sudoku

[seperis]

I will never comprehend how anyone can do even an easy sudoku in under five minutes. My best time is like 6.02 and I was chewing on things that should never be chewed on and also, it was a freakishly easy puzzle.

I'm not saying anyone out there is practicing mathematical black arts, but really.

Comments

[tylergrrls.livejournal.com]

I'm currently writing a Prolog program to solve sudoku.

And when I say "writing" I mean "staring at my homework and crying".

But if it ever started working, I bet it'd increase my times. :D

-Bree

[seperis.livejournal.com]

this is the devil's game. I totally comprehend your tears.

...and the part where writing a program to solve it, also. Jesus.

[akacat]

I wrote a VBA script in Excel to assist me. It did pretty much the same thing as the 'hint' mode on most of the online puzzles, that show you the remaining choices for each square.

[tylergrrls.livejournal.com]

I have a LISP program that will solve the puzzles since that was our last assignment, but I can honestly say that I will probably never use it. :p

Sudoko makes computer science teachers so happy. ;)

-Bree

[kirana]

But . . . all you have to do is check left to right and up to down and make sure that number isn't already in the square . . . .

And don't believe the lies people tell you about how "easy" a puzzle is. I have two different books for beginners and the first book is more along the lines of expert than beginner. xx

[seperis.livejournal.com]

That is the thing! There's no real noticeable time difference for me between easy and medium and hard except the realy awesome easy of six minutes--it depends where the nines are. I only wish I were kidding on that. I really do.

BUT GOD HOW CAN ANYONE DO THIS IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES????? ON AVERAGE????? OH GOD WHAT COULD BE THE FASTEST TIME? Speed of light?

[torakowalski.livejournal.com]

*feels your pain*

I am so, so glad I\'m not the only person who believes sudoku was put on Earth to make innocent people tear their hair out (and, yes, chew on inappropriate things). The first (and quite possibly only) one I ever finished was done with my boyfriend sitting beside me going \"yes, good, and what goes in this square?\" - I felt five years old and still couldn\'t frigging DO IT.

*coughs* It\'s possible I have deeply hidden sudoku-related rage issues.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yes, exactly.

[ratcreature]

Maybe they employ trained pigeons? I mean it's after all less about math than about patterns and pigeons are supposed to be good with that. Personally I find this against the clock thing stressful and counterproductive for relaxing sudoku zen.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

it is an evil, evil game. EVIL.

The timer is addictive. *sad* I never used to know it was there. Until it asked me.

[akacat]

That's happened to me once, I think, on a puzzle that was freakishly easy.

[hrroyalgeekness.livejournal.com]

My little sister can do one of the suicide/killer sudoku in about forty minutes. She does the little easy ones in about two minutes.

Sometimes I hate her genuis. :)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*whimpers softly*

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Hee! I rule, and by "rule" I mean "spend way too much time on this".

I only do medium puzzles, easy are too easy. My best time ever on "medium" is just a hair over 4 minutes, but that was an abnormally easy puzzle. My usual best time is between 5 and 5 1/2 minutes.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*growls softly at you*

[fox1013.livejournal.com]

I recommend playing online, with the "pencil marks" (or whatever) enabled. It becomes a game based largely on process of elimination, and more like a logic game than... you know. Something thinky.

Also possibly it helps if you have serious obsessive tendencies.

*coughs*

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

Oooh, can you recommend a site that lets you do that? I've taken to copying them down on scrap paper because I can't do them without marking up the whole thing, even newspaper ones (newsprint = NO GOOD for constant erasing.)

[fox1013.livejournal.com]

websudoku.com!

It is heaven-sent and also wonderful.

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

♥!

[seperis.livejournal.com]

...you can make notes?

*blank look*

[fox1013.livejournal.com]

I use websudoku.com. Under OPTIONS you can check "pencil marking" ("Allow multiple numbers to be typed into each cell"), and it is the BEST THING EVER.

Srsly, process of elimination! My average time on evil is in the mid-three minutes on that, and I owe it all to pencil markings, because without that I'm lucky to get anything in, like, 20. It's WAY too hard to keep track of shit.

