Woodoku - Wood Block Puzzles
reviews and complaints

Yes, that describes me. If you can relate, do not get this game for more than three days.
It will quickly capture your attention then almost as quickly frustrate you to wanting to play another game to better your score.
Day one, about 10 games in, I scored 1084.

Days 2 &3, the closest I got to that was about 750 a couple times.

I know realize that early in the games you will receive a few 2&3 block pieces. Then after that, those are provided VERY rarely and never when needed most, when the board is nearly filled in. By this time, there will be many small 1, 2, & 3 piece pockets that need filling. IF you get a small piece, 9/10 times it will be facing the wrong direction which makes it either useless or another piece required to be placed where you want/need to keep it open. It’s a scam to hook you, then keep you playing by manipulating our minds’ inherent desire to always want to do just a bit better.

So enjoy it for a few short days. Then when you find it takes 50 games to beat your previous high score, realize the scammers have rigged their randomizer to manipulate you into trying just one more time.

In really hate to write a bad review for this app, as it is absolutely my favorite game to play. I like the regular game, enjoy the Daily Challenge, and love the Journey each week, even though it is very challenging (and I never can finish the Journey).

Unfortunately, Woodoku is a data hog. For a long time, it used about 7-8 Gb of data as I played. Then I noticed my iPhone having memory issues, and noticed that Woodoku was using a whopping 16.2 Gb of data. That is a ridiculous amount of data for any game to use.

I attempted to contact Support through the Woodoku App, with no response - not even a “we will get back to you soon.” Then I attempted to reach Support through Woodoku on the App Store. I was sent to a nice website all about Tripledot Studios, but no access was available to contact Support.

So, I deleted Woodoku. Use of my iPhone functions are more important than playing a really fun game. This use is excessive data has happened to another person I know. They also were not able to get in touch with Woodoku Support and has to delete the app.

Hope Tripledot Studios can figure this out. I’d really like to play this game.

I really do love this game! It can be frustrating at times but totally satisfying when your pieces align correctly. I’ve been playing this game on and off for a year or so, and there’s one thing I can’t wrap my head around: what is the purpose of the gem collection and the journeys? I think it would be really cool if you could trade your earned gems or journey awards for a specific block during a game…you know a shape of your choosing. And I understand that diminishes the challenge a little and takes away from the “randomness”, but it would really increase each player’s personal satisfaction. Let’s be honest here, those are what others reviews have reported being the most frustrating and annoying…

It seems like the biggest complain from other players is the ads. Is there a paid version that you can buy or subscribe to that turns those off?

Also, I’d like to see how I rate with other players. It shows you your personal scores, but I’m curious what other people’s high scores are. My best score 1787, but is that a low score in the grand scheme of the game or a high score?

Anyway, I still love the game and will keep playing it regardless!

First, to different on a mobile game not recording to ads or videos. I saw a YouTuber play it and they said it was great so, I downloaded it to see the fuss and how great it was but, as expected it was not even close on how good the YouTuber said it was so I was dissatisfied. Want to know something that’s upsetting? Ads are not even close to what the game is and it gets to hard after levels, very upsetting.

Second, the good thing about this is that it was fun for a while then, the hard thing happened and got me VERY upset so I don’t recommend this but after all is decent not terrible or bad it’s not the vibe at all, as I’m writing a whole paragraph your opinion is probably “why write a whole book when it’s not terrible or great.” Well I’m doing this so you have an honest opinion on this game and what I think of it.

Third, it could use more work then this, this is bad quality and I’m trying to write it in a good way which is difficult. I really think they could of spend more time on it and made it easier on levels higher then 8-10. As I was saying this game is not bad or great it is actually surprisingly good! Work harder but other then that great work. ❤️

I saw an ad for this game that showed a completely different type of puzzle. I’m not sure why they would bother since neither the actual game or the game they showed is any harder to make or more interesting, but it bugged me that it was using the classic fake line of “If you can solve this you have an IQ of 180”. But the puzzle still looked interesting so I checked it out. Sadly the puzzle in the game is not the one advertised.

