Sudoku Square

Interesting variations

2006-01-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

If you dare, arrange these Sudokuzzles in such a way that they satisfy both the ordinary rules of Sudoku and all the inequalities. What the F am I talking about? Take a look here.

Almost as fun as satisfying a goat!

Everyone is puzzled as to the rules of so called "chess Sudoku" and many grown men are hacking away in their parents' basements trying to invent intelligible ones. Chessudoku (one of my more clever terms) involves replacing the nines in your grid with chess pieces, but I got bored and started looking at pornographic images before I could make any more sense of these. Don't worry, they didn't involve goats--the pictures... the puzzles might, but, again, I don't know.

MAGIC Square

2006-01-08T23:41:00.000-08:00

If you're interested in Sudoku squares, L7 weenies or being cool, you might like magic squares. A magic square is an arrangement of n^2 unique numbers in an n by n entry square such that the n numbers in all rows, columns and both diagonals add up to the same constant. For example,

2 7 6
9 5 1
4 3 8

is a magic square of order n = 3 in which the rows, columns and diagonals add up to... wait, I always have trouble adding large numbers. Anyway, you get the point.

Solved Sudoku puzzles aren't exactly magic squares, since the numbers are not unique (each number one through nine appears nine times in a puzz) and the diagonals don't normally obey the same rules (although, in some cases, they must: see these Sudoku variations). But uhm... well I just... I mean if you're dorky enough to like Sudoku... it's just that I thought you might... well I thought you might like magic squares... because... so do you wanna play truth or dare?

Guessing game

2006-01-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

As a strategy for solving Sudoku puzzles, guessing is "frowned upon by logical purists as trial and error [wussy British accent added]" (from the Wikipedia article listed under "links"). 24-yr-old "medical researcher" John Reusing made Times Online last year with his website Number Logic, on which he claims with regard to Sudoku that "Guessing is not necessary!" So, in the words of Outkast, "What da meanin' alla dis?"

Take the example above (which is said to be of difficulty: hemorrhoidal). The first row needs every number but a one and a four, so let's suppose that, using trial and error, I throw a nine in the topmost leftmost square. ROFL, who knows? Maybe it will work out. Nah brah. I later realize that the top left hand 3x3 box needs a two and anywhere else I put it will clash with the twos in the same column. So I have to go back and erase and then find somewhere else in the top row to put the nine.

The British wuss would say I've ruled out a square for the top row nine by impure methods. Meanwhile it might not have been frowned upon had I put down the pencil, thought about it, and decided first to put a two in the topmost leftmost square, even though the reasoning is exactly the same. Hence the only difference between the logically valid and invalid way of doing Sudoku is in writing and erasing. It has more to do with saving memory than applying logic, really.

Of course, unless you use a pen on hemorrhoidally difficult Sudoku puzzles, being badass is out the window.

Look at the size of that thing!

2006-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

To an ever shrinking minority, "Sudoku" is just another word that sounds like "bukkake." Last year, Sudoku puzzles suddenly became freakin' huge and it's easy to see why:

The rules of the game are simple, yet they can be quite challenging to satisfy (or so I hear)
Because Sudoku puzzles involve grids, they remind people of crossword puzzles
You can achieve weightlessness by concentrating hard enough on them
&/c.

So whether you're a bukkake jonin or a curious wuss, stick with me! We'll explore the phenomenon of Sudoku hand in hand (but not if you're another guy).

Meantime, check out the top link to my right. There you will find nearly a googol (okay, just TEN BILLION) Sudoku puzzles ranging from "easy" to "evil" to keep your little minds occupied in between my rapturous updates. Katsuchi yukawa! (I just made that phrase up.)