Nick Jordan

My husband, newly retired is similarly addicted. Where can I find books of su-do-ku for him?

Can I buy a book of Su Doku puzzles? Kim Uphill, Reading

Wayne Gould’s response to the same question on http://www.sudoku.com: “At the moment there are no books available in the UK, but this will probably change soon. Keep an eye on the bookshop shelves next year. When a book is available, an announcement will undoubtedly be made on http://www.sudoku.com, if nowhere else.”

In Japan, there are 25 or so books or magazines of Su doku puzzles published each year. I have about 130 such books in my own collection.

i have done exactly the same, and while im only 15 i find them so fun to do

The Times now has a pre-order page for book coming out in March. It appears to be previous Times puzzles, though, so might not help.

Although I haven’t gotten them yet, I found Sudoku books online from Japan. They ship outside of Japan and payment is through PayPal, which converts the currency.

http://www.nikoli.co.jp/storage/penpabon/index.htm.en

I’ve found an interesting Sudoku creator/helper/solver at http://www.geocities.com/mpp_v1/fun/. It should generate over 65 million different Sudoku puzzles, which should keep me going for a while

I was looking for a book of puzzles but couldn’t find one. If you have a Palm there are
a couple of sudoku puzzle generators at the PalmGear site (sudoku 0.2 and sudoku 0.4).

I’ve just build a Sudoku solver that uses ‘logic’ rather than brute force number-crunching, and shows how it works - something I think Sudoku-lovers will appreciate. It would be great to get feedback on the site as I am not 100% sure this will solve all the possible Sudokus out there. Please visit http://www.sudokusolver.co.uk. Thanks!

In response to Andrea Robson, you can find a book of Sudoku puzzles on Amazon.co.uk for under £5 right here.

In response to Peter wake. Your solver started off very well but did not suceed in solving the Times Sudoku puzzle from last Friday.

You can make new puzzles and solve old ones with my free Javascript Sudoku puzzle creator and workpad at http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/mark/sudoku/. If you are technically minded you can even study the source code!

Hi Andrea, you are right - I’ve realised that to solve the puzzle you need to make ‘guesses’. This is a bit frustrating as I was sure it was doable by logic! I’ve updated the solver with a new program to do this - please visit the site again (http://www.sudokusolver.co.uk) and let me know if it can solve the Sudoku you mentioned! Thanks.

All the Times puzzles, indeed all properly-constructed sudoku puzzles, are solveable by logical deduction alone, although sometimes the logic required is pretty tortuous. You can always solve a puzzle by trial and error but where’s the fun in that?

If anyone is desperate for some printed Sudoku puzzles, I’ve got 125 graded puzzles (easy, medium, taxing, difficult & almost impossible) available, laser printed on A4, with blank grid work pads. You can find out how to get hold of a copym from the Sudoku-xls website . Then, just follow the “125 SuDoKu Puzzles” link, under the “Downloads” section on the left. There’s also a free Excel Workbook to download, with workpads and a puzzle generator.

I’ve seen a tip for solving problems; if you have two cells that may either contain a seven or an eight, it was suggested that you assume that one of them is a seven and use this assumption until proven wrong. Then you go back and try the other alternative. Is this considered working it out logically or making a guess. sounds like a guess to me. Would you need to do this for the Times sudoku problems?

I’d consider that to be making a guess, and it’s definitely not necessary when solving the Times’ puzzles.

I’ve just started my own Sudoku website at http://www.sudokufun.com. Please visit and try your luck against the other Sudoku players around the world.

A 23 step sequence of solving a typical sudoku puzzle is here:-
The Sudoku Solver
It is the only site I’ve seen that takes you through the whole process step by step.

For free Su Doku software you can visit my website at http://www.su-doku.com. You get an effectively limitless supply of graded puzzles, a tutor that presents the solution to any puzzle or takes you step-by-step through a solution. Puzzles can be saved, restored and printed.

The Times sell a book of Sudoku puzzles, and you can subscribe and play on line for USD$3.99 a month at http://www.puzzle.jp - quite a good site. I tried out their sample puzzles.

In addition to the first book of Sudoku puzzles (available at Amazon.co.uk here for under a fiver, Volume 2 by the same author is about to be published. You can pre-order it, as I have, from Amazon, again for under a fiver, here.

My husband and daughter are lost to me until they solve the day’s Su Doku! Does anyone know what the name means? Thanks!

There is a book of Sudoku available in the UK - I bought it in Waterstones.
It is published by the Times Newspaper and is also available to order from their website.

Painstaking, time consuming but efective: fill in every blank square with blanks for figures which cannot be there, fill in the figures which could be there, and start from there

Writing a Su Doku Solver was almost as much fun as solving a Su Doku itself . I’ve written versions for both Mac OS X and Windows, which are also Freeware (Free, Gratis and No-Money-Down!). You can download either from http://www.peteshaw.com

You can buy The Times Su Doku Book 1 and pre-order The Times Su Doku Book 2 from The Times’s official website. They offer 15% off and at least you know that they are OFFICIAL - and not one of the copies that aren’t necessarily unique and solvable by logic alone.

