# Sudoku Showdown Game Rules This is the working rules reference for Sudoku Showdown v1. It is intended to become the source for the future in-game "How to Play" and room-options pages. ## The Goal Sudoku Showdown supports races for 2 to 5 players and personal Solo Runs. In a showdown, everyone solves the same Sudoku puzzle at the same time. In Solo Run, the goal is to improve your own Classic or Assisted record for each difficulty. ## Starting a Showdown 1. One player creates a room and shares its room code. 2. Other players enter that code to join the room. 3. The host chooses the difficulty and match rules while the room is in the lobby. 4. Every player selects "I'm ready." 5. The host starts the showdown. A short countdown begins, then everyone can enter numbers. At least two players are required. If the host changes the difficulty or any match rule, every player's ready status resets so everyone can review the new setup before the game begins. ## Puzzle Difficulty The host chooses one shared puzzle difficulty: - Easy - Medium - Hard - Expert Difficulty changes the generated puzzle. The game currently uses distinct clue counts for each level; solver-based difficulty ratings are planned for a later release. ## Match Rule Presets The host can select a preset or adjust the visible options. Any adjustment changes the room to a Custom preset. | Preset | Notes | Hints | Mistake penalty | Mistake cap | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Friendly | Allowed | 5 | None | None | | Standard | Allowed | 3 | -5 points per mistake | None | | Hardcore | Off | 0 | Progressive | 3 mistakes | With a progressive penalty, the first mistake costs 5 points, the second costs 10, the third costs 15, and so on. Scores never go below zero. ## Host Options Before the countdown, the host can set: - Whether pencil-mark notes are allowed. - The hint limit: 0, 1, 3, or 5. - The mistake penalty: none, flat, or progressive. - A mistake cap: off, 3, 5, or 7 mistakes. Rules and difficulty lock when the countdown starts. The room displays a compact rule summary in the lobby, during play, and after a player finishes. ## During Play - A correct entry earns 10 points. - Correct entries lock in place and cannot be erased. - A hint reveals one correct value and costs 25 points. - A completed puzzle earns a 100-point finish bonus. - A wrong entry increments the player's mistake count and applies the room's penalty, if one is enabled. - In v1, incorrect entries are removed after the mistake is recorded. The game does not leave a known-wrong number on the board. If a player reaches the room's mistake cap, their board locks and they can watch the live standings for the rest of the showdown. ## Finishing and Rankings The first player to complete the puzzle correctly finishes first. Players who finish at nearly the same time are separated by fewer mistakes, then fewer hints. Players who are still solving rank by progress, then their mistake record and score. Eliminated players rank after active and finished players. Finished and eliminated players can remain in the room to watch the live leaderboard. ## Solo Run Solo Run uses the same generated Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert puzzles without creating a multiplayer room. It is designed for practice and personal competition: - Standard rules apply: notes are allowed, three hints are available, and each mistake costs 5 points. - Correct entries earn 10 points, hints cost 25 points, and completing the puzzle earns a 100-point finish bonus. - The run can be paused. Paused time does not count toward the finish time, and the full board is hidden until the player resumes. - The finish screen shows elapsed time, score, mistakes, and hints used. - Completed results are saved in Local stats on that browser and grouped by difficulty. ### Classic and Assisted Solo Leaderboards Every Solo Run starts as Classic: - Classic means the puzzle was completed without using a hint. - Classic runs rank by fastest time, then fewer mistakes, then higher score. - Using a hint immediately changes the run to Assisted. - Assisted runs rank by fewer hints, then fewer mistakes, then fastest time, then higher score. - An Assisted finish can never replace a Classic personal best. Leaderboards contains separate Classic and Assisted Solo boards for Easy, Hard, and Expert. Each board shows the personal best, recent average, completion count, and up to ten ranked finishes. Solo records belong to a private Local stats profile in v1. The web game stores it in this browser, so clearing browser site data removes its record book. Accounts, synchronized records, global rankings, and daily puzzles remain future work. ## Multiplayer Leaderboards Every active showdown includes a live, room-only leaderboard. Final room standings remain readable for 24 hours while the room is available. After a room reaches final results, Leaderboards saves the current player's showdown summary in Local stats: placement, player count, difficulty, rule preset, time, score, mistakes, and hints. It also displays their total showdowns, wins, podiums, and win rate. Solo times and multiplayer placements are never mixed into one ranking. Custom rule rooms remain in a player's history but are not comparable across rooms. ## Future Rules Work The current game gives immediate feedback on mistakes. A future competitive mode may use delayed feedback, where entries are not immediately confirmed as correct or incorrect. That is the appropriate context to revisit keeping incorrect values on the board. For the native Apple version, wrong entries should also use a negative audio cue and native haptic feedback, with player sound controls. ### Scheduled Showdowns (Post-v1) A future release may let a host schedule a showdown for a specific date, time, and time zone. Its invitation code would remain valid before the match so players can join the guest list and review the selected rules. - The ready room opens 15 minutes before the scheduled start. - The host still starts the showdown; it does not begin automatically. - If the host has not started the match within 30 minutes after its scheduled time, the room expires. - Once started, the match follows the normal playing, completed, and expired room lifecycle. - Completed results remain available in read-only form for 24 hours. Scheduled showdowns are intentionally outside the v1 scope because reliable reminders, time-zone handling, rescheduling, and Apple push notifications need to be designed together.