Bring sudoku-style murder mysteries to your phone or desktop with Murdoku

Published Nov 10, 2026, 7:00 AM EST Namerah Saud Fatmi has been writing about smartphones, accessories, e-readers, and apps for nearly a decade. She occasionally branches out into sects like gaming, software, hardware, smart home, and wearables. Before How-To Geek, she was a senior editor at Android Central, and has had bylines at other respectable publications such as Windows Central, iMore, XDA Developers, Neowin, and Good e-Reader. When she isn't writing or testing yet another weird and wonderful new gadget, she spends her free time snuggling with her grumpy feline life partner. Her hobbies include casual gaming, traveling, attempting to pet anything classified as an animal, unnecessarily complicated craft projects, and hunting for the next great bowl of noodles. As a puzzle lover, I am a huge fan of apps that challenge the mind. Solving logic-based problems or riddles scratches an itch inside my brain that nothing else can. If you're a Wordle addict, you'll relate. One popular format that I keep coming back to is an age-old classic: sudoku. The signature 9x9 layout of sudoku presents the potential for endless fun. There are plenty of apps for computers and phones that let you play the traditional 81-square numerical game. Just like games like Quordle and Octordle evolved Wordle, advanced versions of sudoku have also come to be. Some game developers have started having fun with the classic format, putting fun spins on it, and they're extremely good fun. After spending a healthy amount of time obsessing over the unique variations of sudoku the internet has given us, Murdoku stands out as the crown jewel. This fantastic web-based game brings murder mysteries to your phone or computer in the form of a sudoku grid. Each level is a case that must be solved, complete with victims, murderers, suspects, and clues. Find the killer using the basic rules of sudoku A genius way to revamp a classic logic-based game Unlike a classic level of sudoku, Murdoku starts at a 5x5 layout. As the levels get harder, it steadily goes all the way up to a 16x16 grid. The grid represents a map of every level. The rules are incredibly straightforward. Players have to figure out the placement of every individual, including the victim and the murderer. Only one character can exist per row and column, just like individual numbers in sudoku. Your goal is to identify the killer by solving the level. This is done by correctly placing every character based on the contextual clues provided per level. Each level features sections that divide the map into areas like a garden, bedroom, or living room. Additional elements provide more relevant details for players to decipher, such as couches, bushes, carpets, and bookshelves. Some elements block out a square, so a person cannot be placed there. The changing environments and elements keep the game fresh, with every level setting a different scene. Multi-platform continuity keeps you hooked Pick up where you left off on any device Murdoku is a web-based game, so all you need is an internet browser and an internet connection to play the game. The web version is free to play. You can save your progress by linking your Google account to the game. Syncing with Google was a really smart move on the developer's part. It lets you pick up the game right where you left off on any platform, whether you're on a computer or a smartphone. This is the only option to save your progress, though. If you don't want to link your Google profile to the game, you'll still be able to continue where you left off, as progress is saved in local browser storage. But it prevents players from continuing that progress on other devices. The game's controls are incredibly simple too. You can click with a mouse or tap on a touchscreen to block out a square or mark it as a potential location for a character. A long press or click places the selected character in a square. There are other helpful tools as well, such as an eraser and an undo button. And when the going gets tough, six to eight free hints are provided per level to further aid players in solving each level. Another perk of Murdoku is that you can toggle the dark mode on PC and mobile browsers alike. Once you fill in all the squares with your guesses, submit your answers to see whether you cleared the level. If you were wrong, the game circles correct guesses in green and incorrect ones in red. The game also recommends a YouTube tutorial to solve the level. The only deal-breaker is that the game ends A finite number of puzzles Murdoku is an interactive brain-teaser that pushes the clogs of your mind to really think. As the levels get harder and harder, the happy feeling of solving a mystery successfully also amplifies. The changing nature of the scenes, characters, and board sizes per level keeps you engaged. There's not a single dull level in the game, which is why I believe the only real downside of the game is that it ends. Once you finish 43 levels, you're left staring at the screen, wondering what to play next. Fortunately, the creator of the puzzle, Manuel Garand, launches new cases for players to solve every so often. But if that frequency isn't quick enough to satisfy you, you can always buy the original format of the game. Murdoku originally launched as a paperback puzzle book. Currently, Garand has published five editions of the paperback version. Each book features 80 different murder cases. It isn't as interactive as a phone or computer screen, but it's enough to placate you while you wait for the next level of the digitized Murduko game to be released. Murdoku: 80 Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles Title Murdoku: 80 Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles Author Manuel Garand Genre Puzzle Pages 208 Publication Date October 28, 2025 Number of Pages 208 Flex your brain muscles with this sudoku and murder mystery mashup puzzle book. The book brings 80 unique cases for you to solve, featuring different environments, scenes, and characters. Each case brings something new to the table, keeping you on your toes.