This is the one featured by Mick Mepham on his Telegraph readers page.

Regards,

Peter

I have just purchased from W.H. Smith, the newsagents, a Sudoku puzzle magazine.(18th April) It is issue number 1. It is exclusive to W.H. Smith. The magazine contains around 59 graded Sudoku puzzles of easy, medium and hard. There are also a few other interesting variant Sudoku puzzles to keep everyone entertained together with a competition Sudoku. The price is £2.75. Appears at this time that it will be issued bi-monthly.

Anyone who thinks 3×3 Sudoku puzzles are easy might like to try the 4×4 one in this quarter’s Tough Puzzles. I don’t think the word ‘difficult’ does it justice - solving it must have taken me about 10 hours on and off!

I would highly recommend the Japanese Sudoku magazines. I subscribe to 3 of them, Nanpure Fan, Nanpure Joy, and Nanpure Joy special. As well as standard number place puzzles, these magazines have stacks of variants. One such regular treat is an enormous puzzle that comes as a double-sided fold-out. One side is a Sudoku, consisting of 59 9×9 grids, interlocking at the corners. The other side is an equally giant Slither Link. Nanpure Fan has more variety, but no fold-outs; Nanpure Joy has fold-outs but not the variety of variants. Nanpure Joy Special contains the massive fold-out and variants, including other puzzles like Kakro and Slither link. There are some Japanese bookshops in and around London that can mail order these magazines, or they can be bought on-line. I am envious of the person above who managed to get issue 1 of Sudoku at WH Smiths. I’ve visted around 7 branches during the course of last week and at the weekend. They were either out of stock or didn’t stock it anyway!

Re my comments logged as number 28 and in answer to Marilyn’s comments (number 30) regarding the new Sudoku magazine from W.H. Smith. In case of difficulty please contact the subscription hotline telephone number 0870 787 9306, or write to, Sudoku Subscriptions Dept, Galleon, FREEPOST NAT 50-48, PO Box 453, Sittingbourne.MW9 8BR. I also see that The Times is going to issue their Sudoku Book 2. The release date is set for early June. Now I’m off to search out those Japanese magazines mentioned by Marilyn! Hope this helps. Regards, Richard Colliass.

Re number 31: Good luck with searching for the Japanese magazines, Richard. Let me know if I can help, e.g. give you order codes. It might also help if you have friends in the USA who can send you the magazines. There’s a chain of Japanese bookstores in the States called Kinokuniya that stock these magazines (and other Sudoku magazines) in store. Regards, Marilyn

I saw a new magazine in the stores today - Su-Doku Selection. It’s a monthly magazine, with some other logic puzzles as well.

Anyone know of SuDoku software for the pocketpc??
At the moment I am viewing them as pdf files, but its a bit awkward..

The Times (of London) have released a version for you mobile phone, http://www.timesonline.com/sudoku has the details or you can visit the developers site directly (http://www.teazel.com).

It doesn’t work on the pocket pc yet.

I’ve been doing these puzzles for about 3 weeks (a newbie!) and am still picking up techniques. After making a number of mistakes using pencil and paper, and having to start again from scratch, I started writing a solver but stopped to write this (free to use) helper instead…

http://www.sudokumate.com

hope it helps!

Hello again. The number ofSudoku books is blossoming, almostexponentially it seems. Here’s a link to check out all the latest books on Amazon.co.uk.

Re comment 34: Try Bunnydoku by Handango.com. I read on another Sudoku forum that it’s quite a good game, with 200 or so puzzles.

A group of professors studying Van Der Waerden numbers (the mathematical underpinnings of Sudoku type puzzles) recently put out a book of Sudoku and related puzzles incuding some really unusual variants. The other cool thing is they have developed a way to include hints at the back of the book that allow you to get a hint without looking at the entire solution. It’s available both in print, and in downloadable PDF format.

Puzzles Galore: Volume 1

Thought I’d share this downloadable helper file, it’s really good and can be put onto Laptops or PDAs to use while traveling

Bunnydoku is a nice-looking PocketPC version. The unregistered version is limited (can’t do random puzzles, can’t create your own, can only do puzzles with 35 empty spaces) but registration is only US$3 so it’s not going to break the bank. Haven’t installed it yet so no idea if it’s actually any good though.

I’ve been playing the Sudoku puzzles in the Daily Mirror for a week now and I’m hooked! I want to buy the magazine advertised in the paper (on the puzzles page somewhere) but I’ve looked everywhere with no luck. Does anyone know where the magazine is sold?

