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App Store
Grounded
5/10

Pupdoku

Place one dog per backyard zone with no shared row, column, or paw-touch for triple-streak combos.

Core mechanic

Tap a tile to drop a dog, double-tap to mark a no-go, three wrong taps and you're out.

Controls

Single-thumb tap and double-tap on grid tiles.

Theme

Sudoku-meets-Minesweeper with pets (rides the Meowdoku #1 free wave and global dog/cat puzzle trend).

Why now

Meowdoku is #1 US casual with an 82K-rating fanbase hungry for clones with a fresh skin.

Signals · overall 5/10
Hook
5/10

Sudoku-with-cats premise is proven (Meowdoku 4.81★/82K ratings), but swapping to dogs offers no fresh emotional hook beyond minor skin — fans want Meowdoku, not a knockoff.Meowdoku rated 4.81/5 over 82K ratings confirms sudoku+pet skin worksOriginal Meowdoku! listing on App Store

Virality
4/10

Sudoku puzzle sessions are quiet solo play — pet skins generate some TikTok clips but no inherent shareable moment like a fail/win clip; pet-skin novelty has already been mined by Meowdoku.A second Meowdoku clone already exists, indicating low viral differentiation

Simplicity
9/10

Core loop is identical to sudoku, only reskinning artwork and copy — trivially cloneable, sub-2-week prototype.

Monetization
6/10

Meowdoku proves the model: no IAP, interstitial/rewarded ads segmented by tenure is the only lever — same playbook applies 1:1 to Pupdoku with reliable but modest hypercasual ad ARPDAU.Meowdoku runs ad-only monetization with tenure-segmented cool-downs, the playbook Pupdoku would copy

Whitespace
2/10

A 'Pupdoku: Dog Sudoku Game' by TSP Technology already ships on the US App Store, multiple Meowdoku clones exist, and the dog-skin variant of an Oakever hit will be flagged as derivative — market is effectively closed.Pupdoku: Dog Sudoku Game by TSP Technology already live on iOS, ID 6776662713Second Meowdoku clone shows how quickly this slot is being filled

Meowdoku! · #1 top free · US · Oakever GamesApp Store · 2026-07-18 (7d ago)