99 Club Studio v1.26.0 — Magic reasoning + Mini Sudoku / Latin Squares

Release date: 11 September 2026

Magic Squares reasoning refresh

The former Find the magic total activity has been replaced by a stronger reasoning task:

  • Check: is it a magic square?
  • pupils check rows, columns and both main diagonals;
  • if two totals differ they can stop and explain why;
  • if the square is valid they need evidence that the required totals agree;
  • generated check puzzles deliberately mix valid and broken squares.

The remaining Magic Square variants are retained:

  • Fill missing values;
  • Spot & fix the error;
  • Transform the square;
  • Mixed variants.

Internal number-generation descriptions such as step 3, starting 24 remain in activity data for reproducibility but are no longer shown on pupil/answer previews or PDFs.

New game engine: Mini Sudoku & Latin Squares

A fifth printable game engine has been added under Logic & patterns.

Teacher options:

  • Easy / Standard / Challenge;
  • Auto / 4×4 / 6×6;
  • Auto mix / Mini Sudoku / Latin Square;
  • More / Balanced / Fewer clues.

Mini Sudoku requires each number once in every row, column and outlined box. Latin Squares use the row/column rule only.

Every generated puzzle is solved by the engine before it is accepted. Clues are removed only while the resulting puzzle retains exactly one solution.

Game setup UX

The setup interaction has been simplified:

  • game cards show Configure when closed;
  • the open card shows Done;
  • Done actually removes the specialist setup panel;
  • selecting a game no longer forces its setup to remain open;
  • all per-game settings remain saved while the panel is collapsed.

Worked examples

Mini Sudoku / Latin Squares participate in the common worked-example system. The example explains the row/column/box rules, demonstrates a single missing-cell deduction and includes a tip and common-mistake warning.

The existing richer Magic Square worked example is retained.

Compatibility

No changes to the public 99 Club generator, Custom Worksheets, graph/coordinate/pie/angle engines, curated vocabulary count, printer-friendly Crossword layout or the existing PDF download split.