Here’s my site offering “Su-Doku Monthly”.
June Issue available now.
Have Fun!
Kind regards,
Rayzee

I have just hit on this site while looking for su-doku puzzles yes! I am another addict.
They are brilliant and I do them daily in the Mirror I have also down loaded a puzzle that has 40 variations I’ve done all those and now am on the look out for more it’s nice to know there are more su -addicts out there.

Wow - what a great list of sites in the comments, so here’s another called Web Sudoku - it has a nice calm interface.

I got hooked on the Times puzzles even though I’m hopeless at them and now I can’t put them down. Is there a book I can buy if so how much is it?

Hannah: There’s a monthly puzzle book called Su-doku Selection that’s available from W.H. Smith amongst others for £2.00, and the Times has published a book. There are also a couple of books published by the Daily Telegraph that are available from Amazon.

Can anyone let me know an English-language website where I can order the nanpure magazines? I’m looking for puzzles similar to the Samurai Sudoku published by “The Times” over the bank holiday and think these may have some similar puzzles.

Thanks.

Is there any software that allows the user to solve the puzzle, but just gets rid of the tedious bits, ie, it shows for each cell only those numbers that are still possible, because they do not repeat a number already in its row, column or square?

Mike: I’m not aware of anything like that, although I haven’t looked. It’d be pretty trivial to write, though. Maybe I’ll have a go.

Re Comment 48: Babs, I don’t know what the Samurai Sudoku was like, but I can give you a rough idea of what you can expect to find in the Japanese magazines (or at least the ones I get). There are standard graded 9×9s and larger grids of various sizes. The biggest I’ve seen is 28×28. Variants to the standard include the numbers 1-9 placed also on both long diagonals and the “latin squares” type, where 1-9 is placed in different shapes. This one also has diagonal placing. There are multiple grids that interlock so that numbers are shared, 3D grids, other assorted variants, a few other logic puzzles, fold-outs of large puzzles and a little pull-out book of additional puzzles. If none of this sounds similar to the Samurai Sudoku, please could you describe it and I’ll see if it comes under the “other assorted variants”!

I believe there are around 10 number place magazines published in Japan and I’m on a quest to find and sample each and every one of them! I know of one English language website so far, Fujisan.com but I don’t think they ship internationally. If I come across another site, I will let you know. You could also try other sources, e.g. Asian bookshops, if there are any in your area, who could import the magazines. I get my magazines from the Japancentre Bookshop in London who do a mail order service. If you wish to contact them the telephone number is 020 7439 8035 (ask for Kato, who manages subscriptions). Email: info@japancentrebookshop.co.uk. Pricewise, the magazines will cost you around £6 - not that much different from the Times or Telegraph paperbacks, but far better in quantity and variety. The 3 magazines I get range between 150 to over 200 puzzles an issue.

Should you find other websites, you might need ordering codes for the magazines. These are as follows.

Nanpure Fan - 06815
Nanpure Joy - 06861
Nanpure Joy Special (Cho Nanmon Nanpure) - 06862

Good luck in your search.

Does anyone know what is the minimum number of rows, columns and squares you have to check when you’ve completed a Sudoku puzzle, to make sure you’ve got it right? Obviously this is where you haven’t got (or can’t wait for) the printed solution.

I’m starting up a Sudoku fansite webring to link as many Sudoku sites as possible. If you have a Sudoku related website, joining is totally free and easy. To get started, go to: http://t.webring.com/wrman?ring=sudoku&addsite

Has anyone got the answer to the Samurai Sudoku from UK Times 28th May - I missed the answer in Tuesdays Times and am going slowly mad trying to solve it. Thanks

I’ve been solving Sudoku puzzles in Nikoli books and other Japanese magazines on and off for over 10 years.

1) If a number place puzzle isn’t symmetrical, it isn’t a “sudoku”, merely a number place puzzle — or what ever else you want to call it.

2) The solution to a Sudoku can ALWAYS be found using logic alone. The logical steps may be beyond the capabilities of the person trying to solve it. The logical steps may required may be convoluted and difficult to describe in an algorithm and therefore difficult to codify.

3) Though “trial and error” are NEVER required, no matter how difficult the puzzle is — it is a perfectly legitimate logical tactic. The idea that this isn’t logic flies in the face of — logic. Think of a chess player contemplating her next move. She visualizes one move after the other, evaluating each in turn, eliminating those with bad results. “If I move here, he can move there, I’ll have to move thusly … oh, then he’ll take my rook. That’s no good. Let’s try something else.” To describe this as “mere” trial and error rather than logical thinking is absurd.

Whether you like it or not, you are already using T&E to some degree when using other tactics. You are always looking for ‘contradictions’ allowing you to eliminate possibilities. Deciding which spot to use what method is a series of hunt and search, trial and errors.

