Well, I don't know if I would go that far but that's what my Sudoku for Dummies book says. Yes, Ruth and Don: after all that Sudoku craziness at the cottage, Donica convinced me to buy the book when we saw it at BJs the other day. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Ginnie, Casey and Nancy (taken by Ruth)
Nancy working Sudoku
When I first started the puzzles, I used a ballpoint pen, not a pencil. I would only write down a number when it was clear THAT was the number, so why not use a pen! I didn't realize I was using a pen on EASY puzzles. HA. Little did I know.
So Don, you'll be interested to know that I now totally believe a pencil is necessary for the harder puzzles, after reading the Dummies book. This is where the twins and triplets, matched pairs and hidden matched pairs come into play and you have to write down the options (in pencil) in order to solve the puzzle. You'll want to erase the extraneous options once you solve a square so you won't be totally messed up!
Donica will probably be sorry she ever convinced me to buy the book (oh yeah, it not only teaches you strategy but gives you 240 puzzles to solve). I take the book in the car for those waiting times. I have it here at the computer while I wait on dial-up to do it's thing. So, yes, I guess you could say it's the ultimate drug--if you need to zone out and want time fly!
BTW, no math. Just logic. And if anyone ribs me again, my defense will be that it'll keep me from getting Alzheimer's. Besides, I need to redeem myself from the lousy job I did in Logic when in college all those eons ago!
So Don, you'll be interested to know that I now totally believe a pencil is necessary for the harder puzzles, after reading the Dummies book. This is where the twins and triplets, matched pairs and hidden matched pairs come into play and you have to write down the options (in pencil) in order to solve the puzzle. You'll want to erase the extraneous options once you solve a square so you won't be totally messed up!
Donica will probably be sorry she ever convinced me to buy the book (oh yeah, it not only teaches you strategy but gives you 240 puzzles to solve). I take the book in the car for those waiting times. I have it here at the computer while I wait on dial-up to do it's thing. So, yes, I guess you could say it's the ultimate drug--if you need to zone out and want time fly!
BTW, no math. Just logic. And if anyone ribs me again, my defense will be that it'll keep me from getting Alzheimer's. Besides, I need to redeem myself from the lousy job I did in Logic when in college all those eons ago!
Rather strange as I am also doing it in front in the computer when I look at my favorite blogs and my favorite fractal website as waiting can be long. I am doing it presently. Have you ever tried samourai sudokus and kamikaze sudokus? They are 5 intertwined grids with common parts. They are more challenging.
ReplyDeleteMr. Fab: It would definitely compete with your blogging, so, yes, you better resist it.
ReplyDeleteMei: No, I haven't tried the other Sudokus but my book does have them in the round (concentric circles) and 16x16 grids that include the letters A-G along with the numbers. I think I may have seen the intertwined grids at the book store the other day. Guess that'll be my next challenge :)
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ReplyDeleteHello Ginnie - my first visit and it was nice.
ReplyDeleteI came to your blog as you are parenting Expat Traveler's and you do a great job!
Btw: Sudoku is very popular in Norway too:-)
Have a great end to your week!
I can sit and do these puzzles for hours. Or until I get a headache, whichever comes first! :)
ReplyDeleteRennyBA: Thanks a million for stopping by again and for your kinds remarks. I remember your comment from when we stopped in Oslo on our cruise back at the end of May. Glad to know there is a worldwide appeal to this crazy addiction :)
ReplyDeleteDixie: Yes, or until my eyes go cross-eyed! HA. Who would have known it's everywhere!
Orange also loves it to relax. I haven't really begun with it. It scares me... If I do, I might never work again ;-) Heheh.
ReplyDeleteI'm right up there with CS... I think I'll stick to photography. :)
ReplyDeleteCS and ET: It's funny how there are different strokes for different folks! Donica has absolutely no interest in these puzzles whatsoever. But they are very therapeutic for me and obviously others. We all have our own thing, I guess.
ReplyDeleteMuch post since the last time I came... You really do a nice job with your camera Ginnie! And the writing is always so interresting.
ReplyDeleteSUDOKU! AHHHHHHHHH! I have to confess I'm an addict! I finish my first book today, and just went to the little "dépanneur" next corner (a place where we can find many things, and it open until 11h) and bought my second one. But I find one with no "beginners" and "easy" Sudoku inside. And there is also the Sudoku Samuraï and the Kamikaze one... and also a Sudoku Cube... much fun in perspective... :O)
Funny that you talk about the pen and the pencil... When I do the harder puzzle, I put the number I'm sure with a pen, then I work with a pencil!
A drug? Yes it is! I'm doing it at my bookshop... Hmmm... bad bookdealer. :O) But some customer talk with me about it! So it is a good drug!
Happy Sudoku! :O)
OMG! I didn't get it in the first place when you said "Dummies" book. They really did a "Sudoku for dummies"! And they did it also in french...
ReplyDeleteI need that book!... 8O\
Clo: I absolutely love knowing all of you out there that are as addicted as I am! How fun for us who find it therapeutic. I even worked on it in the middle of the night last night when I couldn't sleep.
ReplyDeleteYou know, anything that makes us use our brain and use logic can't be all that bad! It's definitely better than the alternative :)
Sudoku might be good for the brain; but somehow I think I would find it too demanding for my relaxation times. But go to it. :)
ReplyDeleteTim: For something to stretch the brain like Sudoku, you'd think it WOULDN'T be relaxing, but for me it is. Very :)
ReplyDelete