For fans of Sudoku and Tetris, Woodoku will test your brains to its limits.

The playboard is a square with a unique design. It has 9 big squares, and within the squares are 9 smaller squares. The colors make it look like a cross, with the center and corner squares in a darker shade of brown. Hence, you have 9 rows and 9 columns in the large square. The setup looks like a Sudoku puzzle for numbers, but you are using blocks instead. The blocks are little squares in different arrangements, and they fit into the empty squares on the board. 

On the settings page, you can switch the sound effects on or off. You can also change the preferred language, play the tutorial or restart the board if the game is not going well. There is no currency involved in the game, because once you run out of moves, the game will end. Above the board, there is an arrow to return to the start page. There are sounds when you place the blocks on the board, and when the board clears. Combo sounds are louder and celebratory, a happy notification that you have extra points. 

On the main screen, the settings are on the top right above the name. You have the option to play daily challenges, embark on a Woodoku journey, or play a normal game without additional challenges. You compete with yourself in the game by trying to beat your last high score, or fulfilling the orders. There is no undo button in the game. Once the block slides into the squares, you can not remove them anymore. So you have to make sure that the block is in the right place before releasing your finger off the screen.

You are given 3 random pieces of wooden blocks; they appear below the game board. Drag the pieces to the square blocks. The object of the game is to piece them together without running out of space. To gain points, place the blocks onto the board. You get more points when you clear a line, a square. Place the blocks strategically to form a line of 9 smaller squares, or fill the square of the same shade. When you fill all the spaces, the specific line or board will clear all the blocks and you can continue to fill them with new blocks. 

When there is no possible space, the blocks below will be shaded gray and you cannot move them. This will cause you to lose the round as you have run out of moves. You cannot rotate or flip the blocks in the game. The blocks come in various orientations, it can be a single block of one, diagonal blocks, or a T shaped block. You have to plan the placement so that you have enough space for an odd shaped block. For the Journey and Daily Challenge mode, small jewels will be set on the board. Clear the gems by creating a square or a line using the blocks.

The trick to getting a high score is to think a few steps ahead. As your points get higher, the game will give you larger blocks, or oddly shaped blocks, to make it harder to place. This means that your priority in Woodoku is to clear the board as quickly as possible to make way for new blocks. Only the same square of the same shade will clear. It does not count if you fill the square in two different shades. 

The diagonal blocks can be hard to place as you fill up the board, and it can go up to 5 diagonal blocks. Hence, make matches frequently to clear the board and lines, sometimes the blocks span 4 to 5 spaces. Avoid leaving single or double spaces on the board, as these easy blocks do not always appear for you. 

You have two ways to get points in Woodoku: when you place a block on the board, and when you clear the space. Getting multiple matches allows you to get more points, or when you make another match on the next move. Focus on filling and matching from the center, as you can fill to the sides as the blocks come in different shapes.  

For Daily Challenges and Journey plays, your goal is to collect the gemstones. Collect a set amount or colored gems to pass a level. At the start, there will be gems on the board. They can also appear in the blocks at the bottom of the board. Since your goal is to collect the gems, aim to match in a line or a square around the gem. Once you collect the required amount, you will pass the challenge to move on to the next level. 

There are also levels where you have to achieve certain scores. To pass the level, fill the bar from zero to the target score on the top of the board. There is no time limit to reach the score, but the blocks are harder to fit with each match. To pass the score based levels, aim for multipliers and combo moves to fill the bar quickly. 

In the Journey’s section, your quest is to collect gems and reach target scores. As you go to higher levels, there will be fewer chances of getting single or double blocks in your puzzle pieces. Hence, focus on clearing the board rather than leaving spaces to fill. It is tempting to aim for multipliers and combo points, but the chances of getting small blocks diminish as the game progresses. The blocks are randomly selected, but there will be less single or double blocks to help fill the single space if you make a mistake. 

In the normal puzzle mode, there are no limits to the maximum score you can earn in a game. As long as you are careful to place the blocks in position, you can play on the same board for hours on end. Share your highest score in the comment area below so that more people can like this game.