4) If you really have a thing against using T&E — here’s another way to approach it: Say you have a cell that can be one of two numbers. Follow the implications each possibility forces. If you can find another cell that BOTH possibilities force — then you can fill that cell without ever having to find a contradiction — in fact, without knowing yet what number belongs in the first cell. I use this method often on the hardest puzzles. For example, my though processes might be: “Cell a1 is either 8 or 9. If a1 is 8, then d1 must be 7, from that it follows that d4 is 5, and from that it follows that e4 is 6. On the other hand, if a1 is 9, then a8 is 4, from that it follows that f8 is 7, from that it follows that f4 is 5 and finally e4 is 6. Since both a1=8 and a1=9 implies that e4=6.” I don’t think I could codify this method. It’s beyond my skills to implement it in a piece of software. But it’s the most rewarding tactic when it works. Of course, while doing this, sometimes I’ll stumble upon a contradiction and realize that I can eliminate one line of reasoning.

5) When I hear people complaining that one puzzle or other cannot be solved by logic — what they’re actually saying is they don’t like their puzzles too hard. That’s perfectly fine. Though once in a while I like to work on the hardest possible puzzle, most of the time, I prefer to solve those that are somewhat easier. But I don’t fool myself by blaming the puzzle or puzzle constructor. I know my limits. I cannot solve diagram less crossword puzzles though my wife breezes through them. I *know* it is my limitation, not a defect in the puzzle.

Does anyone know where i can get a copy of the bank holiday sumarai sudoku from the times?
I missed the paper and am kicking myself!!

Paul Erdos (RIP), probably the foremost number theorist of our time, used to pose questions|problems along with money rewards as bounty for the solution. Two important questions for SuDoKu which are similar to his questions are:

1) What is the smallest number of givens which has to be provided in order to guarantee a unique solution?
2) What is the maximum number of givens which can be supplied and still provide multiple solutions?

AFAIK, both are unanswered problems.

Sarah: is this the bank holiday sumarai sudoku you’re talking about?
It’s a scan, but better than nothing.
There’s a hint at the bottom alluding to another one.

Symmetry a requirement?

From what I’ve read (in English), symmetry has been a trait to increase the popularity of sudoku.

I’m willing to take a stab at the Japanese to read the particulars but my translating will be much slower than it used to be from a car accident several years ago.

(there’s nothing like a good concussion to cost one nearly all Japanese and virtually all Chinese. Fortunately, English remains.)

Aha! Thanks, Phil, for the scan of the samurai sudoku. I’ve been curious about that puzzle since it was mentioned in comment 48. Nice to know that it is indeed one of the many configurations found in the Japanese magazines and that it’s getting exposure in the UK. I shall have to get the Times more often, now!

ayeeeeeeeeeeeeees ive got 1 it includes 3 differrent puzzles plus the classic su-doku it includes over 80 good luk finding it

Response to comment 35: Its seem that there are quite a number of of mobile versions of sudoku around; the only one i have seen that gives you unlimited puzzles is at http://www.qgates.com can’t wait to get my hands on it…

I’ve been hunting around for a mobile version that is not limited to x puzzles. I found a new mobile sudoku here at http://www.qgates.com that seems to operate on a wide range of different handsets, including some of the oldies. It looks great but doesn’t appear to be out just yet. I’ve dropped them an email; thought you guys might like the heads up

John C.

Has anyone found a printable samurai style worksheet? It’s annoying that the puzzle in the Times won’t quite fit in my scanner.

Here is an interesting website.
sudoku.infoforliving.com

Hi All
Hanrahan Media is currently in Production of a new Sudoku Gameshow with Carol Voderman for Sky One. This show will go out live on Sky One on Friday 1st July. We are currently looking for contestants to make up 9 Teams of 9. If you would like to take part in the show then please contact Dan on 01789 450 182 or email green@hanrahanmedia.com and I will contact you.

Marilyn - Thanks for your answers RE #48. It’s good to know that the configuration is in the Japanese magazines as I really like it. So far it’s only in “The Times” on Saturdays afaik.

Just thought you might like to know that there is a new Sudoku program available for download at http://www.GoldstoneServices.co.uk

The full product includes 10,000 brand new puzzles; puzzle solver; design mode to create your own puzzles; print option - handy for journeys; puzzle checker to see if you have made any obvious mistakes; Auto Notes so you can see candidate numbers for each square at a glance.

The demo version includes 10 sample puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty so that you can try before you buy. The product is priced at £9.99 which is not bad when you consider that thats for 10,000 puzzles!!!

I developed a “Sudoku Cracker” application. Just fill the initial cells of any “Valid” Sudoku puzzle, click the “Fill” button, and in few seconds the 81-cell matrix will be automatically filled.
Are you interested?

Where can i get the samurai sudoku that was in the times on saturday 11 june because i wrote the puzzle down and have realised that i’ve missed a number out. Thank you James

Stacks of puzzles on these sites for your entertainment. The puzzles can be played on-line or printed out. Sites are Japanese, but that shouldn’t deter the intrepid puzzler!

http://www.oct.zaq.ne.jp/woodside/jsudok/

http://www.takana.info/numberquest/index.htm has some interesting configurations.

http://www.takana.info/numberquest/htm/number_200.htm is a very big Samurai type puzzle.

