Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-15 Thread William T Goodall


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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Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-15 Thread David Hobby

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


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Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-15 Thread Julia Thompson

[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

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Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-14 Thread Kanandarqu

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





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Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-14 Thread Medievalbk
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
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Re: Sudoku beats Tabloids

2006-07-14 Thread David Hobby

[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
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