The actual game is pretty boring since while there is a little skill to set yourself up so that you will be able to continue playing with whatever random pieces you get next, the difficulty depends entirely on which random pieces you get, which isn’t even consistent in the adventure mode (or whatever they call it). So the same level can be impossible one attempt and then ridiculously easy the next.

On top of this, the game displays misleading ads for other games between each level with no option to pay to remove the ads. I gave it a go for a while but when I got to an ad that wouldn’t play and just sat there frozen, rather than force quitting and reopening the app I just deleted it because it wasn’t what it claimed to be and it was frustrating to play.

I’ve been playing this since December last year to now continuing, and even though it has its ads it has fun themes, great strategies for each puzzle, and fun badges to earn, as well as for fun daily challenges to earn gems. This is a puzzle game I highly recommend because it hasn’t ever asked me for money nor has it ever made me bored. Here are more examples of why I suggest this from my experience playing this for almost a year now. First of all, The ads are only 5-30 seconds long. That’s honestly not bad in my opinion or experience because I’ve seen games have ads have 1 minute ads or even a 2 minute ads before. But thankfully this game has blessed me as a player with short ads that have never given anything bad to my phone such as a virus or such. Secondly, the game is free. It’s never asked me for money to get rid of ads, to help with hints, or anything in that category. This game makes me feel interested and ready for a challenge every day I play. These are the main examples of why I suggest this to anyone who plays puzzles. Developers, if you see this I congratulate you because as a player who has Autism you have pleased me with a great game that has great challenges! I’d like to hear from you soon. So yes this is a game I highly recommend!

I love this game. It’s fun, freezes, entertaining, challenging, addictive, buggie, unreliable, no version available for purchase, made my phone sick; Played the game for over a month despite all of its bugs.
It was so much fun, I would just wait for it to unfreeze & then I’d continue the game. If challenging peoples’ patience was the developer’s goal, well then, they succeeded.
I thought maybe the free version w adds was the issue and so I hopped over to the AppStore and was going to pay for the game! {for real. I was actually going to purchase a game} And to my crazy, unfortunate surprise there is not a purchasable version.
The bugs became so frequent, I followed troubleshooting suggestions and removed app, reinstalled and when the apps I would use after playing this game began to freeze I deleted the sucker…
Yet here I am a few weeks later, wanted to play the game so I gave it another go…and nothing has changed for the better! It actually freezes and lags more than before! Fearful it deposited something onto/into my phone or left a data creek open because again, other apps are freezing and bugging out again just as this game is!

Deleted again and trying to sound the alarm, “Don’t do it! Pass this game up & maybe even the developer’s others and keep your phone and info safe.”

Look, I will *payto have ads taken off. This game is fun, and I like filling out my daily puzzle calendar. But I am so tired of seeing the ads with the mom and her child suffering from poverty and the cold.

I know woodoku likely has no control over the ads that rotate, but the homescapes (or gardenscapes idk which one) ads are horrible and also happen to be the longest ads on top of that.

Finished the daily puzzle? Watch a sick trembling bed-ridden mom receive ice cream, her shivering daughter beg for the player to fix the fireplace (it stays broken), and them both stare at the player to fix the open window that’s been letting snow in this whole time (it also doesn’t get fixed). The viewer can’t actually do anything but watch. And there’s also ads from the same game where you watch the player purposely sabotage the mom and daughter from getting money from a puzzle. When they only get one coin out of hundreds, we watch them sob.

This game is my favorite nighttime thing to wind down with, but it gets ruined by these ads every time. They’re cheap, emotion farming, long, and so frequent. Please do something woodoku team, I like this app but it’s not worth seeing that same ad multiple times a week. I’ve been playing for 10 months, and I can’t imagine how many times I’ve seen that ad by now. I’ve reached my limit. I can’t do it anymore, man.

There is a consistant lack of smaller pieces provided the longer you play, as other reviewers have stated. It means you have to replay Journey games over and over and over to finally complete them.

Furthermore, the number of ad screens has increased from 2 to as many as 11 or 12 since you have to touch the super tiny ‘x’ to get back to the game. The difficult button means you switch back and forth between the ad and the download screen over and over and over until you hit the ‘x’ just right. Far too many interruptions for this game to be fun.