Does anyone know of a simple (read: free) program that can tell whether a Sudoku puzzle is a true one, i.e. has a single unique solution?

I rather not tear the rest of my hair out until I have proof that I haven’t become the victim of a misprint.

In answer to Kanyons post, the (free) demo version of the Sudoku program from http://www.GoldstoneServices.co.uk includes the feature that you require.

Simply enter design mode, clear the board and enter the givens for a puzzle. Having done so, select Test Puzzle and the program will solve the puzzle (without showing you the answer) and tell you whether it is valid or not.

I’ve had some people from a Japanese TV company interviewing me today and they’ve asked me to ask you if you know of any schools that are using Sudoku in their classes or any old people’s homes/social clubs that are using them to help keep their residents’/members’ minds sharp. If you can help you can email Andrew Foord at andrew@nhk.co.uk or phone him on 020-7393-8107.

I’ve tried to solve the Samurai puzzle in today’s Times (18 June 2005)and failed. I believe that it may be flawed. I have verified that I have correct solutions for the central (9×9)Su Doku & the Su Doku containing the solution cell “B”. However, using the 3×3 grid from the central Su Doku in the Su Doku containing the solution cell “A”, I find the puzzle incorrect (I can’t logically have a 3 in the 3×3 grid containing the solution cell”A”). Comments?

I’m also addicted and in our house it’s a race to see who manages to get the paper first each morning! My mum went on holiday yesterday early and took it with her so I haven’t been able to do my samurai one, could someone email it to me please. If I can’t do a normal Su Doku at breakfast, I take it to school as I’m 15 and my friends and I compare ours!

I’ve also found that a samurai sudoku is impossible, not sure what the date is but i know a few other people who treid and all got stuck on the same thing in the centre grid where you had a conflicting 7 or 8

I’ve written Sudoku and Samurai Sudoku Helpers to show which cells are solvable - there is no ‘cheating’, but these features are available for use, if only to save on hair loss! These and some 1620 Sudoku puzzles I generated are downloadable for free from the link below.

There are some GREAT books on ebay…. There are a lot of programs too but.. I prefer to sit down with pencil and paper than stare at the screen for hours on end.. Super Sudoku is also available which drives me mad but is great to achive..

Another new monthly magazine is out, called Su-Doku Time. It has 120 standard grid puzzles with suggested times to beat, ranging between 10 minutes and 45 minutes, some untimed coffee break quickies and brain melters. The magazine costs £2.50. There’s also mention of two other magazines coming out, Su-Doku Kids and The Big Su-Doku Puzzle Magazine.

Su Doku made easier at http://www.urbanrim.org.uk/sudoku.htm

Response to comment 49 by Mike. There are a number about the web. Mine’s at

http://www.sudokumate.com/sudokumate.asp

Does anyone know where I can buy a Sudoku program for my Palm Tungsten E? Thanks in advance!

Katrina: there’s a Sudoku puzzle for Palm called SingleNumber which you can get from here.

Please visit our Big Dutch Sudoku site at http://sudoku.jouwpagina.nl
Or our Su Doku Forum: http://xray.messageboard.nl/11712/index.php

im 13 and my mum buys the times every saturday and we have an aruguement about whoose going to do the sudoku puzzle coz we both love doing them

There are a few of the Samurai Sudoku Puzzle here:
http://sudoku.4thewww.com/samurai/

They can be printed out in an easy to use format. The answers are also on the page if you get stuck

Hi,

You might be interested in this link: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sudokuworld/

Kind regards,

Frank

I am so addicteddddddddddd!!!

A new electronic hand-held game is coming out soon. Here are the details.

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=srmr&page=title&r=GADG&title=688974

On Question #83 These are my #1 and #2 favorite Palm Sudoku programs and my comments on them.
http://www.scss.com.au/family/andrew/pdas/palm/myprogs/sudoku/
http://www.onesir.com/sudoku/
http://www.sudoku.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=5145#5145

can you solve this for me please ?
http://users.skynet.be/film/sudoku.gif

Is anyone going to deSPAM these messages?

Nahoo: The only comments that are allowed here are ones that I have specifically approved. I don’t mind individuals mentioning software they’ve written as long as they don’t go overboard but there’s nothing here that I’d consider spam. There are some frivolous or stupid comments but I’m quite happy to let people show themselves for what they are if that’s what they want to do.

