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HomeEverything ElseSo Do Sudoku: The Definitive Sudoku Solver |
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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 9 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Too Basic Feb 23, 2007
By T. S. Piccolotti
I haven't been playing long, but am stumped on some of the more difficult puzzles. I thought this book would help, but the strategies were all things I'd figured out on my own long ago, and there was nothing to help on the harder puzzles. If you're having trouble with beginning or intermediate puzzles, this book will help. For the more difficult puzzles, save your money.
9 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 There is a new kid on the block! May 13, 2006
By P Dobson
I have seen several solvers, but most are either puzzle books with little teaching or they are like wading through mud, giving several ways to crack a nut when the simplest will do. This is something fresh. The basic techniques are so simply shown they jump out from the page at you. One scanning techique I have not ssen elsewhere makes others such as 'slicing and slotting' or 'three in a line' redundant, because it enables you very quickly to eliminate cells and is much more efficient. It is obvious in hindsight but not so obvious beforehand.The book contains twins and triplets (called Doubles and Triples),but whereas other books just have the naked version this has the hidden version as well. There are also very good tips when you are stuck. It has no puzzles (but you can get these for free anyway),however the solved puzzle at the end is a genuine difficult one (beware books with extreme/super difficult categories, I have always found them to be intermediate to difficult, the only truly extreme ones not in print but on websites). The very last page of the book has something for kids...how to create your own genuine 9x9 sudoku puzzles. I was dubious about this and checked it out....it works!, but you do need internet access to do it. In short this book is a little gem!
7 of 9 found the following review helpful:
what techniques do i need? Jul 19, 2006
By Richard Adam Holt
There are two dedicated teaching guides, this one and 'how to solve sudoku'. They are both good and have a similar amount of teaching. I have to say i prefer this one because it spends more time on Double and triple cells and explains scanning with really simple diagrams, whereas 'how to solve sudoku' briefly mentions double and triple cells and spends more time on scanning rows and columns. With the techniques in the 'SO DO' book you can solve nearly any puzzle. If your already pretty good at double and triple cells you will be disapointed with any book and should probably wait till the mensa book comes out or go to the web, but you will find it hard to find puzzles that require techniques like swordfish, jellyfish etc and thats only if you can understand them!
9 of 12 found the following review helpful:
To the point and very easy to folow Nov 06, 2006
By Gus
"Netkid"
This book is easy to read and the techniques are easy to remember, and go as far as you need unless you want techniques that are like Degree level maths for the relatively few specialist puzzles out there like the mensa book.
The book is broken up into the following parts:
THE BASICS-explains the rules
SIMPLE ELIMINATION COMBINATIONS:
Shows by d1agrams how to use 1 or 2 elements of the grid to eliminate cells in the third element and thereby place a number in that element, the 3 elements being rows, columns and mini-grids (3x3). With this in mind the book has the following headings:
3x3 Grid and Rows
3x3 Grid and Columns
3x3 Grid, Rows and Columns
SCANNING THE 3x3 GRID -a simple way of using mini-grids to place a number in a row or column .
ODD ONE OUT-filling a cell when eight out of the possible nine numbers can be seen in the the row, Column and mini-grid that the unknown cell is part of.
TEST EXAMPLES:
Using the above techniques asks the reader to fill in a cell in each test diagram.
ADVANCED ELIMINATIONS:
DOUBLES:
Version 1 (or hidden twins)
Version 2 (or naked twins)
Using 2 cells locked to 2 numbers to eliminate other possibles, either in those same 2 cells (hidden) or in other cells in the same element (naked).
TEST EXAMPLES:
Asks the reader to eliminate number possibles in cells using Doubles in individual diagrams.
TRIPLES:
Version 1 (or hidden triplets)
Version 2 (or naked triplets)
Using 3 cells locked to 3 numbers to eliminate number possibles either, in the same 3 cells (hidden), or in other cells of the same element (naked)
TEST EXAMPLES:
Asks the reader to eliminate number possibles using Triples in individual diagrams.
SUMMARY OF VERSION 1 AND 2:
Helps the reader to understand Doubles and Triples, and explains in what circumstances their power or effect is doubled.
SUMMARY OF TECHNIQUES:
The steps taken to tackle a puzzle.
ANSWERS TO TEST EXAMPLES:
To check or find the answers to all 9 test examples.
A STEP-BY-STEP SOLUTION:
A puzzle (as difficult as you are likely to generally come across) is solved one number at a time using all the above techniques.
FINAL TIPS:
Tips to help you find the next number when you are well and trulely stuck.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
just what i needed Jul 18, 2006
By georgina
"georgina"
this book is a brilliant way to help you solve sudoku problems. If like myself you have bought numerous books claiming to help but are actually just filled with just puzzles then this is the book for you! it helps even when you're half way through a puzzle, just look it up in the book how to solve it. I'd reccomend this book to everyone interested in sudoku.
See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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