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

I suspect my husband practices mathematical black arts. I have had to look fairly hard for sudoku books difficult enough to challenge him.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*laughs* All sudoku to me is still a challenge. Gah.

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

I don't touch it myself. Kind of makes my brain hurt. But he loves it.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

I could not solve the Sudoku on a cheap RyanAir in-flight napkin.

& :-(

(Psst. I made new icons. If you like John..?)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I WENT TO LOOK.

(and drool. yes i admit it)

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

*blushes*

I have a Sudoku Java game on my mobile phone and I can do an easy one in less than 2 minutes 30 seconds (though my average time is about 3 minutes)...and the hardest one, my best time is 6 minutes 16 seconds...

God, I feel like some kind of freak now...

[daeuiel.livejournal.com]

You're not a freak, you're AWESOME. :O

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

*blushes*

[seperis.livejournal.com]

....

GOD.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

And seriously, that *is* awesome.

I do reserve the right to mutter about the dark arts in your general vicinity, however.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

Erm, not to brag but I guess numbers are my thing. I passed my GCSE (UK school-leavers exam) in Maths when I was 13. Plus, I never used to be without a Sudoku book as it is a great distraction technique - I'd do 100 a day if it stopped me cutting the crap out of myself.

One thing a lot of people don't consider in Sudoku is that what isn't in the boxes can be a clue as well. Like, for instance, if you have two squares in the same row or 3x3 cell that can only contain the same two numbers - for example, 1 & 2 - then 1 & 2 cannot go in any other squares in that row / 3x3 cell. Which is handy if there are only three empty boxes cos that gives you the number for the third one.

For the record, this is about the only logic puzzle I am good at. I stink at those 'Rose lives next to Bill, who doesn't own the red Porsche, but does live in a house with an even number' dealies...they make my head hurt.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

Just butting in here, but my question for you guys that do them really fast. Do you ever guess, or are you always positive about the numbers you put in?

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

You should never need to guess with Sudoku - it's a logic puzzle and a process of elimination to put the right number in the cell.

That said, my mind does wander sometimes and I do screw them up occasionally.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

We get these murder sudoku puzzles in the sunday paper, they're like 5-black stars (vs white stars which aren't as hard) and there are times where I think they don't give enough numbers and you have to eventually guess at blank squares to finish the games. It's an educated guess, where you have two possibilities for a square but there isn't any way to eliminate one...you never see those? Because that means I'm missing something :(

[out-there.livejournal.com]

Sudoku is a relaxing, fun hobby. It shouldn't be rushed. It messes with the zen.

...In other words, I can't do them fast either. Neither can Rodney. (Just look at my icon. That's totally how Rodney looks as he's puzzling over one, taking his sweet time about it.)

John, on the other hand, rushes through them at an average speed of 3min,15secs per puzzle, causing Rodney to make unflattering comparisons to an overexcited virgin on prom night.

Of course, John's reply was: "The difference is that I know what I'm doing, Rodney."

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*dies* I believe it, too.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

It's totally what would happen.

...although, thinking of off-the-cuff silly stories, am I right in thinking that just possibly, while chatting with you in AIM and being slightly intoxicated, I wrote some kind of drunk!fic about Rodney and John?

*wonders*

[autiger23.livejournal.com]

Dude, check this out(totally safe for work, except you will get sucked in and not get anything else done):

http://www.onemorelevel.com/games.php?game=328

[autiger23.livejournal.com]

Oh, and there are 30 levels- 16 and 23 were the hardest for the three of us at my job that did it.

[goosegirl9.livejournal.com]

Even the simple ones take me forever.

[angstie.livejournal.com]

Umm, I have a Sudoku widget installed on my desktop and kinda solve a few while waiting for files to download. I'm also kinda addicted to buying the puzzle books each month. After saying all thast, I have to clarify that I can oly do the 'easy' and 'medium' level puzzIes; 'hard' keeps me up till 2am trying to solve them - only to be abandoned and I've only EVER solved ONE "diabolical" puzzle

I still remember the look of amazement in my face when I solved my first one all by myself.....

C'mon, they're fun :-)