Re comment 64: There is a printable samurai worksheet available at http://sudoku.top-notch.co.uk (as well as free and premium samurai-type puzzles)

Please help me… I have become adicted to Sudoku. However I do not want to pay for puzzles. Can you tell me where I can download free sudoku puzzles?

how many people love sudoku puzzles? loads obviously!!!! however most of da sites they recomend have to be downloaded whilst you want to be able to print them out simplyand easily! my god if only that were soo easy. And i agree that none of these messages are spam but they can be kinda useful and it’s a free country! And anyway as it’s da summer hols i am very easily amused wid the sodoku puzzles- and i am very easily distracted! And i am only 14 and i bet ya u didnt think so at the begginning! caits x x x x x x

A free to use and distribute SuDoKu program is available by request. When solving puzzles, the program explains how and why. Around 2,500 puzzles are also included.

Hi - we have a free puzzle every day on our site, and instructions on how to include it on your own site if you want.
Feel free to add it to your web page.

http://www.sudokuworks.com/DailyPuzzle.asp

Cheers, Dave

If you like sudoku I recommend you PrintSudoku.com. I has 6 new sudokus every day ready for printing.

There is a free Sudoku generator and printer
here. Requires Adobe Reader to view and print.

Hi Nick, I happened to find your journal introduced on the Japanese TV news program this morning.
It’s amazing to know Sudoku is quite popular in UK! I suppose it is because British people love “logical way of thinking” as we Japanese people do.
Me? Of course I’m addicted to Sudoku! By the way, we Japanese call it “Number Place” or “Number Placement”. :->
Good luck!

Where can I find a SUDOKU “cracker”? If you know it please send my a mail: drejon@azet.sk Thanks!

please can anyone help me with the “samurai” sudoku that was in the Books section of the sat times on 20th august..I forgot to buy the paper with the solution in and resorted to a computer solver which said it was unsolvable! please help me..is it me or was it printed wrong?

Comment 64 - - try printing them using Excel, cell size of 33 pixels works just fine.
Comment 87 - - got quite excited thinking I’d found some new puzzles but they are just copies of the ones from The Times.

when was sudoku first printed and when 1st printed in u.k.?

The Guardian has started to include a daily Kakuro puzzle which is similar to Sudoku. Have a look at my site for more info :

http://www.kakuro.info

Free Samurai Sudoku for print:
http://sudoku.binaryworlds.com/

I am so addicted to Sudoku!!
I found 4 Sudoku eBooks on ebay and bought them all for not quite $3.
I got the buy 3 get 1 free deal!!! Can’t beat that!!
There’s 96 puzzles w/solutions in each Volume.
Each volume range from Easy to Very Hard.
User goes by the name bidcents. I highly recommend the ebooks for ANY addict.
Have fun.

Probably better if I just posted a link huh?
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZbidcents

Have fun.

New sudoku site
http://www.pedagonet.com/sudokuE

Sudoku eBooks http://www.sudoku-ebooks.com

Your might like to look at

http://www.123sudoku.com

which has some introductory information, puzzles, links,
as well as some discussion of mathematical issues.

I’ve been posting KILLER Sudoku (Samunamupure) puzzle on my website daily for a week now.

I’ve also posted one SAMURAI puzzle and there’s more to come!

If you are interested, visit http://www.djape.net.sudoku/wp

Cheers!

hello- im obsessed with su doku as well!

Hi, just set up a new website this week. It features three new puzzles every single day and weekly Killer, Samurai and Super Su Doku, visit us at http:///www.angelfire.com/games6/sudoku

Hi. Me and my brother have just released a free sudoku program (Sudoku Assistenten) that will let you (among other things)
Solve, rate diffculty, save, get hints (easy and advanced), learn and even MAKE your very own SUDOKU that then can be SHARED on the programs online forum! So if you every wanted to make your own Sudoku, this is the program for you! No computer generated puzzles here, you decide where the numbers go! Check it out at: http://www.sudoku.frihost.net let us know what you think of it!
regards,
Havard

Free Sudokus serves over a million Sudoku puzzles a month. Super sudokus. Printable versions too.

You can play Sudoku with Paris Hilton - really!
She’s in good company…

http://www.ImDoku.com

I am offering kakuro puzzle freeware game (for windows computers) with 35 puzzles. You can download it from http://www.syndicate.yoogi.com/cross-sums/

can u give me the answers to a sodoku

Ultimatesudoku.com - say no more

I have just published a new Sudoku book containing 360 Sudoku, GoDoku & TriDoku puzzles! Check-out my website!

I have a soduku puzzle generator which allows you to put upto 4 possible numbers per square and has 3 levels of difficulty in which the hardest is impossible available for £1.70 and also a kakuro puzzle generator for the same price. Files will be sent as email attachments. Contact me at barsim@v21net.co.uk if interested and want to buy or need more info.

The best sudoku player on the net - by miles!

I’ve found, searching google for “su doku generator”, this url witch provides generation of pdf file for 1-50 “simple” (9×9, not 16×16) su doku puzzles (difficulty rating scaled in 4 : from easy to very hard, or random at choice), including solution or not.

Because everyone here talks about Sudoku books: I recently downloaded “su doku pro” which is game software but can also be used to make your own Sudoku books at the push of a button and you can publish them too.

