|
Beginners should definitely have a look at the website mentioned above. As well as explaining what it's all about there's a 'How to solve' page which takes you through the techniques you can use.
It's extremely addictive. Here in the UK every newspaper has a SuDoku alongside the crosswords now. If it hasn't hit the USA yet it soon will. The beauty is that you don't need any mathematical skills to solve them - just logic.
The timer shows you how long it's taken you to solve the puzzle. It's great to be able to boast to your friends that you solved a 'very hard' SuDoku in under 10 minutes say and is a good way of measuring your own progress. You can pause the timer if you want to break off and do something else.
There is also a score which counts down as time goes by. This score is reduced further if you ask for hints or check for mistakes and may count down to zero if you ask for too many. The score you get for solving a SuDoku is added to your total which determines your rank. Even if the score has counted down to zero you may still want to complete the puzzle for your own satisfaction. Don't worry, after solving a few puzzles you will become more proficient, won't need so much help and you won't get many zero scores.
I've been playing with this for a couple of weeks now and I think the Pocket PC and SuDuko make a perfect marriage. A book of SuDoku puzzles has been the number one best seller in the UK for months now but with 1 million built in puzzles the Mastersoft program means I won't need to buy any more books for a while.
|