Showing posts with label Logic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Logic. Show all posts

Friday, December 24, 2010

Print a Sudoku Puzzle: Test your Logic and Number Skills




Have passion in playing logic and numbers? Maybe you are now an expert when it comes to Rubik’s cube or the magic square. But have you already tested your logic and number skills in a Sudoku game? Whether you are unfamiliar with this game or you have already spent 2 days solving a single Sudoku puzzle, then this article is just right for you.





About Sudoku





Also known as Number Place, Sudoku is a logic-based placement puzzle. The puzzle is composed of a 9 x 9 grid which is further divided into nine 3 x 3 sub-grids or also known as regions. Before you start completing the puzzle, you are given some cells that are initially filled up with numbers from 1 to 9 (number of cells initially filled-up depends on the difficulty level of the puzzle).





The main objective of this game is to completely fill-up all the remaining vacant cells with the numbers 1 to 9 provided that you adhere to the “single number per direction” rule of the game. That is, every column, row, and sub-grid (which is referred to as the direction) must contain only one instance of each number. For instance, you have an initially-placed number 5 at the 5th column and on the 7th row of the puzzle. Such number must only appear once on that particular column and row. Furthermore, it must also appear only once on its assigned sub-grid or region.





Print a Sudoku





Because of the complexity of the “single number per direction” rule of Sudoku, many beginners are having a hard time completing it in matter of a single day. That is why most Sudoku beginners are encouraged to have a hard copy of a Sudoku puzzle so that they can spend more time solving it without actually logging on their personal computer.





Even easy puzzles are difficult to complete, so it would be impractical if you will be solving it in front of your computer especially if you are playing a Sudoku puzzle online. A printed Sudoku puzzle is advisable for Sudoku players especially for beginners.





All you have to do is to locate Sudoku sites that offer printable Sudoku puzzles through search engines. Download it in your personal computer. After download, you can now print and produce more copies so that other family members can get involve in solving Sudoku puzzles.





Most of downloadable Sudoku puzzles are on PDF format. Your computer must have an Acrobat Reader software in order to display it correctly. In case you do not have an Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free on the Internet.





Here are some of the common versions of Sudoku puzzles which you can download from the Internet and print in your personal computer.





• Classic Sudoku- this is the regular Sudoku puzzle that is described earlier in this article. It features varying levels of complexity that will attest your patience and determination in completing it. You can also have the strategies and hints as well as the solution to be downloaded and printed for immediate reference.





• Monster Sudoku- it is quite different from the classic Sudoku game. It is made up of a 16 x 16 grid (instead of the normal 9 x 9 grid), 4 x 4 sub-grids (instead of the 3 x 3 sub-grids), and 256 cells. In addition, the mechanics are now different. In a standard Sudoku puzzle, you will only be placing the numbers 1 to 9 for the remaining unfilled cells. In a Monster Sudoku, you will now place numbers form 1 to 16 and letters from A to F in each cell, column, row, and 4 x 4 sub-grids. However, the same rules as the classic Sudoku game still apply on the Monster Sudoku.





• Kids Sudoku- it is a puzzle designed for kids of age above seven years old to develop their logic skills and at the same time having fun solving the puzzle. This type of puzzle is very easy compared to the intermediate Sudoku puzzle.





• Squiggly Sudoku- the same mechanics and rules as the classic Sudoku puzzle still apply in this game. The only difference is instead of a grid, it is now divided into 9 different shapes.





Aside from individual Sudoku puzzles, there are also free printable Sudoku books on the Web. It contains at least 25 puzzles per book which is classified as easy and medium difficulty puzzles. These free printable Sudoku books are in PDF format so you need to have Acrobat Reader software in your personal computer.





Test your logic and number skills now and start printing hard copies of Sudoku puzzles for you and other family members.


Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sudoku: Is it Just a Game of Logic?




Over the years, the Sudoku game has gained great popularity. If you often play the game, then you have probably have an idea why the game is such extraordinary and fun to play. If you haven’t played the game, on the other hand, surely you will be asking a lot of questions about the unusual puzzle.





I’ll bet that when you first heard of the puzzle, the first thing that comes to your mind is mathematics. Well, the game does not have anything to do with mathematics or math skills. The puzzle is basically a logic exercise and it just all about of logic. The numbers comprising the game will have nothing to do about addition, multiplication, subtraction and division stuffs. The Sudoku puzzle doesn’t require such fundamentals. The game has to do with logic itself alone.





Sudoku puzzle requires logical reasoning and provides your brain cells a lot of pretty fine workout. However, let me back you a little bit. You basically need to fill up corresponding numbers to the puzzle grid. Every column and row should contain of any digit ranging from 1 to 9. The easiest way to understand is maybe to check and browse on through online sites wherein there are posted ideas and information of the game’s basics. It’s absolutely amazingly easy to play.





There is really no proper place to play the Sudoku puzzle. One can when shut his eyes and simply just start putting your finger on the game, and that would be a right place as any. Possible the most rational and logical place to begin is any place in a column, row or any square which has a few numbers inside it.





The aid of simple logic to the puzzle needs only focused visual analysis along with a mind question if certain number can go to the box. I presume that the most essential distinct is that Sudoku is a logic puzzle. It is not a puzzle of obscure knowledge as well as literate mischievousness. Logic is not much as your bag. You will probably choose to mingle with one’s valuable, careful creation than interact with a buck of numbers argued out by computer software.





The reality that you need to decipher the puzzle only with the aid of logic also entails a particular solution. For the game to have numerous solutions, the logic though alone cannot help you put in numbers in the boxes. Sometimes, it is better to ignore logic and just simply presume or make a guess. Furthermore, if your presumption is correct, you will still need to think back and make other presumptions for you to make sure that no right guesses were made. You should only rely on the presumptions that were made incorrectly, given that such guesses could be incorrect for the entire solutions and so in the long run you will be having a set of boxes which may not be decisively filled. Thus, there is basically nothing left from the guesses of a distinct solution.





In fact, there is nothing logical in doubting the distinctness of the solution. You could believe it every piece and also you can believe whatever on the first board whether if it is a legitimate Sudoku puzzle or an invalid one. If the initial circumstances are incorrect, the outcome will be incorrect. If there are numerous solutions, even a monster force would be unsuccessful to get rid of other candidates.





Most puzzle solvers differentiate between puzzles that are deciphered with logic alone and puzzles that are solved by guesses or trial-and-error technique. Solving by logic, you will not put in a number into a square until you have thought about it or you have proven that such number is right for that position. When guessing, on the other hand, you will write a number hesitantly and just discover the consequences, you will probably be backtracking, not consider your number choice then put in another. A backtracker can work with a pencil and eraser while a logic solver requires a pen.





The peculiarity between logic and guessing appears to be a potential criterion for assessing the Sudoku puzzle difficulty. However, it is vague though that the peculiarity does exist.