Customer Reviews

Mastering Sudoku Week by Week: 52 Steps to Becoming a Sudoku Wizard

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am new to Sudoku having just discovered sudoku about a month ago and just recently bought MASTERING SUDOKU WEEK BY WEEK by Paul Stephens. The other books I bought are the Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku by Peter Gordon which seems to be thought of as the bible of sudoku and Sudoku Master Class by Tom Sheldon. All three seem to be excellent instructional books but ...

I think this deceptively small book by Stephens is a GEM.

This book is ABOUT LEARNING TECHNIQUE and is NOT a mere collection of puzzles. In this sense, this book is a rarity; the book that seems to have the reputation for being an in-depth approach to technique is the Gordon book. I think I prefer the Stephens book.

Like the larger, better known and highly praised book by Gordon, the Stephens book presents a very comprehensive collection of techniques from the most simple to such quite advanced techniques as XY Wing, Swordfish, etc. with each technique accompanied by puzzle(s) so the reader can use the technique in a puzzle; because of this, this book is not just for the novice but does begin with the novice and expands. Of the three books I purchased, I began with the Stephens book because it seemed the most user friendly.

Why??

Unlike the Gordon book, the puzzles in the Stephens book are clearly labeled as to their level of difficulty - "easy", "moderate", "hard" and "extreme" and at the bottom of each puzzle meant for the reader to complete is the time that a "novice", "improver" and "expert" would take to complete it as well as a line for the readers to enter their own time. This awareness of how your time compares seems a great learning tool.

Also, this is one of very few books I have come across, so far, that is, from the beginning of its 176 pages to the last page, totally dedicated to explanation of technique with no separate section of just puzzles ... that section, in most sudoku books, is the whole book. Here, parts of puzzles are given to demonstrate a concept and, then, a whole puzzle so you see it in context but always as an integral part of the text. This allows you to keep the decision about what you need from a collection of puzzles separate. I find myself leaning toward collections that are all one level.

Especially nice is that the language is clear and concise. I find some sudoku authors such as Carol Vorderman define a word with itself by just starting to use it and never present a clear definition. Of course, the real problem here is that sudoku language is not standardized and there seems little general agreement between authors as to what words mean. So, don't expect that a word used one way by one author means the same thing when used by another author. Stephens is very clear as to what HE means.

Finally, there is a really nice though short section on sudoku on the internet.

TWO THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE DONE DIFFERENTLY:

1) LARGER GRIDS: Both the Stephens and the Gordon books have grids that are too small to provide the space necessary to work especially as one progresses to more difficult puzzles. But who says you are limited to making entries for the puzzle directly into the book?? Alternatives?? Well, one thing that I have done is create my own blank grids on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, xerox a bunch and copy the puzzle from the book onto a page ... usually, with the starter numbers in a different color. Another alternative could be to invest in one of the numerous types of sudoku boards: I was amazed to discover the variety - wood, magnetic, dry erase board, etc. that can be used with any sudoku puzzle. I have found that dry erase markers erase very easily but quickly dry out and stop writing and "grease pencils" AKA "china markers" wipe off less easily but don't dry out. What I am doing now is a combination of an ink pen and one of those mini "wite-out" tape thingies. Tomorrow? Who knows! Because I have had too many attempts to erase numbers result in huge dark smudges that make everything else almost impossible to read, I was quickly more than ready to consider alternatives to writing and erasing in a book. Doing sudoku is one situation where the quality of the paper and the quality of the pencil eraser REALLY MATTER!! If a review says the book has good paper quality, pay attention! The Stephens book has decent paper quality and will take some erasure and remain clear if you do not erase too many times in the same spot. This book has too much to offer to allow distraction by small grids, etc.

2) NOT GREEN ON GREEN: When the author is explaining something, he will highlight the area of the grid in green and, then, enter numbers into that highlighted area ... in what color?? a slightly darker shade of the same green, of course. Try reading that in the corner of a dimly lit bar!!

The bottom line is that all three books seem to be excellent books but I feel the Stephens book appears to be under-appreciated possibly because it came out 2007 and just may not be as known.

Hopefully, I will still love them all when I have been working longer with them.

I've been doing Sudoku for a year now and this book immediately improved my game so I'm now at the Challenger level(****). I have not even finished it yet. Thank God books like this have just started to come out. A straight forward book, well written.

One gripe I have, which include all Sudoku books, is small grids. The harder the puzzle, the bigger the piece of paper I need to solve. I just can't get all the possible numbers in such tiny boxes. I feel the grids need to be bigger.

My success rate improved once I found books with larger grids.

....but don't let the size fool you, there is a lot in here. This is not only a great sudoku technique book, this is one of the best "how to" books I've ever read. It goes from the most basic techniques to the most advanced, and at every step of the way provides sample sudokus to illustrate the concept under review. Each successive section of the book builds on the previous section. I have also looked at the Mensa book, and that one is not laid out anywhere near as clearly or logically. And I have gotten major results. In a few weeks (of admittedly spending WAY too much time doing these puzzles, I have gone from being a rank beginner to just having completed my first "extreme" puzzle. In short, this is a great book for a great price!

