The Original Kakuro Book: The Latest Puzzle Craze Since Sudoku [Paperback]

The Puzzle Society (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Kakuro is a puzzle game that's a cross between both traditional crosswords and Sudoku. The idea behind Kakuro is very simple. Just like Sudoku you must fit the numbers 1 to 9 into a grid of squares so that no number is repeated within a defined area. And just like a crossword there's a grid of filled blocks and clues to solve. In Kakuro, there are across and down clues, but they give the sum of the digits in the relevant areas--which is why the puzzles are also called Cross Sums. The clues are written within the grid to the left or the top of the area they apply to. As in Sudoku, the puzzles are best solved using logic. Some of the same logic can be used as in Sudoku, but you also need a bit of math because unlike in Sudoku there is a second restraint: Not only must the numbers not repeat within a clue run but they also must add up to given totals--these totals replace the traditional word clues found in a crossword.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Kakuro puzzles in this book have been created by the editors at The Puzzle Society, the Web's best source for challenging word and logic puzzles. The Puzzle Society makes it easy for their loyal members to play daily crosswords and puzzles from some of the most respected publishers in print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740761277
• ISBN-13: 978-0740761270
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,267,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly OK kakuro book (easy puzzles) but with errors, January 12, 2007

By 

a_bucket_of_shoes (Walnut Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Original Kakuro Book: The Latest Puzzle Craze Since Sudoku (Paperback)

Beware! A few of the puzzles in this book are blatantly in error; for example there are number clues that make no sense given the rules of kakuro (like number clues along the bottom row or right-most column, or a single box with the clue sum "43"). And in addition, about 5% or 10% of the puzzles are ambiguous, that is, they have multiple solutions. That's kind of missing the point of a puzzle like this; the player is supposed to find the single solution.

It looks like the puzzles were generated by a computer program that had bugs in it, and that there was a lack of quality-control used to select puzzles for the book.

Apart from that...the remaining 90% or so of the puzzles in this book are OK. They're on the relatively easy side. But you're not really getting the 200 puzzles the blurb on the cover claims. I'd suggest a different book with higher-quality puzzles (with single, unambiguous solutions).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Refund please, March 12, 2007

By 

T. Sterling (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Original Kakuro Book: The Latest Puzzle Craze Since Sudoku (Paperback)

Many puzzles are incomplete or, worse yet, offer more than one possible solution. Priced too high by $9.94

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars kakuro, January 3, 2007

By 

Estr Moralez "E-moral" (El Paso Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Original Kakuro Book: The Latest Puzzle Craze Since Sudoku (Paperback)

This is one of the best puzzle books I have ever bought. Thank You!