This is a little hint for solving these things.
Notice how the columns with the green 8's have yellow stuff indicating that there won't be any more 8's below the green ones.
But the bottom middle square needs an 8.
The only square where that 8 can go is the blue one.
Voila!
One down, and only a few more to go.
This technique can solve most of the easy sudokus.
Just look for a number that there is a lot of.
Then consider a square that doesn't have that number.
Then consider if there is only one place left to put the number.
If there is, then it must go there!
 <---Call the Sudoku Phone
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Sudoku
Sudoku is the greatest puzzle in the world. This is obvious, and the reasons are obvious also.
Since the reasons are obvious, and I like to say what is obvious, then I'll tell you why.
The game is simple enough that anyone can play, yet difficult enough that anyone can improve at it. Unlike chess, which is a game that, once you know the basics, you know almost nothing about the game, with Sudokus, once you know the basics, you know almost everything.
The subtlety of the game comes in the word almost. There are certain nuances of the game that are best found by the gradual awakening of logic (or by having someone tell you.) Either way, you learn some of the more important ideas of logic.
One important lesson of logic is if it can't be anywhere else, and there is only one place left, then that is where it must go.
This applies to life all of the time. Actually, this principle has long existed in the minds of scientific thinkers. Therefore, in a very real sense, sudokus are advancing the science revolution; a revolution I am very much involved in.
Strictly speaking, people who practice sudokus are becoming the world's scientists. Once a person develops logical ability, he naturally will use that logic in his daily life. Thus, the sudoku solver becomes one of the true scientists who practice the scientific method everywhere they go because the world is seen as a giant laboratory.
Many chemists make excellent cooks. Is it any wonder? After all, what they do in the laboratory is a more regimented form of cooking ' add particular ingredients and cook at a particular temperature until it's done. Chemists make good cooks because they understand the importance of each ingredient ' each ingredient belongs there.
Similarly, with a sudoku, each number belongs in its square, from the lowly 1 to the complex and esteemed 9.
The game is also a pleasant outlet for all of us who appreciate the magical properties of numbers in their pure form. After all, the numbers 1-9 are the basic numbers. These are the numbers we really deal with. Bigger numbers are only based on repetitious use of these, and with Sudokus, we have a great deal of repetitiousness.
Life is like a Sudoku: The more you practice at it, the better you become.
Whatever you practice doing, that very thing you learn to do well.
When your practice is focused and determined, then you become focused and determined.
Mental Health
Sudokus are part of a regimen for mental health that includes crosswords and jigsaw puzzles. Crossword puzzles provide great practice for developing and maintaining speaking ability and recall for those topics that don't get used every day. For crossword puzzles I prefer to recommend the Msnbc Crossword puzzle. The best way to start out doing crossword puzzles (and the Msnbc crossword puzzles are the absolute best for starting out) is to use the regular setting and use all the hints it takes to finish the puzzle in a reasonable amount of time (usually less than 10 minutes for a beginner.) I often like to solve the puzzles repeatedly, checking to see that my time drops on subsequent attempts.
for Jigsaw puzzles, I highly recommend Crea-Soft Jigsaw Puzzles. I enjoy their online version, and they have a great store for all of the jigsaw puzzles you might want at reasonable prices.
These, along with trying to communicate your ideas to other people and trying to get new ideas from those other people will keep a person alive fun and interesting for a long time to come.
Sudoku
