HomeToys & GamesAbsolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 1 (Mensa) |
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 Excellent Sudoku series, but varying levels Jul 30, 2010
This is an excellent book, with lots of difficult puzzles. Be warned that book 1 in this series does not (as the front matter says) require any very difficult techniques. This is not a negative, however: one really nice thing about this series as a whole is that it provides you a clear path of improvement. If you are using the Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku: Hundreds of Puzzles Plus Techniques to Help You Crack Them All or
Mastering Sudoku Week by Week: 52 Steps to Becoming a Sudoku Wizard, this is a great series to have alongside.
One problem I have with most Sudoku reviews is that they are not specific about what techniques are and are not required, so I will attempt to list here all the ones I've found required in book 1:
* Elementary techniques (cross-hatching, single cell, single candidate)
* Locked candidate elimination
* Naked pairs, triples, and quads
I will do reviews of the further books in the series as I get to them, including required techniques.
The book is spiral bound, which is very nice, but I would have rather had the cover not continue over the binding. I suppose it's a trade-off, but it would be easier to have it lay flat without the cover there. Some might dislike the concept of paying for Sudoku books at all - countering that puzzles are available online for free - but I think there's great benefit in having a book you can take with you.
Overall, a great series of books. Start by buying the one that applies to you and get going improving your Sudoku!
Mensa Sudoku Puzzles are the Best Jan 09, 2010
If you like sudoku, you must order books from the Mensa series. The first sudoku book I ever picked up was a Mensa book and once you've done these puzzles you will never find any others that are more difficult. I've passed these on to other sudoku lovers and they are hooked as well. Enjoy!
perfect traveling companion Jan 22, 2009
If you reach for the airline magazine the minute you board the aircraft, immediately flip to the sudoku, and finish the puzzles (along with the crosswords) well before takeoff -- this is just the thing for you. This book contains page after page of fairly challenging but not impossible puzzles. I'm no expert, but I can generally manage the daily puzzles in our local newspaper. I've been able to solve a few puzzles in this book without resorting to any of the techniques referenced in the introduction (like jellyfish, finned X-Wings, Gordonian polygons, and turbot fish, to name a few), but others have left me stumped . . . for now. (The Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku, which I haven't read yet, promises to help.)
This book is an ideal travel companion because of its size and format. It's fairly small -- about 6" x 9", 1/2 inch thick -- so it easily fits in my purse. It lies perfectly flat -- the spiral binding is is uniquely done so that the wire is exposed on the top & bottom of the book rather than the outside edge, and it works very well. The paper is thick, opaque, high-quality; the paper and the print on it can withstand anything your eraser can dish out (along with a coffee spill or two). The grids are large enough for scribbling numbers in the margins. The answers are in the back.
Overall, at less than 3 cents per puzzle, you can't beat this for entertainment value! If I stick to "nasty" sudoku and stay out of the airport gift shops, who knows how much I can save!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 A good start...hopefully the remainder of the series gets tougher Sep 30, 2008
After fighting through the "Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku", my other Sudoku books were not a real challenge. To be fair, they actually weren't challenging before reading the guide either! I ordered the Level 1 and 2 books looking for challenges similar to the toughest examples in the Guide. About 200 puzzles into Level 1, I can say that the puzzles are challenging, but only once have I had to use an advanced technique (and even then, it was because I missed something more obvious). I'm expecting a big jump in difficulty in the future books of this series. Still, the puzzles in this book are a lot more fun than what I get in my local paper, airline magazine, and the other books I've had.
From a presentation standpoint, this book is excellent. It's spiral bound, heavy paper, and has plenty of room for notes. They should've done this with the Guide too!
Best buy for me Jul 16, 2008
Wonderful puzzles with enough challenge. The best binding of all books I've tried. Really comfortable, easy to mark and hold. I only wish Mensa's guides had the same binding.
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