I’m really glad the explanations and instant feedback helped you break past that plateau. You’re also absolutely right about the early gameplay feeling a bit cumbersome at first - that part is intentional, and it’s great to hear it paid off as things opened up later on.Thanks again for the kind words and for supporting the app! 😊

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such detailed feedback, I really appreciate it, especially since you clearly know what you like after playing so many Sudoku games.About the tap / long-press behavior: I completely understand why this feels uncomfortable if you’re used to a notes on/off toggle. That muscle memory is strong, and switching interaction models can definitely be frustrating.Before anything else, one quick question - have you tried enabling Auto-Solve Singles (and Auto-Eliminate Candidates) in Settings? With those turned on, you usually don’t need to long-press very often, and the solving flow becomes much faster. Many players miss these options at first, but they make a big difference.That said, I’ll be honest about why I designed it this way. I actually consider the tap / long-press approach an advantage - for the very same reasons you currently see it as a drawback 🙂My goals were: - to keep the UI cleaner (no extra mode toggle to manage), - to make the most common action (removing candidates) a simple tap, - and to make placing a final solution feel more deliberate, which naturally fits better with mobile UI than another button.Promoting a candidate to a solution is a more “final” action, so I wanted it to feel intentional rather than accidental. This design choice also comes from my own experience: I originally built Hintoku for myself years ago, and I kept making mistakes in other apps simply because I forgot to switch between notes and solution mode.Regarding tapping when a long-press is required:When a cell still contains multiple candidates, Hintoku can’t reliably tell your intent - a tap might mean “remove this candidate” or “place this number as the solution using the wrong gesture”. In that situation, the app treats it as an error. When a cell has only one candidate left, the situation is different: the intent is unambiguous. Because of that, Hintoku intentionally does not penalize a tap in this case. Instead, it simply prompts for a long-press to confirm the solution. This is a small usability feature designed to avoid “punishing” an obvious, correct move - something that isn’t possible when multiple candidates are still present.Thanks again for giving Hintoku a try and for being honest about your experience. If you’re curious about the “why” behind other design decisions in the app, feel free to email me at developer@hlms.cz - I’d be happy to share more (including a short write-up on why I built Hintoku).I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

It means a lot to hear that the teaching side came through — especially from someone tackling tougher strategies like XY-Wing! I spent a lot of time trying to get the balance just right between nudging and showing, so your words really hit home. Thanks so much!

Thank you so much! I’m really glad the explanation helped - and even happier to hear Hintoku is making the strategies click. That’s exactly why I built it: to make learning these techniques more intuitive and approachable. If you ever have feedback or ideas as you keep playing, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again for the kind words and support! 😊