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10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Unusually Challenging... I hope you have time on your hands. Nov 19, 2005
By Amy
This Sudoku book is unique in that the publisher boasts that all 300 puzzles are created by an actual person. There is an introduction that, in addition to giving the rules and strategy hints, explains why these "handmade" puzzles are unique and supposedly more interesting to solve. I think it just makes them harder! Typically a computer generated "easy" takes me five minutes or so, these "easy" puzzles *really* stumped me. As in it over an hour to solve the first one. Its a good sized book, small enough to carry around but large enough to pencil in guesses. Nice heavy paper stands up to the inevitable erasing!
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
What difference! The best sukoku I've seen. Jan 04, 2007
By Tom B
"handydandy"
Most sudoku puzzles are punched out by computer programs. They can be entertaining, but the actual playing by human beings has not been factored in. It gets frustrating to start an "easy" puzzle, only to be completely stymied by how difficult it actually is.
Not so here. You're given the same amount of starting numbers as the computerized puzzles, with a big difference: Someone actually sat down and looked at how they'd play.
The result is that the "easy" puzzles are REALLY easy, ditto the medium and hard. For anyone starting out with this addictive pastime, you won't do better than this book. After reading the three simple techniques of how to solve sudoku given in the introduction you're ready to plunge in. The first few puzzles will tease your brain, but won't fry it. They are in fact easy, and will give you rapid gratification. Then you're hooked, and you'll want more.
This book is very different from most other sudoku collections. You'll find fun, not frustration here. Highly recommended.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
My Favorite Sudoku Publisher Nov 13, 2006
By Dawn W
"Dawn Westerberg Consulting"
The Nikoli Publishing puzzles are both fun to complete and well-sized. The puzzle grids are a little over 3 inches by 3 inches. I like this size because it's small enough to see patterns emerging (look at the puzzle as a whole) yet large enough to pencil in multiple numbers that might reside in a single square.
I agree with another reviewer who commented that sometimes the designations don't seem to jive -- I've found some of the "very hard" puzzles easier to complete that some of the "medium" puzzles. But the puzzles are fun and engaging.
I like this publisher better than Sudoku puzzle books edited by Will Shortz (the puzzle grids are just too big) and the Master Sudoku books by Carol Vorderman. I'd rank Nikoli one, Vorderman two and Shortz 3. However, I think Vorderman give the best "How to Solve" directions and would point beginners to her books.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Misleading Apr 15, 2006
By Atheen M. Wilson
"Atheen"
One of the respiratory therapists wandered through the recovery room during a quiet night and found me working one of these puzzles. "Not you too," he moaned. He told me all of his friends were "hooked on" the puzzles. I have to admit it, they are habit forming, but the habit arises from the tension of every day living. Who's life isn't complicated to absurdity sometimes. I work these puzzles for the same reason I worked an entire book of advanced algebra the year my mother died. It allowed me to focus on something that so fully demanded my intellectual attention that my emotions were allowed to rest for a while. It's not easy to achieve that inner peace one needs desparately sometimes. Some do it through meditation, some by physical exercise, some by a walk in the woods. I do it with sudoku-and occasionally algebra problems-sort of an emotional vacation. Sometimes I even play meditation music in the background.
That said, I'll say that this is a lovely book of puzzles. For one thing, most of them are "pretty" as well as challenging, arranged in pinwheels, zigzags, and other symmetrical shapes. The one caveat is that though they are arranged as "easy," "medium," "hard," and "very hard," in fact they are all pretty much of the same level of difficulty throughout. In fact I found some of the very hard puzzles easier to complete than some of the so-called easy ones. Generally level of difficulty is determined by the number of squares filled in for the puzzle worker. Most if not all of these had 24 of 81 squares completed, roughly a quarter. Sometimes there were very few repeated numbers and when there were, the same cross number or other numbers were not available to eliminate all but the one square to complete a triad of one number in a column or row of blocks. This was the only factor that seemed to determine whether a puzzle was actually easy or not, but this feature seemed randomly distributed through all the levels of difficulty.
I would suggest that this book is probably a wonderful selection of puzzles for the average to skilled player-a master would probably not find any of them challenging-because they are often unexpectedly difficult. A beginner might find them too frustrating to continue on with the book. It's demoralizing to find one can't even begin to do an "easy" puzzle. For the beginner, I'd look for a book where the easy puzzles give you from 28 to 30 or more of the numbers.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Addictive! Aug 22, 2006
By J. Marren
"jtm497"
Containing 300 handcrafted puzzles, this is a good book to advance your skills. The size is nice--smaller than a mass market paperback, the pages nevertheless stand up to a fair amount of erasing and are easily ripped out. The tips in the front are good for a beginner, as I was when I bought it. I'm relieved that many reviewers find the puzzles difficult, because I find even the "easy" ones hard sometimes. It doesn't surprise me a bit that most puzzles today are computer generated, but these are pleasingly symetrical. Be prepared to get hooked!
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