Also, there is no way to silence the ads unless you turn the sound off on your phone. You can silence the game sounds in the app but not the ads. That means no playing in bed, at work, or in public (ie. waiting in line or in s waiting room) without turning all media and phone sounds completely off. This causes all sorts of problems when opening the game and forgetting to toggle all phone sounds, alarms, audiobooks, etc off before starting to play.

And there are not enough days allowed to finish the journey activity. 5 days to get through 45 levels, each of which have ten or more ad pages after each fail and between levels.

All in all, the game is fun even though the parts dropping in to be played are far from random and the ads take up so much time and are
splittingly loud. Exceptionally fristrating.

Triple dot,
Today while playing Woodoku, a game for 12 and up. An ad for a game came up. This game featured a women in a thong and bra style nighty. This offended me greatly for several reasons. First I do not care to see other people in this state of dress. Second Twelve year olds are not adults and do not need to be subjected to this kind of sexuality. Social diseases and pregnancy is on a rise in this in this country. You as the maker of this game can’t eliminate this fact, however we can each do our part. What ads you accept are under your control. Third the women in this ad was overweight and the man in the ad was discussed by her body. Eating disorders are a very serious mental health diagnosis. Body shaming the adolescent as well as Adults contributes to this disease.

I do enjoy playing Woodoku and I have downloaded other games after seeing an ad while playing. I assume this is good for your company when player’s act on the ads we see while playing your games.
It is my hope to continue to play this game and others not only by your company but by other companies who advertise on your sites. Please remove inappropriate ads from your game sites.
I am giving your game a 1 star because it is my hope to be taken seriously and for others to see my concerns. We’re it not for this ad I would have given your game a much higher mark.

Jennifer Conner

The Good:
I will start by saying this is a very addicting game! I find myself playing it often. It’s challenging and fun.

The Bad:
As another reviewer stated, the game is rigged against you. You only get the small, useful pieces in the beginning. Once you’re deep in the level, it purposefully gives you pieces that will cause you to lose.
Another thing I don’t like is that you get an ad after every win and every loss. There’s no way to pay for an ad-free version. It’s very frustrating.

The Weird:
My husband had this game before me and he used to be able to “rotate” his pieces. He showed me and that’s what made me want to play, so I downloaded it. I never had the option to rotate my pieces, and he lost his rotate option. So not sure what happened but that was a major reason I wanted to play, and now it’s gone.

The Ugly:
The advertisements on this game are incredibly toxic and fatphobic! “Lose 50 lbs in 15 days”. I can’t imagine being a child seeing that advertisement and thinking it was 1) possible or 2) necessary. They are also HIGHLY unethical. THEY STEAL PHOTOS FROM INSTAGRAM, AND USE THEM TO PROMOTE WEIGHT LOSS PILLS. One Instagram person whose photos they stole is @natashapehrson, another is @shannonnicholesmith. Shannon happens to be a personal friend of mine and DID NOT CONSENT to her photos being used to promote gimmicky impossibly weight loss pills.

When I saw it, it was right up my alley, loved it! Very addictive and fun in concept..But…. The ads were brutal and still are but I actually figured that one out (thanks for giving that option, and I don’t mean buying my way out) When I first got the game, I was feeling my way through it like you do, you know seeing whats what. Well, when playing like the novice I was, you know, making random selections to see what’s what. I actually got my high score the first day, that was with zero understanding of the game, and certainly no strategic moves yet.. Ive been playing ever since and like to think my moves have become way more sophisticated and thought out, I mean really using strategy to further my cause. I’ve played hours now, I mean exhausting hours, and have yet to get even close to my high score I got the first day.. I get it, do what you gotta do to get us in the door, but come on! This really is impossible to further, the moves on your end seem less and less random and more heavy handed on preventing us from moving along.. Which brings me to my first experience of playing the game, you know, where I got my high score on the first day.. If you were able to give me that experience then you’re able to give me this frustrating experience. So, now I look at this game as fixed and not a game of my abilities, which kills the spirit I had in the first place when bought the game. So, there ya go, do what ya will with this, which I hope is something. Thanks

I played this game a bunch of time. I started to read the reviews and wonder why higher scores of around 3000 become rare. My high score was 2910

Having studied artificial intelligence and algorithms, I then played a few hundred times keeping track of metrics like:

1. Worst 3 pieces to get for next set of prices after you are finished with current 3 pieces
2. Number of current pieces on the board
3. Defragmentation of pieces on the board d

Then I applied Greedy Algorithm, MinMax, A Search, and a couple of others in my play.

