Sudoku Query

[Sysman]

Me too.

It was originally coined by Ximenes

I see that Azed gets a mention. I stopped bothering with the Observer crossword 20 years ago when I found I could do it as fast as I could write the answers down.

I liked to do the Telegraph crossword on the way home when I was commuting by train. There was just enough time to do most or all of it before my destination and it was a good way to switch off from work.

[NickFitz]

Back in the late Seventies a new local paper (actually a re-branded old local paper) was launched in the town where I then lived. It featured a cryptic crossword with a prize - a twenty quid book token, or some such. Unfortunately, in the very first edition, they printed the wrong grid for the clues.

Seven readers managed to work out what the grid should have been and submitted hand-drawn entries

They gave all of them a prize, and quite right too

[Churchill]

I've got a little application on my PDA that generates sudoku puzzles called Superdoku, it's very enjoyable on the harder levels.

I don't see sudoku as terrifically challenging it's just a nice mental diversion which is probably what it's designed for.

Good fun as a personal entertainment.

So's pot noodling!

[Lockhouse]

Another Killer Sudoku fan here. Normal ones just don't do it for me.

[NotAllThere]

Another Killer Sudoku fan here. Normal ones just don't do it for me.

I found Sudoku proper too dull - I wrote solver in Excel, so really it's far too easy. Killer seems less susceptible. I've seen a few solvers but they don't work on the really difficult ones. Killer seems to involve more lateral thinking.

Crosswords - when I was on a very slow contract, we used to do the Times. At the end of six months, I could usually do it within 15 minutes. The Listener crossword, on the other hand, is much more challenging. I've only ever solved 3 of the non-numeric ones. Sometimes, I don't even understand the preamble.

[Lockhouse]

I found Sudoku proper too dull - I wrote solver in Excel, so really it's far too easy. Killer seems less susceptible. I've seen a few solvers but they don't work on the really difficult ones. Killer seems to involve more lateral thinking.

Crosswords - when I was on a very slow contract, we used to do the Times. At the end of six months, I could usually do it within 15 minutes. The Listener crossword, on the other hand, is much more challenging. I've only ever solved 3 of the non-numeric ones. Sometimes, I don't even understand the preamble.

In an average week I'd finish The Times twice, get close once and be nowhere the other two days. I've switched to The Telegraph now as I sometimes like to read the paper as well and I'm just getting to grips with the crosswords there.

You are right about lateral thinking for killer Sudoku. There is pattern recognition involved and several different methods of number placement evaluation which you don't have in Sudoku which is much more straightforward to solve. For the more difficult Killers I would definitely see problems writing a solver program.

[BrilloPad]

I found Sudoku proper too dull - I wrote solver in Excel, so really it's far too easy. Killer seems less susceptible. I've seen a few solvers but they don't work on the really difficult ones. Killer seems to involve more lateral thinking.

Crosswords - when I was on a very slow contract, we used to do the Times. At the end of six months, I could usually do it within 15 minutes. The Listener crossword, on the other hand, is much more challenging. I've only ever solved 3 of the non-numeric ones. Sometimes, I don't even understand the preamble.

I al;so wrote my own sudoku solver. Though I never got a far as solving x-wing or triple x-wing. I wish I had that much time.....