| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Katie
Joined: 05 Aug 2005
Posts: 13
Location: London
|
 Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 11:33 am Post subject: Thanks |
 |
|
| Thanks for all these Sudoku puzzles. It gets my brain into gear each day. I really enjoy the "very hard " puzzles. Can we have more of them please. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Philmac
Joined: 04 Aug 2005
Posts: 16
Location: Cheshire, England
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
Whoa katie !!! Some of us are mere mortals and struggle on the 'hard variety' How much time do you spend on them?
Phil |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
someone_somewhere
Joined: 07 Aug 2005
Posts: 275
Location: Munich
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
I am a slow one, it takes me about 1 hour for a very hard.
There is always someone better than me. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Katie
Joined: 05 Aug 2005
Posts: 13
Location: London
|
| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
The very hard ones take about 45 minutes to complete - none of this "done it in 10 minutes" lark. 
I recognise that not everyone can manage the very hard ones yet, but the others don't seem to be so taxing any longer. There's not much point in doing the easier ones if completing them is no longer satisfying. Maybe the site could provide one of each difficulty each day, to please the multitudes who are now hooked on sudoku. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Guest
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| That is a great suggestion (to have one of each variety each day), as I find that when they are easy I don't really want to do them or enjoy them (it seems like just busy work), and I would rather do something else...but the hard still interests me somewhat, but the very hard ones are GREAT!!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
someone_somewhere
Joined: 07 Aug 2005
Posts: 275
Location: Munich
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Every morning, I am cheking the coffein level from my coffe by solving a Sudoku. Or cheking the level of Sudoku with the temperature of the coffee. Or cheking myself with the Sudoku and the Coffee.
Not enjoying them, would mean that I can get back to sleep.
see u |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
David Bryant
Joined: 29 Jul 2005
Posts: 559
Location: Denver, Colorado
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:26 pm Post subject: Have pity on Samgj |
|
|
| Katie wrote: | | .... Maybe the site could provide one of each difficulty each day, to please the multitudes who are now hooked on sudoku. |
There are lots of other sites, too. Some of them post some pretty hard puzzles.
Some of these puzzles are not easily solved -- just think how hard it is to compose them!
I think Samgj is doing a great job already, and it might not be fair to ask him to put even more time and effort into it. dcb |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Katie
Joined: 05 Aug 2005
Posts: 13
Location: London
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 2:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I get the message  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
samgj
Site Admin
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Cambridge
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject: Re: Have pity on Samgj |
|
|
| David Bryant wrote: | | Katie wrote: | | .... Maybe the site could provide one of each difficulty each day, to please the multitudes who are now hooked on sudoku. |
There are lots of other sites, too. Some of them post some pretty hard puzzles.
Some of these puzzles are not easily solved -- just think how hard it is to compose them!
|
Hey guys
Sorry for the silence, and thanks for the compliments (I'm not so sure about the pity  ).
For now I don't intend to put multiple difficulty puzzles up every day -- for a couple of reasons:
1. The Times started doing this a while ago. What this meant for me is that I only ever did the hard ones. I thought this was a shame. I quite enjoy doing the easier puzzles with some self-set restrictions -- say, completing in 10 mins, or not using any "pencil marks".
2. David is right in a way -- the site takes some effort to keep going -- and I can get recompense for this by selling books. Making everything that everyone wants eats large amounts of time, but also removes any way of making a little cash from the effort. If you want lots of hard ones, then I think the right thing to do is to buy a book (if you don't fancy one of mine then feel free to go for another!). I hope this doesn't sound too mercenary -- the site is intended to remain free for ever more!
3. You should all do some real work occasionally :)
However, I do intend to provide more puzzles of various variants over time. Daily Sudoku for Kids will appear within the week hopefully, and I have other plans -- check back soon!
Sam |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Katie
Joined: 05 Aug 2005
Posts: 13
Location: London
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2005 10:49 am Post subject: |
|
|
I DO do real work !!! Sudoku is just a pleasurable pastime. It makes commuting more manageable, and lunches more palatable.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
treezie
Joined: 09 Aug 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Colchester
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Kids Sudoku - wow!!!! My little girl who is 9 really enjoys doing the easy puzzle so she is going to be mighty impressed by this!!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kate36
Joined: 19 Aug 2005
Posts: 2
|
| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2005 4:09 am Post subject: Re: Thanks |
|
|
| Katie wrote: | | Thanks for all these Sudoku puzzles. It gets my brain into gear each day. I really enjoy the "very hard " puzzles. Can we have more of them please. |
I am new to sudoku, but enjoying them immensely. I understand the basic principle, but now I hear there are more variations on the game, and there is even a 'word' sudoku, is that right?
Am I also right in thinking there are different 'techniques' involved, when completing [or attempting to complete, in my case!] the puzzle?
cheers
kate |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
David Bryant
Joined: 29 Jul 2005
Posts: 559
Location: Denver, Colorado
|
| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:56 pm Post subject: Re: Thanks |
|
|
| kate36 wrote: | ... Am I also right in thinking there are different 'techniques' involved, when completing [or attempting to complete, in my case!] the puzzle?
cheers
kate |
The techniques involved are always some variation on the process of eliminating possibilities until only one is left. Different people go about this in different ways. There is some fairly standard terminology in general use.
Personally, I usually start a puzzle by looking for two instances of a single number falling in rows (or columns) that constitute 2/3 of the cells in some set of three big 3x3 boxes. No doubt you've already figured this out for yourself. If there's an "8" in column 1 in the top left box, and an "8" in column 3 in the bottom left box, the "8" for the middle left box must appear in column 2. And then, if we're in luck, one or two of these three cells may be "blocked" somehow -- maybe by another "8" on the right hand side of the puzzle, or maybe by a number that's already entered somewhere in {r4c2, r5c2, r6c2}.
Another simple combination to look for is the situation where the intersection of a row and a column, plus the contents of the 3x3 box containing that intersection cell, already contain 8 digits, leaving just one possibility at the intersection cell. These combinations aren't as easy to spot as the paired numbers in adjacent rows or columns, imho.
After this it tends to get a little tricky. I think most people proceed by making some sort of marks on the puzzle, to indicate where one can't be certain which of two numbers appear in a cell, but can be certain that one of those two numbers must appear in that cell. Sometimes you'll find two cells like this in the same row, or column, or box. Then you can make further inferences ... for instance, if you already know where {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} appear in column 1, and if you also know that two cells (say r1c1 and r2c1, just for the sake of argument) must contain the pair of numbers {7, 8} in some order, then you're only left with one possible spot for the digit "9" in column 1 -- six of the cells are already filled in, and the other two cannot contain a "9" because only {7, 8} can fit in them.
I'd better not go on like this -- I could write a book. Some people already have!
There's lots of stuff about Sudoku on the web. The Wikipedia site has an excellent article about it. And Samgj has provided a good set of links right here.
I hope that's helpful, kate. dcb |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