It becomes very clear by the data that the next 3 moves are highly adversarial - meaning, not only are the next set of pieces not random, but as the score goes up, there is a correlation between a higher probability of getting three pieces that yield worst possible outcome and score.

Essentially, I think the probability getting a score higher than around 6000 is almost 0. I’m sure there is a way to hack the score file to show a higher score, but, at least to me, this makes it a poor game. There is an artificial ceiling regardless of how well the game is played. I think it’s unlikely that even an AI engine could get something like a 40000 or higher

I guess it’s a victory for whoever wrote the game that a user was willing to go through the process, but I would say I was looking for something that combined a random Tetris and a random Sudoku (well, by definition Sudoku is always solvable and not what I would call probabilistically adversarial)

The concept of this game is great. The problem is that it ultimately just winds up being luck. And that’s super frustrating for people waiting to play and ultimately master games of skill. There’s simply no ability to manipulate pieces in any way and so if you happen to catch a bunch of big pieces that don’t fit well, the game is quickly over. You might have an almost entirely cleared board, but then get a hunch of weirdly shaped pieces and there’s just nothing you can do. I feel like this really takes away from the fun of it since these games rely heavily upon momentum. This game absolutely obliterates any momentum that you might have in its refusal to allow for ANY kind of undo or block manipulation. I mean, even just having 3 “explodes” that you could play per game would make an enormous difference. I definitely think the ability to rotate pieces should be a focal point of the game. And then perhaps even those 3 “deletions” per game or something like that that I mentioned. But there’s just no way to combat runs of bad luck and so like I wrote, that really takes away from the enjoyment of getting good at some kind of strategy. It’s otherwise very well done, but the amount of fun you can have is severely diminished by the luck.

It also really seems as if the game was programmed to NOT actually give you random pieces as they frequently just happen to be exactly the opposite of what you need. So it does seem that there is some algorithm at play that reduces your odds further.

Five bucks…even ten, and i would have bought this. After trying this puzzle out and loving it, I looked around for the “In App Purchase” tab. There wasn’t one. I loved trying to beat my own score so much that i endured the ads, which were relentless and repetitive. One ad that just wouldn’t quit got on my nerves so much that i began to resent the “No Space Left” message at the end of each game as it meant having to sit and wait for each ad to play out. The option to quit each ad would not activate for at least 30 seconds, and the quit ‘X’ would be hidden away in background noise. After many games, this slowly started to prey on my mind - why not, i would ask myself, offer a purchase option which eliminates ads like tens of thousands of other games/apps etc, and build their business that way? Why inflict this kind of distraction on a customer base, if it was customer loyalty they were trying to establish? In this day and age, we have mostly resigned ourselves to yielding up some of our privacy as the cost of interacting in the virtual world, but as i went on with this game, the relentlessness of these ads eroded away my enjoyment of the game, and I came to believe that the longer i played, the longer the window remained open for the creators of this game (and god knows who else) to peer and pry more deeply into my online life. Being an older person who lived in a time (not that long ago actually) where one could engage with the commercial world and not be forced to yield your autonomy as you did so, I have come to realise that this game is but one example of the pernicious and cynical ways those with the power use to invade and infect the personal realm. Those with the smarts and the money can hold this force at bay (if they want to) but the rest of us, in the absence of good regulation, will inevitably have our private lives looted and compromised with very little recompense.

It’s annoying enough to have to put up with ads in between rounds of this game, but they are some of the weirdest game ads I have ever seen. And today ad’s came up for creating your own sexual adventure. This is disgusting and completely inappropriate. There could be kids playing this game for heaven sake. Make better choices since we don’t have any choice about these ads.

