Shapedoku Notes Mode and Smart Notes Cleanup Guide

Turning on shapedoku notes mode

Shapedoku notes mode is the feature that lets you record which shapes might belong in a cell without committing to any of them, and switching it on takes one tap of the Notes toggle - or the N key in a browser. With notes mode active, tapping a shape no longer fills the cell with a final answer. Instead it drops a small pencil mark for that shape inside the cell, arranged so several candidates can sit together and stay readable. Tap the same shape again and the note disappears, so a cell list of possibilities is always yours to edit. Notes never count as moves against the solution, which means you can mark freely without any risk of triggering a mistake. When you are ready to commit, flip notes mode back off and place the final shape as usual. This separation between thinking out loud and giving a real answer is what turns Shapedoku from guesswork into deduction.

Where notes are allowed and where they are not

• Notes can be added only to empty, editable cells that you control
• Locked starting shapes cannot hold notes, since those cells are already solved
• A cell with a final shape shows no notes until you clear that shape first
• Adding a final shape to a cell clears any notes that were sitting in it

Smart Notes Cleanup does the bookkeeping

The standout part of shapedoku notes mode is Smart Notes Cleanup, which handles the tedious housekeeping that makes paper Sudoku so fiddly. The moment you place a final shape in a cell, the game automatically removes that same shape from the pencil notes of every related cell in the same row, the same column, and the same three by three box. So if you commit the Rose Heart to a cell, every other cell in its row, column, and box quietly drops the Rose Heart from its candidate list, because the rules now forbid it there. This keeps your notes accurate without you re-checking a dozen cells by hand after each placement. If you ever undo that placement, the cleanup is undone too and the removed notes return, so nothing is lost when you step back. It is deduction assistance, not a solver - the logic is still entirely yours to work out.

Auto-clean setting and manual control

Smart Notes Cleanup is convenient, but you stay in charge of it. There is an auto-clean setting you can turn off if you would rather your notes never change on their own, which some purists prefer so the board only ever shows marks they placed themselves. Even with cleanup on, nothing stops you from manually adding a note back after it has been removed - cleanup is a tidy-up pass, not a permanent rule about what you are allowed to write. That combination matters for hard boards, where you might deliberately keep a candidate visible while you test a chain of reasoning. The default behavior keeps casual games clean and readable, while the manual override and the off switch give experienced solvers the exact level of assistance they want, no more and no less.

A practical way to use notes

A practical way to use notes mode is to sweep a tricky region and pencil every legal candidate into its empty cells, then let the shapes talk to each other. Cells that end up with a single note are forced answers you can place with confidence. Pairs and triples that share candidates reveal patterns that point to the next move. As you commit those answers, Smart Notes Cleanup trims the surrounding candidates automatically, and the puzzle steadily untangles itself under your direction. Lean on notes early on the harder difficulties and you will make fewer mistakes, spend fewer hints, and understand exactly why each shape lands where it does. On the web you can pencil even faster by pressing N to enter notes and then tapping the number keys for each candidate shape.