I DO NOT WANT ALL OF THAT I WANT ANSWERS TO MY OWN SUDUKO GAME

Hello

My name is Hagai Izenberg and I’m the owner of a web site for Kakuro games:

http://www.kakurolive.com

Kakuro (also called Cross-Sum) is a numeric crossword puzzle. It is
considered more challenging than Sudoku, but just as addictive to its
fans and it is taking over the world as quickly as Sudoku did.

We have developed software for generating puzzles for any size and
any shape, our puzzles are build using a unique Algorithm we
developed that support these important qualifications:

- All the puzzles have only one solution

- All the puzzles can be solved logically without need of guessing.

Many newspapers around the world are rushing to publish Kakuro
puzzles for their readers, you can read about it here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1569223,00.html

We would like to cooperate with your newspaper to promote the Kakuro
game using our puzzles and website, our business model is very
flexible and I am sure we can find a way to cooperate with your newspaper.

For example : we can provide you Kakuro puzzles daily or weekly on a
regular basis for free, each puzzle published must be accompanied by
my copyright notice (”© Puzzles by KakuroLive.com”) and by the words
“play more Kakuro game at http://www.kakurolive.com”.

Please contact me if you are interested in cooperating with our web
site and publish Kakuro games in your paper.

My contact information:

Hagai Izenberg

kakurolive@gmail.com

Thanks

Hagai Izenberg

i also love it so much.

I think this is one of the top sudoku sites on the net.

Happy New Year

Hi everyone,

I have written a FREE Windows program intended to replace paper and pencil to simplify the task of solving Sudoku puzzles. It does NOT solve them for you… what fun would that be?

The program is also free from reminder screens, registration prompts, advertisements, and other such annoyances. It is very easy to use, and supports pencilmarks, cell locking/unlocking. It also validates your guesses
against numbers in the same square, row, and column.

The name of the program is Sudoku Sidekick, and you can find it here:

http://www.peak.org/~greglief/sudoku/

Best wishes,

Greg

Hello,
I just found this wordpress blog beacuse I was looking for a javascript sudoku program which I found here, and it is quite nice.

Still, one I really love is one I found here:
http://www.lemo.dk/sudoku/

There you can download a program which was made with C.
It creates new sudokus, solves them, and gives them out as PDF file with solution and step by step explanation.

There you can also fetch sudokus from a list or create up to a 100 sudokus at a time as PDF file with solutions included at the end.

I whink thats one of the best sites I have seen until now.

Nick: how about putting some colour into the blog?
Here I have my wordpress testblog: http://www.umm-pur.com/wordpress
Well, its just for testing Colourful enough

I think that sudoku would be more fun if it involved hunting harmless animals. Like cats and/or small dogs.

I created a website a few months ago that people here might enjoy:

http://www.logicgamesonline.com/sudoku/

It randomly generates sudoku puzzles so you get a different one each time you load it. The puzzles are graded for difficulty, and any rated below “Near Impossible” are solvable without guessing. There are pencil marks and background colors to help you if you get stuck, and a timer so you can see how long it takes.

There is also a sudoku tutorial to help you get started at http://www.logicgamesonline.com/sudoku/tutorial

Enjoy.

Sorry - the tutorial link should be http://www.logicgamesonline.com/sudoku/tutorial.html

I have just published a book “25×25 Sudoku with letters” on Lulu.com. I would be very grateful if readers could have a look at it and tell me what they think, good or bad (preferably good). You can view an example of a puzzle on the preview for free and print it off. Thank you.

You might want to play the game online at http://sudoku.blubbie.com/

It also has puzzles to print.

greetz,

blubbie

I’ve just launched a new samurai sudoku website:

Samurai Sudoku
http://www.samurai-sudoku.com

It’s the first free samurai sudoku solver on the web. A new samurai puzzle is posted each day. The solver can give hints and step-by-step solutions. There are several options for printing.

Thanks,
RobertN

Its the best game in the world/I THINK/

Hi,

check out the free Sudoku game at LunchBreakGames:

http://www.lunchbreakgames.com/php/game_entry.php?s_game=Sudoku&s_level=2

It allows to play 4×4, 9×9 and 16×16 Sudokus, featrues several difficulty levels, an advanced user interface and the possibility to save your highscore on our Web-Site.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Tobias

“Computer Aided Sudoku” free excel game helper solver to be searched on Google or download http://perso.wanadoo.fr/sudoku.laviron
“Sudoku Assisté par Ordinater” jeu gratuit excel à télécharger.

You may wish to play Sudoku here.

solyak1 http://www.solyak.com ; Thanks!

Personally, I really like this one.

Almost everything is configurable so you can set it up however you like.

It produces good puzzles with 1, 2, 3 or 5 grids…

I like the multiple grid puzzles, because I was getting bored with the standard old 9 by 9.

