course, this game also provides you with more than enough of your standard 9×9 sudoku in Standard Sudoku.
All in all, this game is definitely not another Sudoku game. It adds another dimension to the Sudoku experience. However, due to the low difficulty level, this may not be for hardcore sudoku fans. And the story itself is not enough to keep non-sudoku fans interested. But for those who are looking for a new sudoku experience, or are thinking about giving suudoku a shot, this is a great place to start.
