Microsoft Sudoku Achievement Guide & Road Map

Microsoft Sudoku
Microsoft Sudoku Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 2/10
- Offline: 20/20 [200/200]
- Online: 0/20 [0/200]
- Approximate amount of time to 200: 20-40 hours (depends on skill) + 12 months actual time.
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: ~800 (puzzles/challenges).
- Missable achievements: None
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes for a few achievements.
- Glitchy achievements: 1 ("Call me Master" See description).
- Extra equipment needed?: Windows 8.1 Tablet or PC.

Introduction:
Microsoft Sudoku is a refresh of the classic pen-and-paper puzzle. In additional to standard Sudoku, the game offers variations involving symbols and new grid configurations. There are several difficulties that range from trivial to quite challenging. Currently the game is FREE with ads in the Windows Store.

SOLVERS: The use of solvers can make a few of the game's achievements a bit easier. Click HERE for a great solver for standard Sudoku Puzzles and HERE for one that works with irregular shaped layouts.

Step 1: Complete Miscellaneous Achievements:
Your first step should be working to complete all of the miscellaneous achievements. These relate to finishing a few games on various difficulties, or completing a certain task within a single game. All of these are quite easy and should take just an hour or two at most.

Step 2: Complete 100 Normal Puzzles and 100 Irregular Shapes:
After getting the miscellaneous achievements done, you will need to complete a cumulative total of 100 games of normal Sudoku and then fill 100 irregular shapes. You can complete them on the easiest difficulty. All in all, this will take but a couple hours.

Step 3: Daily Challenges:
As is typical for the freemium Microsoft titles, Sudoku has Daily Challenges which you will learn to hate. You will need to commit about 5-10 minutes per day (or a total of 2-5 hours per month) to complete Daily Challenges for the next 12 months to unlock the last two achievements in the game for earning 8 Gold and 12 Bronze Badges. In addition to the badge achievements, there are a couple other relatively quick achievements related to the challenges, too.

Conclusion:
Microsoft Sudoku offers a fresh look on an old game. It is fairly straightforward and quite easy, but the inclusion of Daily Challenge Badge achievements ensures you will be grinding the game for the better part of a year's time.

[XBA would like to thank Arsenic 17 for this RoadMap]

Good Start

10
Completed your first puzzle
(1)
This achievement requires that you simply complete a single puzzle. From the Main Menu, select a puzzle difficulty to start a puzzle. Once you complete it by filling in the entire board correctly, the achievement will unlock.

NOTE: Daily Challenges will not work since you don't actually complete the puzzles.
Call me Master

15
Completed 100 Puzzles
(2)
*GLITCHY*
This achievement requires that you complete 100 puzzles. To complete a puzzle, you must correctly fill all of the numbers. This can be done on Very Easy difficulty from the Main Menu. Turn all three Guides on (Block Duplicates, Show Incorrect, Show Guides). This will make completing the puzzle a breeze and should take less than 1 minute per puzzle. In total, this will take one to two hours to complete. See "Speed Demon" for the best technique to complete the puzzles.

GLITCH NOTE:
The counter for this achievement (found under Statistics>Global>Games Played from the Main Menu) has been found to reset every time you close the app. Therefore, it is currently required that you complete all 100 puzzles in a single sitting without exiting the app. This will more than likely be patched in the future.
Came To Win

15
Won your first Daily Challenge
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete a single Daily Challenge. Select and complete anyone that you like. Upon completion, the achievement will unlock.

See "Go for the Gold" for more information on Daily Challenges.
Irregularity

20
Solved 100 Irregular Shapes
(1)
This achievement requires that you completely solve 100 Irregular Shapes. Irregular shapes are the odd-shaped colored areas that appear in some Daily Challenges. Each time you completely and correctly fill a shape (with the numbers 1-9) and the shape flashes, that counts as one irregular shape. This will undoubtedly unlock in your trek to earning the badges, but if you want to get it out of the way, load up an Irregular Shape Daily Challenge and repeatedly complete it. If the challenge is of a lower difficulty, this will take less than one hour total.
Puzzle Expert

10
Completed a puzzle on Expert difficulty without using any Guides or helper functions
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete an Expert difficulty puzzle without using any Guides, the Notes button, the Erase button, or hints. This might be challenging if you are new to Sudoku, but feel free to use a solver to make this quick and easy. Combine this achievement with "Okay, make me think" to minimize the amount of Expert puzzles you need to solve. The achievement will unlock at the puzzle completion screen.
Go for the Bronze