Perhaps the URL would be useful!
http://www.SudokuPuzzles.com

Did ya know, Sudoku is not from Japan? According to the story at Wikipedia about the history of Sudoku:

History
The puzzle was designed anonymously by Howard Garns, a 74-year-old retired architect and freelance puzzle constructor, and first published in 1979.[14] Although likely inspired by the Latin square invention of Leonhard Euler, Garns added a third dimension (the regional restriction) to the mathematical construct and (unlike Euler) presented the creation as a puzzle, providing a partially-completed grid and requiring the solver to fill in the rest. The puzzle was first published in New York by the specialist puzzle publisher Dell Magazines in its magazine Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games, under the title Number Place (which we can only assume Garns named it).

The puzzle was introduced in Japan by Nikoli in the paper Monthly Nikolist in April 1984 as Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru (????????), which can be translated as “the numbers must be single” or “the numbers must occur only once” (?? literally means “single; celibate; unmarried”). The puzzle was named by Kaji Maki (?? ??), the president of Nikoli. At a later date, the name was abbreviated to Sudoku (??, pronounced SUE-dough-coo; s? = number, doku = single); it is a common practice in Japanese to take only the first kanji of compound words to form a shorter version. In 1986, Nikoli introduced two innovations which guaranteed the popularity of the puzzle: the number of givens was restricted to no more than 32 and puzzles became “symmetrical” (meaning the givens were distributed in rotationally symmetric cells). It is now published in mainstream Japanese periodicals, such as the Asahi Shimbun. Within Japan, Nikoli still holds the trademark for the name Sudoku; other publications in Japan use alternative names.

In 1989, Loadstar/Softdisk Publishing published DigitHunt on the Commodore 64, which was apparently the first home computer version of Sudoku. At least one publisher still uses that title.

Yoshimitsu Kanai published his computerized puzzle generator under the name Single Number for the Apple Macintosh [15] in 1995 in Japanese and English, for the Palm (PDA) [16] in 1996, and for the Mac OS-X [17] in 2005.

Bringing the process full-circle, Dell Magazines, which publishes the original Number Place puzzle, now also publishes two Sudoku magazines: Original Sudoku and Extreme Sudoku. Additionally, Kappa reprints Nikoli Sudoku in GAMES Magazine under the name Squared Away; the New York Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and San Francisco Chronicle now also publish the puzzle. It is also often included in puzzle anthologies, such as The Giant 1001 Puzzle Book (under the title Nine Numbers).

Within the context of puzzle history, parallels are often cited to Rubik’s Cube, another logic puzzle popular in the 1980s. Sudoku has been called the “Rubik’s cube of the 21st century”.

oku is not Japanese, according to a story of the history in Wikipedia.

How can it be proven that a Samurai Sudoku puzzle has only one unique solution?? I have found at least two solutions to the puzzle dated 4/2/2006 published in the Sunday Washington Post.

Who is the creator of Sudoku? Because he is one genius chinese guy.

I meant Japanese.

I think the http://samurai-sudoku.com do the best on solving samurai sudoku, greetings!!!

^^ thanks men!

I think Sudokuis great! It has kept me entertained for about 4 months now! My friends hate it but i like it!
If you really love sudoku, try this site: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/sudokus/sudokufaq.php there is about 100 to 150 puzzles on there!

hehehe

whos the actual creator of sudoku?

does anyone know?

You can make Samurai Sudoku puzzles at: http://sudokugenerator.com/samurai/generator . These people are having their Samurai Sudoku in the Times on Saturday.

Here is sudoku game with its own unique style.

http://www.veryfreesudoku.com

There are thousands of sudoku puzzles to print, solve and enjoy at http://www.MillionPoundSudoku.com

Dear Friends:

I realize it does not fit with the traditional idea, but can such a puzzle made with the numbers 1-6 or 1-12?

Wow - just found this site, http://www.shendoku.com, it looks like the first actual game based on SuDoku. Anybody know anything about it yet, or have the book? I’m going to buy at the end of this month - so if anyone wants a game….

Hi there

just wanted to publically thank RubeusH for his plug on your blog, and to let you know that we have another Sudoku derived game out today for Christmas. Its called “FindYour9″ and details can be found at lulu.com/shendoku

Think inside the grid.
Shen

if you are into Sudoku you shall check out Kakuro which is a new puzzle game that’s getting popular lately

Does anyone know where to publish a Sudoku research paper?

Anyone out there who is a Sudoku Master? Anyone know of courses? I need a “total immersion” weekend from a Sudoku master - I would be happy to help set up such a residential course.

I’m a qualified chef/caterer - could help in any way.
Would just love to be able to solve the “tough” ones!

Hope someone can help - Maureen W.

Thanks for the info, I love sudoku

Nick
http://www.diversehampers.co.uk

Free sudoku available here http://www.businessservicesuk.com/interactivesudoku.php

Jorge
http://www.salgadoinvestigations.com

I am a big fan of sudoku thanks very much