I’m starting to feel a little disillusioned. Maybe they aren’t so addictive (for me) after all.
Ok, so the very first one I did was the one in last Saturday’s paper. I guess they are like crossword puzzles, going from easy to hard as the week progresses. So it was probably a mistake to start on a Saturday. I did manage to finish it though I had to burn some serious midnight oil and I still don’t know how I did it.
Sunday’s puzzle, I tried but didn’t get very far. I filled in about five numbers over the course of an hour. Then I called my mom for help. She had already filled in seven numbers. Can I just say? Sudoku is not so easy to discuss over the phone. We gave each “quadrant” — and even quadrant isn’t the proper word because there are nine of them — a letter name, and then numbered each square like the phone. So our conversation went something like this:
“Okay, did you get a 3 in, um… G, no wait, H, um… 4?”
“Um, hang on… E, F, G, H… H! Uh… 3? 4? Did you say a 3 in square 4 or a 4 in square 3?”
Forget that! I decided I’d just wait for the Monday paper. But then I discovered that Joey had a Sudoku for kids book. Perfect. I could start with the super easy ones, just to get the hang of it, develop some strategies, you know. So I started with the very first one. And it was shockingly hard, too.
Then I happened to see this woman working on one. It seemed like she barely paused between writing the numbers. I guess she could have been either a) writing tiny “possible” numbers in the corners or b) at the end of the puzzle, but still. It was discouraging to say the least. I think there must be something I’m not getting.
Advice, anyone?
6 Comments
I’m not a big fan of Sudoku not because I don’t get them but precisely because I do. There are a few principles of mathematics/logic that can be applied to solve most of the even really hard ones. I’m kind of like that woman who writes one number after the next with hardly even a pause. And if that’s the way it’s going to go, why bother?
Switch to crosswords? I don’t like them at all–my husband did them for a while, then got bored, and that was that.
work on that pretty, copper, cabled sweater instead.
Try the Washington Post Sudoku online with hints turned on.
Oooh, are you a knitter? Did I know that? Let’s talk cables instead of silly number games.
Hmm, we almost have consensus here. I’ll give Sudoku one last try (thanks, Heather) and then back to knitting it is. You know. During my oodles of spare time.
Luisa, yeah, I guess you could call me a knitter, though I like the planning phase better than the execution. I have a very high ratio of unfinished to finished projects. If only I could knit without looking. If I could knit and watch tv or knit and read simultaneously I’d knit a lot more. Maybe I’ll post a photo of the copper cables, though, because it is gorgeous.