The Sudoku Code: 200 Sudoku Puzzles. One Answer. Can You Find It?

by Frank Longo and Francis Heaney

Move over, Da Vinci! Here comes a code-breaking challenge based on today's hottest puzzle craze--and every reader who solves the mystery wins a prize! But it's not easy: First you have to complete 200 puzzles arranged in levels of difficulty from "Easy" to "Cruel." Each of 100 numerical sudoku puzzles is paired with a "wordoku" puzzle using letters instead of numbers, and based on a key word or phrase. The combined answers to these puzzle pairs lead...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402740093
• ISBN13: 9781402740091
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Sterling Publishing (NY)
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Good Sudoku - No Anagrams, Obscure Facts, Missing Pieces or Code-Breaking Skills Needed

This book is not for you if you are looking for a Dan Brown level of code to break. It was perfect for me, however. I liked that there were no anagrams or missing pieces. The clue you end up with does not reference some obscure piece of literature or historical factoid. Everything is step-by-step and will lead you right to the answer. --If you are good at Sudoku, you can do it! You don't need any other puzzle-solving skills or knowledge. You just work through the Sudoku and Wordoku puzzles, which will give you instructions on how to find the letters that make up the clue. You may know the final answer simply from the clue, otherwise a couple minutes on the internet will give you the answer. GOOD LUCK!

One major plus, one potentially less major minus.

Plus: The "overarching puzzle" (author's phrase) is a *great* addition to the sudoku theme. One that needs to be added to more sudoku books. It makes doing each and every puzzle interesting. And it gives you some short cuts too. Potential minus: In a book where doing every puzzle is part of the point, ranging the difficulties from very easy to very hard breaks the overarching puzzle for anyone who can't do really hard sudoku. If you aren't an expert, don't plan on solving the overarching puzzle unless you're willing to become one. The "Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku" will do fine. Notice Longo, who is responsible for creating the sudoku puzzles in this book, is co-author of the Mensa book. Personally, I like the easy to hard nature but others may prefer an entire book of more evenly difficult puzzles.

Beware.....addictive but harder than average...

Just a word of warning to "normal" Sudokuits like me....I usually have no trouble with medium puzzles in most books and with a little work can solve most hard or difficult....However I don't think I"m even going to make it through the tricky section in this book. It is a little disappointing, because unlike one other reviewer..I DO want the button...but I suspect it is out of reach of all but the best players... I agree that it is addictive...I haven't done any reading or quilting in the 3 weeks that I've had this book...it is the first thing I pick up when I have a few spare minutes and the last I put down at night...though the addiction and "fun" is sliding away as I complete a puzzle 4 or 5 times and don't "get it".... Until now I've been able to put the "clues" together (through the middle of the tricky section) even if I don't "solve" a puzzle from the context of the sentence or the combination of letters I do have....Once it gets more frustrating than fun though you may hear me scream from eastern Maine....

Best Sudoku EVER!

If you're as addicted to puzzles as much as I am, I finally found a reason to do 200 of them! I love this book because each puzzle you solve correctly leads you to another small clue until you finally have the entire solution to the book. It is totally addictive and I hope that the authors write another book soon!!

A tough nut to crack

The last time I browsed a bookstore, I saw over twenty linear feet of shelves stocked with sudoku books. Other than the level of difficulty, there's really very little difference to distinguish one from another. But "The Sudoku Code" stands out from the rest. Not only does it cash in on the popularity of "The Da Vinci Code," with illustrations from Leonardo's notebooks, but also it is actually a puzzle within a puzzle. First, you have to solve the 100 pairs of sudoku puzzles (one with numbers and one with letters), and from each pair you will extract a series of letters. Put all the letters together and they form a set of clues that will lead you back through the puzzle grids looking for the final answer. The puzzles range from easy to cruel. Be forewarned that there are no answers provided for the puzzles. So unless you are an expert sudoku solver (or unless you become one as you work your way through 200 puzzles), you won't have much chance of finding the final solution. Except for the one error in the word list mentioned in the publisher's editorial notice above, the puzzles are of excellent quality. They don't have that "computer-generated" feel to them, and in the wordoku puzzles, the preassigned letters spell out clever words or phrases. I did manage to crack the code, but will not be sending in for the prize: a button. It's hardly worth the cost of postage. But I did get an immense feeling of satisfaction from finding the solution. This is one puzzle book that sudoku lovers won't want to miss! Eileen Rieback