You use to could see you achievements at the end of the game. Just recently it started turning black as soon as you've reached your goal, and goes directly to an ad after that. I want it like it was so I can look at my game board for a few seconds to see what I've accomplished. Is there anyway you can go back to the way it was. Also I just found where you put the daily game. Instead of it coming up when you open the game, now you have to hit the home button. Took me a week to find it. I thought y'all had stop the daily game!

There’s literally an ad in between EVERY game, win or lose. And there is no way to silence the ads, even if your phone is on silent, and you change the music/sound settings in the game. If you’re in a silent place, it’s very inconvenient. Also, with the challenges you have 5 days to complete. There’s no way to complete them when you have to watch about 2 days worth of ads just to play.

Perhaps consider a paid version to eliminate ads. I don’t play a lot of times to avoid the annoyance.

I have been playing the daily game for months now and just ventured into the journey part of the game. You are not intended to win. I understand the challenge of receiving puzzle pieces and strategically placing them so you “stay alive” but when the game gives you three like pieces with room for only consistently the it doesn’t want you to succeed. I reached level 44 on the latest journey with 2 days remaining however there was an update and now no journeys are available. Disappointing!

The idea is awesome for this game, but the developer failed the " fun" factor, as the puzzle becomes more difficult since you cannot keep it nice a tidy , holes develop, now in the beginning you might get a single or double to fill in the space, giving a little hope and joy to the player , but no when the puzzle gets harder the pieces also get larger and more complex...double taxation is the result, so fix this great game that got overthought in development...cause Im ready to delete it!

I was addicted to the Journey version of this game until recent changes made it a game of chance rather than one of skill. I’ve reached out twice to see if this was intentional but received no response. It used to be that the new pieces that appeared at each level of the Journey were the same each time you played a particular level so that you could develop a plan to make it through. Now the pieces change each time you play a level so it comes down to blind luck. Happily deleting the App.

If you have a problem with the game, a suggestion for the game, what help from the support team on this game? You will find support has two responses, first one is thank you for your suggestion and we will pass it on. The second response is oh we’re sorry you’re having a problem with the game will pass it on. Well Developers, support team, advertisers, I have a suggestion for everybody else I’m passing you on my am deleting the game your updates keep crashing too many advertising and no support!

I am quite sure that this game does not randomly drop in pieces as the game progresses. It really seems like they are just the pieces that come up in order to keep you playing so they can show you more ads. If there were an option to pay so that you could make ads go away, that will be one thing but there isn’t. I can’t even believe anyone ever clicks on those ads anyway… The game is so badly designed that often the ads are only half showing in the window. I just deleted it from my phone and that felt great.

Addictive and fun but only to a point. The farther along you go on the Journey levels, the more frustrating. I had been playing for a couple of weeks but deleted the game today. I only needed one more jewel on three different games, and after four deals still didn’t get any tile combinations with any jewel at all. It just kept throwing tile formations at me until I lost. No more fun, just aggravating. I don’t give up easily, either. I’ve been playing Lily’s garden for about 4 years and am at Level 6,367.

While the gameplay is somewhat limited to seasonal “journeys” (level-based play for a limited time) or free play to set a new high score, the game is rendered pretty much unplayable. It constantly freezes or just shuts down completely over and over again. On top of that, the ads and inexplicable algorithm that rigs gameplay to increase difficulty that others have mentioned are the nails in the coffin. For a free game that makes its living serving ads, these guys have really shot themselves in the foot. Don’t waste your time.

Just confirming what others have pointed out. Initially it is quite fun. It is possible to achieve a high score if you strategize. This gradually becomes almost impossible, because the behavior of the game changes once you have played for several days or weeks. Shapes do not appear randomly. Certain essential shapes that appear frequently when you are a beginner completely stop appearing. The app begins to present the reverse of what would work. I don’t know if reloading this app re-sets it so that it becomes enjoyable again.

STOP ACCEPTING ADS FROM THE HOKA SHOE COMPANY. They actually pop up and interrupt BOTH game play (DURING a level) AND interrupt OTHER ADS. Yes, I've had between-level ads interrupted by these Hoka Shoe ads. And after you close them, the game DOES NOT continue as normal. Those ads actually CRASH THE GAME (which is true even for the latest version). Every time one of those pops up, I have to CLOSE and RESTART the game. It's bothersome enough that I'm on the verge of quitting the game AND leaving bad-advertising-practice reviews for the shoe company.

