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I'm finishing Master levels on sudoku.com.

It's no big deal, really.

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:47 am I'm finishing Master levels on sudoku.com.

It's no big deal, really.

Nice. I did 1 master there just now. Had to get 1 hint though as I had a meeting that interrupted me, so I had forgotten to finish tick marking one number.

Years ago I did sudokus a lot. There was a category called "diabolical" where you couldn't just derive the answers through elimination like on this Master one. You just had to follow a path, and see if it would work out.

Have you tried killer sudokus?

Have not clicked on that yet. Harder?

I feel like there's one last logic trick I haven't figured out on the master levels. Half the time I end up with one error because I had to 50/50 guess one.

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 11:28 am Have not clicked on that yet. Harder?

Just looked at one. Isn't it easier because now there's another data point when you can solve for X?

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 11:28 am Have not clicked on that yet. Harder?

Killer sudoku: https://sudoku.com/killer

I'm not 100% sure these are the same that are in our newspaper. I could do level 1 pretty easily. Got stuck on a level 2. I haven't tried the website ones.

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 11:29 am I feel like there's one last logic trick I haven't figured out on the master levels. Half the time I end up with one error because I had to 50/50 guess one.

I did a LOT of these back in the early 2000s (books, Palm Pilot, etc). I knew all the tricks back then. I may have just gotten an "easy" master one this time (took about 10-15 minutes? Hard to say since the meeting interrupted me and I left it open). The ticking takes so long, I find it kinda annoying these days

I have a sudoku app on my phone, but I just do easy/medium to see how fast I can do them.

OK, the website ones are DEFINITELY easier than the newspaper ones.

Try this (Level 1): https://www.wsj.com/articles/number-puz ... _permalink

Also, the soku on that page is fun. The webpage is not interactive, so printing them out makes them easier to work with.

Tried a killer expert.... Oh, I see, you're given zero starting numbers, and only a single, single sum box. Extrapolate!

But medium killer was easy, and yes, the extra data point helps.

I've been playing Sudoku for years and years. Love it. I've got multiple apps on my phone for it.

I don't enjoy Killer Sudoku because I think the extra data point just makes it too easy.

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 11:29 am I feel like there's one last logic trick I haven't figured out on the master levels. Half the time I end up with one error because I had to 50/50 guess one.

Bowman's Bingo is the technique you're looking for and it's tedious. When you run into those certain puzzles where you're stuck and you have to make that 50/50 guess, the actual solution is to pick one box and then play it out using pencil marks to see if it breaks a rule. If no, then you've solved the puzzle. If yes, then you go back to that box and now know the other number is the key to the solution.

Because I usually play at night while in bed, I just guess to save myself the time.

Leisher wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:57 pm I don't enjoy Killer Sudoku because I think the extra data point just makes it too easy.

You both need to try the one I linked and let me know if that's easy or not.

Leisher wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:57 pm Bowman's Bingo is the technique you're looking for and it's tedious. When you run into those certain puzzles where you're stuck and you have to make that 50/50 guess, the actual solution is to pick one box and then play it out using pencil marks to see if it breaks a rule. If no, then you've solved the puzzle. If yes, then you go back to that box and now know the other number is the key to the solution.

Yes, this is the one that made the "diabolical" ones back in the day. Some say it's not true sudoku, because you should be able to figure everything out on its own.

I figured out another of the tricks earlier today.

But yeah, like a rubik's cube, you don't just try every combination.... I'd like to learn those tricks someday, too.

Just did the hardest Killer/Expert I ever saw.

Took me an hour and twenty. I was staring at it for a half hour before I placed the first number.

GORDON wrote: ↑Mon Feb 12, 2024 1:09 pm Just did the hardest Killer/Expert I ever saw.

Took me an hour and twenty. I was staring at it for a half hour before I placed the first number.

Can you share it for the rest of us? Curious.

This is what I do now when I am doing a task and have a few minutes here and there.

I'm doing Killer/Expert now usually in 20 minutes, usually no hints. Only mistakes are when I'm touch typing and miss the key I meant to hit. Sometimes there just isn't any logical next move that isn't bigger than a 1:3 guess, so I take the hint. Sometimes the game comes down to 4 blocks that are the same pairs of numbers twice, and it's 100% 50/50 guess. Those suck.

My brain feels zippier, slightly.