Customer Reviews

Master Sudoku: Step-by-Step Instructions for Players at All Levels

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you travel around some of the online sudoku websites you hear a lot of esoteric-sounding solving techniques thrown around--x- and y-wings, forced chains, swordfish. I've read and re-read the explanations of these and still can't make sense of them.

So I bought this book, since it was advertised as one that will take your sudoku abilities to higher levels by providing detailed explanations of solving strategies.

I was a little disappointed that it doesn't venture all the way into the x- and y-wing/swordfish etc. realms becuase that was what I was most hoping to see explained. So if you are trying to progress to those levels of solving, this book won't help (and so far I haven't seen a book that does explain that stuff, it all seems to be online).

HOWEVER, if you are just starting out with sudoku or can easily solve the 1- or 2-star puzzles but get stuck on the more difficult ones, this is an excellent book. It walks you through an entire puzzle solution for each of the four levels of difficulty in the book, and although it went over techniques I had mostly figured out for myself, it did help me systematize them. For a beginner, or a beginner advancing to higher levels, I can't recommend this highly enough. If you are trying to reach the truly esoteric levels, that book is still not out there, or at least it's not this one.

And, having whetted your appetite by showing you how to solve the puzzles, the book provides 200 puzzles to play with. The paper is good quality and stands up to the inevitable erasing. My only complaint is that with a thicker book like this, it's a little awkward working on puzzles on the go, on the train or in the car. This book is one leave at home or at work where you can open it on a table or desk. (Tuck one of the thinner books or magazines in your car for portable puzzling!)

And Ms. Vorderman did something truly diabolical with the puzzles in this book--she included suggested solving times and point amounts for solving each puzzle in a particular time range. You score points for each puzzle depending on how long it takes you to solve it. This has added a whole new level to my addiction and makes even the easiest puzzles a real challenge as I try to beat my own times. The puzzles make this book worth a look by even experienced solvers who don't necessarily need the explanations of solving strategies.

In short, I definitely recommend this book, particularly to novice and intermediate sudoku fiends, but I'm still waiting for the explanation of the highest level solving strategies in a way that I can understand!

I started doing Soduku puzzles while vacationing in the U.K. I picked up Carol's book for the plane ride back to America. I was already able to finish these puzzles, but the techniques presented in the book allowed me to do so much faster and more efficiently. The guide to super-difficult Soduku puzzles is a godsend.

This is my 13th Sudoku book... And it is the first one that includes complete step-by-step instructions and very specific tips on how to do every level of difficulty of Sudoku puzzles! This, alone, was well worth the price of the book!

This is definitely the best of the Sudoku books I've come across yet.That is not to say the others aren't also very good,but this one has more puzzles,over 200;including easy,medium,difficult and super-difficult.Also included are the most extensive and detailed instructions and tips.The tips are given for each level of difficulty and therefore progress as one also progresses from the easy to the more difficult puzzles.Then at each level, Carol gives a complete step by step solution for a puzzle of that level.I don't want to give the impression that this book is any more complicated than others,just more detailed.It would be an excellent book for someone who is just getting started or who has been doing them for some time.
I'd just like to throw in a couple of other thoughts.I first started doing Sudokus in May of this year when I "found" them in a local "freebee" newspaper.The first thing I found was they were too small and the newsprint was poor to write on and erase.So,for what it's worth ,I made up a blank grid 4 1/2 X4 1/2
inches,making each cell 1/2 X 1/2 inch .I put 2 of them on a sheet of standard white paper 8 1/2 by 11,and made a bunch of copies.By the way,I used a heavier line for the outside edges and the edges of what Carol calls mini-grids or as I call them, blocks.Then, I transfer the numbers to my sheets to work on.I use a fairly bold marker to fill in the given numbers.A double check here ensures you haven't made a mistake copying the numbers.This emphasizing makes it easy to keep the rows,columns and mini-grids separated.
By marking in the "givens" boldly, it keeps them obvious from the "possibles" or "found" solutions.It also allows one to return to the book later and redo puzzles or to pass on to someone else.Another thing,I've found that a mechanical pencil,with its thin replaceable leads (no sharpening) and an "eraser pen" with a replaceable eraser is the best to work with.
Another different feature of this book is the bit about keeping score.Carol gives points for scoring times,which by the way, increases with the puzzle's level of difficulty.It might be fun to see how you've improved when you return to these same puzzles a few months later.Again,your times against yourself or Carol's suggested times.
You might want to check out the reviews I've written on other Sudoku books on Aug 3,(2 books),Aug 6 and Aug 10 of this year.
Good Sudokuing!!
P.S.
Carol has just published a new and better Sukodu book.See my review of November 16,2005.