Garbage ap. Sure it’s mindless and with a swipe of my finger to remove and reset the game, I haven’t been forced to watch every ad. The banner ads are annoying and may have a lot to do with the constant freezing. Also, and maybe it’s just me but it feels designed more as an ad machine then a game. I’ve played WAY MORE games then I care to admit, and yet, regardless of tactics the highest I’ve ever scored was around 1400 points. I believe it’s designed for you to lose so you are forced to watch ads about games that you don’t want or that you have to buy.

And…………… delete

The game shows ads for other apps. I’ve seen twice just now, an ad that is very offensive. It shows woman who’s racially white, who uses a curling iron and burns her her. The problem is that the picture of her post-curling iron fire, shows a woman who’s skin is now chocolate brown with a different hairstyle that look like dreadlocks, portraying a black woman. The character walks up to a man, who runs away , looking visibly disgusted by her appearance. On a racial identify basis, this is so offensive and it’s as it a white guy is repulsed by a black woman. This is so wrong.

This game is like vengeful. As the points progress, the blocks delivered become entirely unworkable and even the opposite of the blocks needed. I’ve made it past 1000 twice or three times in the probably hundred plus times I’ve played in the last few months. In addition, you can’t even see the blocks that are coming next. So you can’t even prepare… no need to anyway, they’re all going to be trash with barely a single or double piece delivered throughout entire games… Too bad this is now the game I pick my phone up and play.. but hoping to find one that’s not entirely impossible to build skills or progress with. -.-

The app is designed to never let you win. Although there is no “ending” it gives you a chance to score pretty high then it makes it to where you will not pass that high score for a while. It will let you get close enough for you to keep trying which is why you keep playing it even though you know it’s probably unlikely for you to beat that high score. It’s blatantly obvious that the game slowly makes the puzzle completely unsolvable once you pass a score of 400. Smart scheme by the developers but it leaves the player looking for a game in which gives the player the satisfaction in progressing further, so in the end it’s hurting them more than us

I am glad that as I opened the market to do a review on this so was not the only person that found this out. This game is set up to keep you at a low average state. You can not win and will not achieve anything. Makes me sad because I was sure hoping to achieve high scores but then as you play along you realize that the game is not giving you specific blocks at a point. Then it begins to give you opposites of what you need. It is sad because it then becomes NOT a game. I deleted it immediately once I figured this out. Played for about a year constantly and stayed at same unintelligible medium average. Don’t expect to learn or to progress your mental skills here this is a cheating game.

As others have noted, This game is fun until you notice that it is totally rigged to get you to lose as quickly as possible. The pieces should appear randomly but it’s definitely not random.

For example, early in the game you sometimes get single squares, but they are wasted because you don’t need them early on. You need them later on, and that’s when they NEVER show up.

Also, it’s very common (so comment it’s comical) for you to need a special piece, but you don’t have it. Not having it, you have to put something else there instead. BOOM! The next piece you draw will be the piece you needed one move earlier. This happens way too often to be a coincidence.

I would like to add for those who have complained that the ads are too long—I recommend simply closing out the game on your phone as soon as an ad pops up, and then re-open it.

Particularly in the Journey levels, especially the more you advance, the game will give you the exact same blocks in the exact same order, attempt after attempt. Once you get so far into the Journey, the levels are impossible to win. Not difficult. IMPOSSIBLE by design. So that you will fail, and they can make you watch yet another interstitial ad. This app is obviously just a cash cow and the devs don’t care about actual game play or players. A couple things could make this app amazing.
1. offer a paid version, with the option to watch ads in order to receive perks
2. allow players opportunities to switch out a block for a chance at a better shape (if it’s truly random, this should already be an option as it is in other games) players could choose to watch ads for a certain number of swaps

The only thing keeping my review from 1 star is that the game itself IS fun up to the point you realize it’s screwing you because you’re getting too high a score.

If changes aren’t made, I’m deleting. Starting to get bored with playing a level 100+ times knowing that it’s rigged.