10
Won 12 Bronze Daily Challenge Badges
(1)
See "Go for the Gold."
Go for the Gold

15
Won 8 Gold Daily Challenge Badges
(4)
These achievements require that you earn 8 Gold and 12 Bronze Daily Challenge Badges. Daily Challenges consist of short puzzles that generally require you to complete a certain number of rows, columns, or shapes. Unlike standard Sudoku, Daily Challenges have symbols instead of numbers, or have irregular shaped "houses," instead of the typical 3x3 grids. There are three Daily Challenges each day. Completing a challenge will award coins based on the difficulty of the challenge. 100 coins for Easy, 150 for Medium, 200 coins for Hard, and 300 coins for Expert. If you complete all three challenges for a day, you will earn an additional 150 coins. These coins are cumulative from the first day of the month to the last. Challenges for a given month are only available until the final day of the month, but not in advance. For example, August 15th challenge will become available on August 15th, and remain available until August 31st. You can circumvent this limitation by advancing your computer's time to the last day of the current month. All challenges for the current month will be available.

To earn a Bronze Badge, you must get 2,000 coins throughout the month. To get Gold, you need 12,000 coins. The difficulties of the challenges are random, so the amount of coins available in a given month will vary. In general, completing all three challenges on about 20 days in a month should be enough to earn Gold.

You could choose to play the Daily Challenges each day that they become available. This would require a daily commitment of 5 to 10 minutes, depending on Sudoku skill. Alternatively, you could just wait until the end of the month when all challenges are available and power through them. This will total to around 2 to 5 hours of playtime to obtain Gold, but less than one hour to grab Bronze.

You may replay challenges from previous months to accomplish this achievement. To do this, make sure your system clock is set to the correct time and date before you open Microsoft Sudoku. Once the program is opened and you have logged into Xbox Live, change your system time to the last day of a previous month, then go into the daily challenges and view all of the challenges for the month the same way you would normally. Note: You *must* open the game while your system's time is accurate, or you won't be able to log in, and you won't be able to access the challenges to begin with.
Perfection

15
Completed all Daily Challenges in a month
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete ALL daily challenges in a month. You should attempt this while going for a Gold Badge for the "Go for the Gold" achievement. You must complete all three challenges every day of the month. They do not have to be played on each day, however. You can wait until the final day of the month and complete every single challenge. When you look at the Daily Challenge calendar, all dates must appear green with a ribbon symbol on them to be considered complete.

See "Go for the Gold" for more information on Daily Challenges.
Puzzle Master

10
Completed a puzzle on each difficulty
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete a single puzzle on each of the five difficulties: Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. These puzzles must be selected from the Main Menu. After completing the last one, the achievement will unlock. You can check which difficulties you have completed in the Statistics section of the Main Menu.
Helping Hand

5
Solved a puzzle using all three Guide types, and consuming all the hints
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete a single puzzle after using all three Guide types and all three hints. This can be done on any difficulty. When the puzzle loads, tap the three Guide buttons on the left (Block Duplicates, Show Incorrect, Show Guides) to activate them (when active, they will appear darkened). Then tap the Hint button and select an open square on the board. The correct number will automatically be filled in for you. Repeat two more times to use up your two remaining hints. Then complete the puzzle with the Guides still active to unlock the achievement.

NOTE: This cannot be done in Daily Challenges.
Calligrapher

10
Drew 50 numbers on the board using a stylus OR placed 500 numbers
(1)
This achievement requires that you either draw 50 numbers on the board using a stylus, or place a cumulative total of 500 numbers across standard Sudoku and Daily Challenges. Within any puzzle, you can draw numbers in the grid that will automatically get entered in, either using your mouse, stylus, or finger. Do this 50 times to pop the achievement. The second and suggested option is to just play them game and enter 500 numbers naturally. You will likely get this before earning your first Daily Challenge Gold Badge.
Center Stage

5
Finished a Symbol Sudoku puzzle by placing the last symbol in the exact center of the board
(2)
This achievement requires that you complete a Symbol Sudoku puzzle by placing the last symbol in the space at the exact center of the board. This must be done in Daily Challenges. First make sure to select a challenge that has symbols, instead of numbers (you can tell by the icon). When the board loads, confirm that the center space is empty. If it is not, back out and load the board again (the filled symbols move around at start). Proceed to fill in the board, except the middle space. Save that for last. If you complete the puzzle by placing the final symbol on the middle of the board, the achievement will unlock.
Don't make me think

