If you think Sudoku has become a little passé, you might want to turn your code-breaking aptitude towards the new kid on the block – Decodoku.

Devised by physicist Dr James Wootton from the University of Basel, Decodoku resembles Sudoku in more than just name. Players must rack their brains solving grid-based number puzzles to achieve a new high score.

The game isn’t just a fun distraction, however - it gives everybody an opportunity to contribute to the world of science. Players are invited to share with Wootton their innovative ways of solving the puzzles presented to them. These quirky methods can then be used to tackle a far greater and more mindboggling puzzle – quantum computing.

The project is supported by Swiss-based QSIT, a National Centre of Competence in Research dedicated to exploring the possibilities of quantum science. The aim is to take computing out of the binary dark-ages and into a superfast future, where computers can choose the correct answer to a problem from an incalculable number of possibilities within an instant. It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but many physicists believe with hard work it can be turned into science fact.

So whilst clever people in white coats tinker away in expensive labs, you can chip in from the comfort of your own home by playing Decodoku. Who said games were just a waste of time?

That’s not to say the science takes centre stage, though – Decodoku can be enjoyed just like any other puzzle game. The app’s clean, functional design and straightforward controls make it easy to get puzzling quickly.

There are two versions available – Decodoku and Decodoku:Puzzles. The first is akin to Threes! And 2048, whilst Decodoku:Puzzles will appeal to fans of Sudoku.

We spoke to Dr James Wootton - the scientist behind this exciting new game - about what makes Decodoku unique, and why we should give it a go.

How does your puzzle game differ from those that we have previously seen?

"Our game lets you do science. This is obviously very different from 2048 and the like. But our game is also different from other science games too. They usually just make you generate a bunch of data for other people to do research with. But our games don’t take any data from the players at all. Instead, it is up to the players to become scientists themselves. To not just get great scores, but to think about how they are doing it. Then we hope that they’ll share their secrets with us. But if they want to sell their methods to Google, that’s fine too."

"Balancing the game and the science was the most challenging part. It obviously needs to be fun. It needs to have a goal to achieve that isn’t too hard for beginners, but isn’t too easy for experts. It needs to be suitable to play for a minute while you wait for the bus, or for an hour or two (perhaps also waiting for a bus).

At the same time, it needs to be true to the science. It needs to make sure that the methods that players come up with can be directly applied to a quantum computer.

The science wasn’t designed for fun in mind, so I had to get creative. I can confirm that the finished product is true to the science. I hope that players agree that they are truly fun games as well."

"I’m not an experimental scientist, up to my elbows in grease. I’m a theorist, up to my elbows in chalk. So I don’t often see my work directly turn into something that the public can use and appreciate. Part of this project was about changing that. I saw an opportunity to get people involved in quantum computation, and I went for it: with the games, with the blog that explains the science behind it and hopefully in the future with an online course.

The idea came to me in Arosa, the same town where Erwin Schroedinger came up with the central equation of quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, I like to think that Decodoku is the best quantum idea to come out of Arosa."

What is the game’s community like, and have you found it to have a global appeal?

"We definitely have global appeal! Our game is especially popular among the English and German speaking nations, but we have people coming in from everywhere.

Our main launch last week was with an AMA on the science part of Reddit. It got a lot of interest (and upvotes). Since then, our subreddit is the growing hub of the community. It’s currently where people go to share their scores, which are usually much better than mine.

I’m excited to see how the community grows. I’ll soon start making videos for our YouTube channel about the methods that scientists currently use, and continue with methods developed by players to beat us. But I hope that players also respond with their own videos too."

Decodoku is a score based game where users play until failure. When do players reach game over?

"The game starts with a few small groups of numbers. It’s your job to work out which numbers belong to which groups, and then get rid of them. But despite your best efforts, the groups will get bigger over time. Once one gets too big, the game ends. The longer you last, the higher your score.

The training games make it easier to see how things go wrong. In these you don’t need to work out the groups. They are flagged up in different colours for you. So you will see them grow, and try to work out better methods to keep them small."

"Quantum computers are noisy. We have to deal with the noise, or they’ll just tell us that 42 is 6x9 is some other such nonsense. We get clues about what noise happened, and then we’ll use normal computers to solve the puzzle and work out how to get rid of the errors.

First we need to work out how to do it ourselves. For some types of quantum computer, the methods we know so far are all rubbish. We need to improve them. So I made the puzzles into apps, to let everyone have a go. So if a player works out a good method to get a high score in Decodoku, or to win almost every time in Decodoku:Puzzles, then they will know more than us! They can give us a few tips and tricks on how to make our quantum computers better."

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Decodoku:App store:Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Decodoku.Decodoku&hl=en_GB Decodoku Puzzles:App store: https://itunes.apple.com/ch/app/decodoku-puzzles/id1133169889?l=en&mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Decodoku.DecodokuPuzzles