Patent ID: 8167714

Claim:
A puzzle game apparatus, comprising: a display device; a user input device, and a processor executing a program stored on a non-transitory storage medium, the program when executed by the processor causes the game apparatus to: display a solution area having a plurality of cells arranged in a matrix; display a clue area in which a plurality of numbers each representing the number of cells to be marked, wherein the clue area is adjacent the cells in the solution area; display in the clue area a normal numerical clue which corresponds to a row or a column in the matrix and represents the number of cells to be marked in the corresponding row or column, wherein the normal numerical clue is displayed in a region of the clue area corresponding to the row or the column; display in the clue area a large sized numerical clue simultaneously with the normal numerical clue, wherein the large numerical clue represents the number of cells to be marked in a contiguous form over a plurality of adjoining rows or a plurality of adjoining columns in the matrix, wherein the large sized numerical clue is displayed in a region of the clue area adjacent the rows or columns including the cells corresponding to the number of the large sized numerical clue, and the region spans the plurality of adjoining rows or the plurality of adjoining columns corresponding to the large sized numerical clue; identify a cell to be marked, among the cells in the solution area, in accordance with an operation by a player; mark and display the identified cell; and determine whether or not a set of the marked cells presents a figure which is a correct solution of a puzzle.