Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids
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 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids
William T Goodall wrote: ... Those interested in Sudoku might try looking at this http://www.madoverlord.com/projects/sudoku.t ... William-- Thanks, it looks like an interesting program. I have a lot of tricks for solving sudoku, but have no idea what they're called. So comparing with the techniques in the program should be informative. ---David ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Julia wrote I understand it's important. And I'm grateful that I'm not subjected to details of the French soccer player's live, unlike those of Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, J-Lo and Jennifer Anniston. Oh, and I am SICK of Tom Katie. And my favorite grocery store isn't putting very many Sudoku books at the checkout line for me to try to distract myself with. :( I wasn't going to get hooked, but found Sudoku is a great way to pass a few minutes without getting a long term project. I kept saying I would buy a book, but my mom sent me a hand held (made by Kid Galaxy) and I am pretty content in airport lines now :-) I understand in many places the demand for books is outstripping production. I've gotten hooked on Kakuro now. Those books are harder to find I need to find a good website for printing free puzzles. Or start ordering from amazon.com. For Sudoku, www.websudoku.com is great for doing it online and printing it out to take with you. Julia ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Sudoku beats Tabloids
Julia wrote I understand it's important. And I'm grateful that I'm not subjected to details of the French soccer player's live, unlike those of Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, J-Lo and Jennifer Anniston. Oh, and I am SICK of Tom Katie. And my favorite grocery store isn't putting very many Sudoku books at the checkout line for me to try to distract myself with. :( I wasn't going to get hooked, but found Sudoku is a great way to pass a few minutes without getting a long term project. I kept saying I would buy a book, but my mom sent me a hand held (made by Kid Galaxy) and I am pretty content in airport lines now :-) I understand in many places the demand for books is outstripping production. Dee ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids
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 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids
[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.) ---David Not bad for AOL Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l