dailysudoku.com

[Glassman]

Definition: Stickler:- one who attempts to solve Sudoku puzzles without writing anything down other than the solution in solved cells (obviously without using any other aids to memory). All you use to solve a problem is your brain and your fingers as an aid to counting.

The puzzle of Thursday March 17 is a beauty, and, in my humble opinion, the best of all by this compiler for sticklers. On no less than three occasions, while solving this puzzle, I was on the verge of giving up and printing out a large grid so that I could enter all the possibilities. It took me two days, on and off, to solve. Wonderful. I am glad I did not resort to non-stickler tactics.

Obviously you will find a great deal on this website about this wonderful devious and vicious puzzle. If you really want to enjoy it, print it out on a standard grid, close this website, and solve it, stickler fashion.

I cannot say more without spoiling it.

Glassman

[geoff h]

Yes, I agree with you that solving some of these puzzles without resorting to any markings on the grid is quite a challenge!! So far, I have only attempted the medium puzzles using the Stickler Method. This is the first Hard one I have tried. I succeeded after about one and a half hours, so thanks for the great suggestion. I recommend it for anyone to try without markings on the grid.

Cheers.

[Guest]

I use no other methods except 'stickler' to solve any sodoku puzzles because this is the only method I know.

When I first started back in July, my average time for hard/V.Hard puzzles was about 1 hour, but now I only need around 20mins.

My advise for everyone is to use the 'sticklers' method all the time because it gives you more satisfaction and you will get better.

This method only fails when the puzzle has more than one solutions or can only be solved with trial & error (commonly found in newspapper).

I'm glad to say that this site only publishes unique solution puzzles that do not require trial & error to solve them.

Derek.

[dotdot]

[Glassman]

[David Bryant]

[Glassman]

*** CAUTION — Please do not read on if you wish to solve this classic puzzle — further posts discuss the solution. ***

David & dotdot — Counting with fingers as an aid to memory? My experiments have now proved this untrue. To make the most effective use of fingers for 9x9 Sudoku, it is obviously best to use trinary? / tertiary? numbers, as fingers can be held in three ways, straight, bent, or folded. Two fingers can then be used to represent the nine numbers 0–22 or 0–8 in decimal. By making the 0 represent trinary 100 or decimal 9 you can see that we only need two fingers, enabling the storage of five numbers on ten fingers.

The problems with this are many. First your fingers start to ache from holding them in one position. Then you forget the trinary system, and have to work it out again, by which time you have forgotten what the problem was you were trying to solve. Then you pick up your mug of coffee and lose all the numbers on that hand. Same when you pick up a pencil. And, finally, all this makes you forget whether you are keeping a note of the numbers it can't be or those it can.

So, I conclude that fingers are more trouble than they are worth.

Glassman 8)

*** CAUTION — Please do not read on if you wish to solve this classic puzzle — further posts discuss the solution. ***

[boweasel]

What do people mean about unique solutions? I read about how interesting this particular puzzle was while reading through forum postings, and I thought I oughta give it a crack.

I came up with 3 different solutions, performed a 'search' on the keywords "march' and 17 to what the other readers had to say about the multiple solutions, but saw no mention of it...

The 3 possibilities are:
1- 4 (r1c3), 3 (r1c7), 8 (r1c9), 8 (r2c3), 4 (r2c9)
2- 4 (r1c3), 8 (r1c7), 3 (r1c9), 8 (r2c3), 4 (r2c9)
3- 8 (r1c3), 3 (r1c7), 4 (r1c9), 4 (r2c3), 8 (r2c9)

Or am I suffering from too much spiked egg nog?

Bo

[Glassman]

[boweasel]

Yes, one solution only. Note to self: 'Never try to complete a sudoku when impaired by Christmas cheer'.

Thanks for not being too hard on me.

Bo