Hooked on Sudoku

My father has to complete the sudoku from Hindu and Sify (Hard and Evil!) before starting the daily business of living. It is a good thing that he is retired. My mom has pooh-poohed the sudokus printed in newspapers and web sites and spends her time creating sudoku. She tries to get my father to solve her sudokus but he resists. I guess it was inevitable - they have been married for 31 years!

Now that my husband has to take a train ride to work he employs that time Sudokuing. And some times solves the sudoku at work; albeit surreptiously. The other night he was frantically searching for his special pencil. He has this quirk - he needs one special pen and pencil to take to work. Later I realised that he was frantic because he needed the pencil to solve the sudoku. I bet the pencil industry sales have increased with the popularity of sudoku. Of course the pencil has to have an eraser at the end. I am extremely nervous to solve a sudoku with out a pencil. I am not that intelligent nor cocky!

I took the bus to get lunch today and noticed that the driver had a book of sudoku and a pencil! He was solving it while waiting for passengers.

The difficulty levels of sudoku increase daily. I started an Evil sudoku today from Sify, got stuck and decided to write this piece. I do not like to guess while solving a sudoku as I forget where I left logic and started throwing numbers here and there.
And now we have Samurai sudokus... I have not tried one of these yet! Has any one here tried these?

Gayathri

Oh my God - do I love Sudoku or what! Here is how my Sudoku goes during the day - I start with what comes in our local newspaper - then at work, I have a day calender which has a puzzle each day - starts with one star on Monday and goes up to 5 starts on sunday. The one and two star gets boring now. Then I move on to the sudoku.org.uk website where they have all kinds of varieties - Extreme, Mini, Jigsaw, etc. I have tried the gentle version of Samurai - it takes a long time, though! I recently discovered Sudoku X and Sudoku Odd/Even and Sudoku 147. I sneak in as much as I can during lunch time. Then when I get home, I will complete the newspaper one that I started in the morning if I did not complete in the morning. After that, I have many books - one in each room, almost. I will pick up one and solve some more. My husband or my daughter does not want anything to do with it. I am addicted!! Love it - my parents both solve them as well. I must have got it from them. Would love to hear from other Sudoku solvers - and by the way, I only like the mechanical pencils with an eraser to solve my puzzles.

Shobana

Sudoku - that evil and infectious numbering game that pulled me into its hold and was responsible for getting my food burnt many a time . Sudoku has been my companion in the US, it has kept me engaged and giving my otherwise rusting brain some work. A big thank you to the inventor of Sudoku.

me too...you can add me to the list! I love it!

Hi guys

A few days back only I have started playing sudoku. I got nervous if I got stuck in the middle. So sometimes it is an unsolved puzzle:icon_frown: .

Lakshmi

Ladies,
Thank you for your responses.
Shobana you seem to be obsessed with sudoku! Do they still make pencils other than the mechanical kind

Lakshmi - There are many web sites which give tips on solving sudoku. Check out this one - Sudoku

Tulasi - Glad you like to Sudoku. I am guessing in a few years time Sudokuing will come to mean "solve mysteries" just like Google means to search the web

Nivedi - You cook while sudokuing? !!!! Many has been the day when my husband had to do with instant food or take out while I sudokued.

Happy Sudokuing!
Gayathri

I know I am obsessed - but in a good way - glad to see that we have so many of us who love this. I got a book for my dad which was a word sudoku - similar to the numbers one but with letters - have not yet tried it.

Shobana

Hi Sudoku lovers - I saw a magnetic Sudoku board in Barnes and Noble. Seems good to use.

This is an interesting thread. I love sudoko too. But I can mostly do level easy and sometimes level medium. looks like most of you are advanced.
Its a nice engaging puzzle suitable for all age groups . Glad to see so many people enjoy it.
regards
anandchitra

hi Gayathri,
Yes.... I can vibe well with your article...am an avid fan of Sudoku. I solve all levels except 'The Evil'... In fact, My day starts after my husband and BIL leave for oofice... Then I sit with my mug of coffee and the tabloid, which has Sudoku and 2sets of Crossword, quick and cryptic... I do both...and then turn my eyes to the world!
Must have bought about half a dozen sudoku books so far... Then I got my neighbour and her husband hooked to it! HA! It is a pleasure to 'convert' people!