I'm a new Sudoku learner and although I'm a pretty smart guy, this book isn't all that great. For instance, in the (mini) lesson on Medium difficulty puzzles, Vorderman brings up the logic rule she calls "the only one that fits." The explanation is insufficient, the example doesn't make sense. And then a few pages later, where she walks you through an entire puzzle to practice everything that you've just learned, the rule is never used!

The amount of tutorial material in this book is miniscule. (She probably could have written this in a day.) Lots of puzzles, but I wanted a tutorial book and this wasn't it.

There are many books with Sudoku puzzles, but this is the very best for providing a well written explanation of puzzle solving techniques at each level. I've bought about 10 books now, and all have plenty of great puzzles, but this is by far the best for explaining the strategies. Entertaining as well as helpful.

For kids starting with Sudoku, I highly recommend buying online the Sudoku for Kids from www.activityvillage.co.uk.

Unlike other sudoku books, which are essentially collections of puzzles

(and thus a borderline waste of your money, as there are 1) several computer programs that will generate as many puzzles as your heart desires for free and 2) the sudoku magazines of Dell Publications, which prints bimonthly (in the United States) a magazine of 200 puzzles, for around 3 dollars)

this book has useful teaching content. It goes through the basic techniques of discerning values for sudoku, using logic.

However, I have discovered every technique in this book on my own, and so its usefulness was personally limited. This is why the book did not get 5 stars.

This is the book I would buy as a gift for an interested novice in sudoku. I am awaiting Vorderman's book on more advanced solving techniques; such a book should eventually appear if the sudoku craze does not die down.

I thought that Carol Vorderman did an excellent job explaining her different techniques in a nice step by step fashion. Aside from that I felt the book was very lacking. I ordered this book a week or two after I first started doing Sudoku puzzles. When the book finally arrived I had already learned, on my own, all the techniques that she explained. She classifies her different techniques by skill level. I do not feel that there is an increased skill level for each technique but rather a specific time and place for them. She also stated that her techniques would allow you to complete any puzzle without guessing. This is not so and there are some really advanced techniques out there that she does not even discuss like the x-wing and the swordfish technique. I would only recommend this book to a person who has never done a puzzle yet and would be interested in learning.

Sudoku has me under its unrelenting power!!! I'm like a crack addict. Learned about sudoku online; seemed somewhat frustrating and difficult. And who needs more of that in life! However, I was determined to learn the secrets. Master Sudoku by Carol Vorderman was the instruction book I ordered after reading the online reviews. Previous reviewers are correct in that this manual provides clear, concise rules for the game. If you have never even heard of Sudoku, you can learn how to complete a puzzle quite easily. Vorderman writes so that even elementary students can pick up on the game. Sudoku is a terrific mind exercise - probably helps ward off dementia!

I highly recommend this book. Buyer beware; you will be hooked and will need a 'Sudoku fix' daily.

Also, a great web site to play online- www.websudoku.com. You can see how you are progressing after each entry. Easy to evil puzzles. Be mindful, this site is only useful after you have learned the rules from this book.

This is possibly one of the best sudoku books on the market. The puzzles contained in the book are excellent, and cover a broad range of difficulty. However, that's not the best thing about the book.

The best thing about the book is that Carol Vorderman has carefully and succinctly explained sudoku technique from the top to the bottom. Her strategy tips, with accompanying diagrams, will help everyone from beginners to those who think they've mastered the puzzles.

If you haven't yet learned how to sudoku, this is a phenomenal place to start. You'll have an easy time following the instructions, and you'll be hooked quickly. If you are already into sudoku, this is a great strategy guide, covering all the bases (some of which you may not have thought of). If you are indeed a master sudoku-er, you'll like this book anyway because the puzzles inside it are wonderful; the difficult ones are REALLY difficult.