I love this book and there is no doubt it has greatly improved my ability to solve sudokus, but there comes a point where the explanations for new techniques stop making sense: I just don't get it, no matter how many times I read the same thing.

Unfortunately if you don't understand the explanations then there's nothing you can do and you're stuck. It would really help if the author had included 'step by step solutions' for the harder techniques (there is one such step-by-step puzzle at the beginning of the book)

Finally, a book on Sudoku that truly can be your guide to realms undiscovered. Thank you, Paul, for breaking this down step by step. I have discovered some new strategies that have really helped me solve some fiendish brain-rackers. I have had some difficulty in understanding the more advanced concepts at first, but soon I am able to put the pieces together and can transfer the new skills and concepts to my work. I also like how the book gives a name to some of the strategies that I have developed on my own. I think it is a wise concept to introduce one logic per week...it takes time to digest each new concept before building on a new one. Get it!!!!

I look for Sudoku books with three qualities. First, I want puzzles that have only one solution. If I find a book that includes puzzles with more than one solution I discard it. Two, I want books with grids large enough that I can enter candidates in the cells. Third, I want books with challenging puzzles. Many of the descriptions on Amazon omit such info.

I prefer grids that are about 4 ½" x 4 ½". The grids in my newspaper are about 3" x 3" (which is tolerable because not many candidates are needed).

Paul Stephens' Mastering Sudoku Week by Week: The puzzles have only one solution; the grids are about 3" x 3". There are 52 puzzles in this book. This is an excellent instruction book for those who want to learn to solve difficult puzzles.

As another reviewer noted, the font size and style could be improved; as is, it is often difficult to read.

Even though I am only halfway through this book, my ability to solve much harder Sudoku puzzles than before I started reading is worth the price of admission.

A great book for beginning information, however, on the more difficult solutions, it would have been beneficial if they had given more examples with solutions.

In my desire to really learn how to do Sudoku, I first bought the Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku: Hundreds of Puzzles Plus Techniques to Help You Crack Them All. There are some good things about that book, but I was having trouble applying the techniques presented there. For one thing, it was too much presented all at once. I was an "advanced" kind of level at the time, and I was having trouble understanding how to apply fishy patterns. The MENSA book slammed me with everything from X-wing to Squirmbag, and then presented me a bunch of tiny grid puzzles that used all variety of these fishy patterns.

I was about to give it up, when I found this little book. What I found was an absolute gem. The author presents pretty much all the same techniques as the MENSA book, though more gently and not so much like a firehose. To be fair, this book does present a bit less than the MENSA book. For example, regarding fishy patterns, he only tackles X-Wings and Swordfish. But I've now done quite a few "extreme" sudokus, and I've only just now needed anything higher-order than a Swordfish. This highlights a major difference between the two books: the MENSA book presents you absolutely everything and hopes you pick it up immediately; this book gives you what you will actually need for 99.999% of the puzzles out there, and in a way that it's understandable for mere mortals. And, honestly, after doing X-wings and Swordfish for a few weeks, the extension to higher-order fishy patterns is an easy one. I just hit a jellyfish in Absolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 3 (Mensa) and had no problem with it. You really don't need all those higher-order patterns right at the beginning: better to get a solid foundation with a bit less material.

The other (minor) drawback is that this book does not provide a huge number of example puzzles - the number "52" in the title actually being the number of puzzles presented. As they range in difficulty from easy to fairly extreme, there are not many puzzles at any given level. However, I do not consider this a huge drawback, since Sudoku books at every level are easily obtained. My advice is to pick a companion book at a level slightly above where you currently are, and go through the two books together. Here's a short guide on what puzzle book to pick up (sorry! this only covers fairly advanced levels):

* If you need some work on your pairs, triples, and quads, I recommend Will Shortz Presents Ferocious Sudoku: 200 Hard Puzzles. There are no advanced techniques required in this book, but it will give you a good workout of the basic ones.
* If you are at the same level I was when I started, something a bit higher than the previous, try Absolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 1 (Mensa)
* If you are just getting comfortable with X-wings, I'd recommend Absolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 2 (Mensa)
* If you are comfortable with level 3 fishy patterns, simple non-unique rectangles, and XY/XYZ wings, pick up Absolutely Nasty Sudoku Level 3 (Mensa)

There's a testament to this book: last summer I was at the first step of these four; now I'm at the fourth, and I credit this wonderful little book. This book just works. That's why I say it's the BEST "how to do Sudoku" book there is!

This was my first book that contained not just sudoku puzzles but strategies on solving them as well. The techniques are extremely well explained and I learned a ton. Each section has puzzles that give examples of applying what you just learned which really drives it home.

The other thing that I really liked about this book is that all of the puzzles are available on the authors website for printing out. This works really well for more difficult puzzles that you dont get right the first time and for puzzle that require full candidate lists that dont really fit in the small pages of the book.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting to get better at sudoku solving and I will definitely be checking out the sequel to this book Sudoku Addicts Workbook that has new techniques and puzzles.