5
Solved 5 Very Easy puzzles in a row
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete 5 Very Easy puzzles in a row. Select this difficulty from the Main Menu and complete five puzzles consecutively. Upon completion of a puzzle, select "New Game" to immediately load into a new puzzle. After the fifth one, the achievement will unlock.
Okay, make me think

10
Solved 3 Expert puzzles in a row
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete 3 Expert puzzles in a row. Select this difficulty from the Main Menu and complete three puzzles consecutively. Use a solver, Guides, and hints if you need to. Upon completion of a puzzle, select "New Game" to immediately load into a new puzzle. After the third one, the achievement will unlock.
Marathon

15
Logged in each day of an entire month and completed at least one Daily Challenge
(2)
This achievement requires that you complete a single Daily Challenge for each day in an entire month. The description is a bit misleading. You only need to complete a puzzle from each day. You DO NOT have to actually log in each day to earn this achievement. For example, in August, you can unlock this achievement by only logging in on August 31st and completing a single challenge from each of the 31 days in the month. Also, as long as you are in the current month, you can advance your computer's settings head to the last day of the month to have access to all of the challenges.

This will unlock on the way to getting the "Perfection" achievement.
Good Memory

5
Completed a puzzle without using Notes
(2)
This achievement requires that you complete a single puzzle on any difficulty without using the Notes feature. You can still use Hints and Guides if needed. Just make sure not to activate the Notes button. Once you complete the puzzle note-free, the achievement will unlock.

NOTE: This cannot be done in Daily Challenges.
Speed Demon

5
Completed a puzzle in less than 1 minute
(1)
This achievement requires that you complete a standard Sudoku puzzle of any difficulty in less than one minute. To make this easiest, select Very Easy difficulty. There are two easy methods to unlock this achievement:
1. Turn on all Guides. Start by tapping the number 1. Places on the board where you can place the 1 will show up. Look at each 3x3 grid. Tap those spots for the 1 that have only one option in the grid. If none have just one, tap one of the available spaces. If it is wrong, a red "X" will appear. If so, tap that space again to remove the 1, and try another spot. Once all 1's are placed, proceed to 2s, and so on. It will become easier and quicker as the board fills. This is a technique you should master to make completing 100 puzzles for the "Call me Master" achievement go very fast.
2. When the board loads, take a picture of the screen (with a camera phone, camera, or a screenshot). Then pause the game (by tapping the back arrow in top left, or by minimizing the app). Solve the puzzle on your own, writing it down. Return to the game and quickly input all of the numbers.
Overall, this achievement is not that difficult. Method 1 is suggested, but two should work for everyone. Once you complete a puzzle in 59 seconds or less, the achievement will unlock.
Just Checking

5
Used Show all Notes and then used Erase Notes with no other actions inbetween
(1)
This achievement requires that you use Show All Notes and then immediately use Erase Notes afterwards. This can be done on any difficulty, but must be done in a standard Sudoku game, initiated from the Main Menu. Once the board loads, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or right click if you have a PC) to reveal a hidden menu. Within this menu, you will find the two buttons required for this achievement. Hit Show All Notes and then Erase All Notes, without leaving the menu, to pop this achievement.
Lucky 7's

10
Completed a puzzle where the last seven moves you made were correctly placing sevens
(3)
This achievement requires that you finish off a puzzle by correctly placing seven 7's at the end. This must be done in a standard Sudoku game initiated from the Main Menu and can be done on any difficulty. However, Hard or Expert is recommended so that there are enough numbers to fill in. When the board loads, you need to confirm that there are NO MORE THAN two 7's already filled in. If there are, reload until you get two or less. Complete the puzzle in any fashion you like, making sure not to fill in any 7s. Once all other numbers are filled in, proceed to add in the 7's and unlock the achievement.
X Marks the Spot

5
Filled the board, leaving empty squares in an "X" shape in the center 3x3 block
(2)
This achievement requires that you fill in an entire board with numbers, except that five squares that form an "X" in the central 3x3 grid. This must be done in a standard Sudoku game initiated from the Main Menu and can be done on any difficulty. However, Hard or Expert is recommended so there is adequate empty space. When the board loads, you need to confirm that the "X" shape is clear in the middle grid. If it isn't, reload. You can proceed to fill the entire board, except the "X", with random, incorrect numbers. Once all other numbers are filled in but the "X", the achievement will unlock.