Sudoku
11 January 2007Wikipedia describes Sudoku puzzles as follows: a logic-based placement puzzle. The objective is to fill the 9×9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 boxes contains the digits 1 to 9. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid so that there is only one solution.
While seemingly intimidating, these puzzles are rather simple if approached in a logical manner. Due to the growing popularity of this type of puzzle solving, many sites have sprung up with daily puzzles all with varying degrees of difficulty.
My personal favorite is: USA Today Sudoku
This great site allows you to type in your notations by holding down the shift key and has a 30 day archive with different levels of difficulty for you to choose from.
My second favorite site is: Daily Sudoku
This site only has 10 days of archives but it has some interesting variations of the puzzle. The Monster uses numbers from 0-9 and letters from A-F.? The Squiggly gives a bit more of a challenge in that the individual boxes are not square.
If you want a bit more of a challenge then Jarrah Bark Sudoku has a weekly monster puzzle that should keep you interested.
A great site that I found with updates on all things Sudoku is: Sudoku!uk. It seems to be updated on a monthly basis. There are excellent explanations on the various methods of solving Sudoku puzzles as well as links to other sites and even a picture sudoku on the site.
Sudoku is something you may or may not like but don’t let the “strangeness” of it stop you from at least trying it. Start off with puzzles labeled “easy” until you get the hang of it. If you have love for puzzle solving, you’re going to love these!
Take care!
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