Su Doku for Dummies

by Edmund James and Andrew Heron

Book Overview

Su Doku For Dummies offers more puzzles than any other book available.

This pocket-sized guide to the biggest craze for Summer 2005 features:

* Easy to follow illustrated instructions

* Guidance on how to play the game and different strategies to tackle the puzzles

* 240 addictive new puzzles from basic to fiendish

This guide is perfect for newcomers to Su Doku as well as experienced Su Doku players looking to improve...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470018925
• ISBN13: 9780470018927
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Intro to Sudoku

Ok, so you have seen Sudoku and your friends (or family members) are all doing it. How do you get started? Well, there are about a zillion Sudoku books out there. All of them have instructions at the beginning. However, there is definitely a wide variation in the usefulness of these instructions. Many only have enough instructions to get the idea, but if you tried to use them as an absolute beginner, you'd be totally lost. Believe me, I tried several - and was left thinking "well, this is nice, but where the heck do I start?" This book gets you started step-by-step from the beginning, which is obviously necessary if you actually want to do the puzzles. It walks you through better the first baby steps than any other book I've seen. Another reviewer gave the book a bad review because it doesn't give you advanced strategies (presumably X-wing, Swordfish, and all the rest) Well, my only response to that is that it is called "Sudoku for Dummies", not "Sudoku for Semi-Experts." Some of the editions of the book also have variations, like 16x16 puzzles and my personal favorite, the round or "Target" Sudokus. So, if you really want to get adicted to Sudoku, I recommend you take the following course of action: 1. Buy this book 2. Read the introduction. 3. Start doing puzzle #1 and then methodically do every puzzle in the book. Don't skip ahead. 4. When you get to point of hitting your head against a wall on a given puzzle, start Googling for help. There's lots of it out there. Also, if your young kids come up to you and ask you to teach them to do Sudoku as well, I recommend you pick up "Sudoku for Kids". It's a great step-by-step introduction to the addictive puzzles on a young kid's level.

If you are going to do these, get this book

I saw this book and bought it to figure out what all of the fuss was about...... I figured that directions were not meant for me so I just jumped in and did a puzzle.......a medium difficulty one.........well I did not get it so I went to the beginning and read their tips.......... it really helped a lot. After about an hour, I finally figured out what the deal with sudoku was. It is addicting. I really like this book because it has a lot of different puzzles, lots of different difficulty....... I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who wants to start sudoku.

A Truly Great Sudoku Instructional Booklet

The best Sudoku instruction that is available. Get it!

A Good Book to Start Solving SUDOKUS

I first came across SUDOKU in May of this year.I have been a puzzle enthusiast since I was in High School ,over 55 years ago;and have seen a myriad of puzzles and games come and go.I really have no favorites as I enjoy them all.From the time I completed my first SUDOKU,I knew there was something different and special about these puzzles.No special knowledge or special abilities are required for anyone of any language,skill or age to do this puzzle.This is similar to Jigsaws and Crosswords;and the reason these puzzles have become universally popular,probably outstripping all other types of puzzes.I believe we will soon see speed competitions taking various forms including TV. Checking out the Books available,I found a few already published,and without doubt there will be a flood of them in the near future.You will see among my reviews,a few others I have checked out. This book is just as good as the others to get you started.It covers the basic methods and hints to help you solve them. In addition,it gives you 240 SUDOKU puzzles. In all fairness,to date ,there is not really much to pick and choose among the half dozen books at this time.However,I would not at all be surprised to see more books shortly;describing more sophistophed and speed enhancing methods and hints. In the meantime ,you should find SUDOKU puzzles in your local newspapers.To date, I have not seen any SUDOKU magazines on the shelves,but expect to see lots of them shortly. Don't overlook the Net though,there is lots of good stuff by searching under SUDOKU. In the meantime ,GOOD SUDOKUING! By the way you might want to check out my other Sudoku book reviews on Aug 3 (2 books),Aug 6,Aug 10 and Sep 30 of this year.

How to Su Doku Without Getting Hurt

Su Doku is a number puzzle originally developed in Japan. It consists of a 9x9 grid, divided into nine 3x3 sub-grids. Each row and column must contain the numbers 1 to 9, which means that no number can appear more than once. Furthermore, each 3x3 sub-grid must also contain all the digits from 1 to 9, which again means that no number can appear more than once. With each puzzle, some of the numbers are already in place - your job is to fill in the blanks. The number and positioning of the numbers given to you will determine how easy or difficult the puzzle is. There is - or, at least, there should be - only one solution, which can be solved by reasoning and elimination. The bulk of "Su Doku for Dummies" is made up of the Su Doku puzzles themselves. (Thankfully, their solutions are also included). However, it also starts with an explanation of Su Doku's rules and provides a detailed approach on how to start solving the puzzles - which is very helpful for those, like me, who have never tried them before. If you are already a successful Su Doku puzzle solver, you'll probably not learn much from this section. You will still, however, have over 200 new puzzles to solve. You don't need to have studied maths in depth to enjoy Su Doku - a knowledge of Calculus isn't required, while those who studies Classical Mechanics will have absolutely no advantage over those who didn't. However, a sense of logic, a pencil and an eraser (don't rub too hard, though !) will be a great help. Highly recommended for puzzle-solvers everywhere !