On 15 Jul 2006, at 12:58AM, David Hobby wrote:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
AOL Sudoku:
I average 9 minutes for level 1
Level 9 took me 97 minutes. Only time I finished it so far. At 9,
I'd really like a move number count and a backup button.
Vilyehm
Vilyehm--
Not to brag, but level 1 took me 4 minutes. With a
bit of practice, one gets quicker at things like
seeing which of the 9 digits is missing from a set
of digits, and so on.
The interface of the AOL sudoku online was a bit
strange at first, but then I saw that it actually
fit quite well with how I do most of the squares.
I go through and place all the 1s I can, then
place all the 2s, and continue until I get stuck.
At the lower levels, one completes the game first.
But for harder levels, there is a point in the
middle where thought is required.
My own private rule is that I'm not allowed to
backtrack; every digit placed must be deduced.
(I'm sure that a computer algorithm to do the
puzzle would just do backtracking, trying a 1
in the first open square, and so on. So I
refuse to do it that way, because it seems too
boring.)
Those interested in Sudoku might try looking at this
http://www.madoverlord.com/projects/sudoku.t
free (donationware) program for Mac, Windows and Linux.
"It can display the remaining possibilities for each square in
several ways, making it easier for you to see the patterns that are
the key to solving tough puzzles. You can add and remove
possibilities as you make inferences about the puzzle.
It can hilight 14 different simple and advanced Sudoku patterns.
Everything from simple forces and pins up to mega-expert techniques
like forcing loops and chains.
It can give you hints on how to proceed, or solve the puzzle by human-
style logic, with detailed explanations of the steps. No known puzzle
can stump the Susser's heuristic deduction engine.
Other features:
You can drag Sudoku graphics from just about any webpage and they'll
be scanned and loaded into the application.
Instant download of new puzzles from the Menneske.no Sudoku archive
(and other popular puzzle sources)
Extensive help, hint and hilighting features show you the logical
structures in the puzzles.
You can manage, rename, reorder, and print out your Sudokus.
You can drag them out of the app as graphics or in a variety of text
formats.
Undo and redo are fully supported.
Many sample puzzles to get you started.
Comprehensive manual gives detailed explanations of all the advanced
solving methods the program can use."
--
William T Goodall
Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk
Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/
Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not
tried it.
-- Donald E. Knuth
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