The Book of Kakuro #1 [Paperback]

Michael Mepham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

Compiled by the creator of the best-selling Book of Sudoku and Sudoku To Go series, The Book of Kakuro is the hot new puzzle craze. Think of Kakuro as the mathematical equivalent of crosswords.

Kakuro books are flying off the shelves in Japan, where millions of copies have already been sold. In Britain, national newspapers that are syndicating the now-standard daily Sudoku puzzles are racing to put Kakuro puzzles alongside them. Sukodu went from an overseas puzzle phenomenon to an American popular sensation overnight, and Kakuro, already widely popular internationally, is poised to do the same.

The Book of Kakuro includes 132 puzzles ranging in difficulty from the gentle though the tough to the diabolical, tips to solving Kakuro puzzles, worksheets, and the solutions. Fans of Sudoku are nuts about the challenge of Kakuro and addicts won’t tire of Kakuro because it is so flexible. If completing a 10 x 12 cell grid becomes a breeze, simply move on to bigger grids!

Just as the Sudoku craze has begun to dominate the best-seller lists across the country, the publisher who brought you Sudoku first brings forth the next wave in the international puzzle craze, compiled and introduced by the world’s best-selling puzzle master, Michael Mepham. This time, don’t be the last on your block to join the fun!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the best-selling puzzle complier behind The Book of Sudoku comes Japan’s best-kept secret: Kakuro, a puzzle even more addictive than Sudoku!

About the Author

Michael Mepham is the puzzle compiler behind the Book of Sudoku and Sudoku To Go series, and is well known as the man behind the Daily Telegraph’s Weekend Giant general crossword puzzle.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP; 1 edition (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585678120
• ISBN-13: 978-1585678129
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Move over Sudoku, January 2, 2006

By 

Eileen Rieback (Coral Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Kakuro #1 (Paperback)

Just when you thought Sudoku was the latest puzzle to drive you crazy, along comes Kakuro, another Japanese puzzle to become the newest craze. Like Sudoku, Kakuro is really anything but new; it has been in Dell puzzle publications for years under the name "Cross Sums." No matter what you want to call it, however, it is an interesting puzzle with rules as simple as those of Sudoku and that's as maddeningly challenging.

I have two complaints with this book that knock a star off its rating. First, the difficulty ratings seem based more upon the size of the puzzle grid than upon its true difficulty. The first few puzzles in the book have a small grid, but they're not as easy as warm-up puzzles should be. Second, the book's paper is rather pulpy and it is difficult to erase your mistakes. In spite of these glitches, it's still a great way to exercise your gray cells. Try it, and watch the hours disappear.

Eileen Rieback

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Agree with readers who panned this book, September 16, 2006

By 

Cary Swoveland (Vancouver) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Kakuro #1 (Paperback)

Yes, I agree that the quality of the paper is poor and the puzzles are all difficult, even the "Easy" ones. However, for those looking for tough puzzles, this book is very good, and outshines the other Kakuro (aka "Add 'Em Up") books I've seen. The difficulty rating really refers only to the size of the grid; i.e., the "Easy" ones have the fewest rows and columns. The techniques required to solve the puzzles are pretty much the same for all difficulty levels.

I would like to mention one technique that is required to solve many, if not most, of the puzzles in this book. That is because it does not seem to be required in other Kakuro books I've seen, and could be a stumbling block for some readers of this book. Consider any rectangular area of the puzzle. Let R be the sum of all entries in this area, when the row totals are summed. Similarly, let C be the sum of all entries when the column totals are summed. Naturally, R = C. Sometimes R can be calculated (i.e., each row total equals the given row sum less the sum of known entries in the row that are outside the given area), and C can expressed C = A - x, where A is a computed constant and x equals the unknown value of a cell that is not in the given region. It follows that x = A - R. (Obviously, the same technique can be employed when C can be computed and R can be expressed R = A - x.) Occasionally, Mepham is particularly devilish, requiring us to extend this approach to obtain an expression x = y + B (or x = B - y), where x and y represent values of two cells outside the area, and B is a computed constant. Together with other information, this may indicate the values of x and y. Clear as mud?

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Mike Mepham style, February 14, 2006

By 

Jeffrey L. Loeb - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Kakuro #1 (Paperback)

Just like his Sudoku books; 4 levels of difficulty - Gentle, Moderate, Tough and Diabolical.

All of the puzzles make you "use your noodle". I have yet to complete one of his puzzles, although some other Kakuros give me no difficulty solving.

One thing this book has going for it is a primer on solving Kakuro.