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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Having mastered front headlock crossover elbow break..., June 19, 2006
This review is from: Second-Degree Black Belt Sudoku (Martial Arts Sudoku) (Paperback)
These are tough Sudokus. I think these are even tougher than the "Beware! Very Challenging" sudokus from the Will Shortz series. I don't know how they compare to the ones designated "Diabolical," I haven't attempted those yet.
I'm working my way through this book and solving the puzzles successfully about 70% of the time. This seems to be just right to create tension and challenge me without overly discouraging me (again I refer you to Bandura's Self Efficacy theory).
But these are puzzles where you have to plug in numbers at some point and just see what happens. Here's what I do: I start off with a pen, doing all the numbers that can be deduced through logic alone. Then, I switch to a pencil. I find a box with only two options, and guess, write in a small 'A', and then follow it out to see where it goes, labelling the boxes with consecutive letters as I go so I can follow my steps backwards in retreat if necessary. Let me know if you've got a better idea.
The problem with these sudokus is knowing when to abandon logic and start muscling through. It's for this reason that I think I prefer sudokus that can be solved with logic alone (although some make the case that the trial-and-error guessing is just an extension of the logical steps you are taking in your head when solving simpler puzzles). But I got this book as a gift, a little retribution for all my tough Sudoku talk, and I will not back down.
Nice puzzles, well constructed for those of you into symmetry (I'm not sure why you care, but I've seen your critiques of other sudoku books). These books are also a good illustration of the fact that the number of clues filled in to start with is not directly correlated to the difficulty level of the puzzle. These look like easy puzzles at first glance, lots of numbers filled in to start with. But there is very little redundancy in the clues. I always start off hot and then hit a wall.
I like the martial arts metaphor of this series. I'm flattered to be at the second degree black belt level of something I've been at for about eight months. But I saw that he has a book called second degree white belt. What is that? Some kind of veteran neophyte? Or do you have to actively unlearn something to be a second degree white belt?
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Buy Dell's "Sudoku Challenge" as a companion to this book:, February 11, 2007
This review is from: Second-Degree Black Belt Sudoku (Martial Arts Sudoku) (Paperback)
My biggest disappointment with Second Degree Black Belt Sudoku is the introduction. It provides very basic, simplistic solving techniques which barely scratch the surface of the advanced techniques required to solve these puzzles. No where are terms like "X Wing" "XY Wing" or "swordfish" mentioned, much less illustrated with an example. This is a real shame as you'll need to know these techniques to truly enjoy the puzzles contained in this book.
As a companion to this book I'd recommend also picking up Dell's monthly publication "Sudoku Challenge". The Dell magazine contains the most wonderful 2 page double-sided insert. This insert contains real puzzle examples and explanations of what "X Wing" "XY Wing" and "swordfish" entail.
Prior to reading the Dell publication I felt the aforementioned techniques were too advanced for me. I attempted several times to research and learn these techniques by visiting various websites with alleged examples and definitions of said techniques. What these websites actually contained was logic-jargon and math notation that was over my head. All of these websites used theoretical as opposed to real puzzle examples of each technique which only added to my confusion and frustration. The end result was me leaving the website even more confused than before I came.
Kudos to the Dell publication for being clear and concise and explaining these techniques to me in a language that was simple enough for me to understand. It was this newly learned knowledge that enabled me to overcome my frustrations with having to outright guess at some of the puzzles in Second Degree Black Belt. I'm now able to elegantly solve all the puzzles in this book, the way Sudokus were meant to be solved.
Once you have a firm grasp on X-Wing, XY Wing, and Swordfish the puzzles in Second Degree Black Belt become quite enjoyable. Not all puzzles contained in Second Degree Black Belt require these techniques, but the ones that do I consider to be on the "easy" end of the X(Y) Wing/Swordfish spectrum. These puzzles are right on par with Dell's "super tough" level puzzles, and are nowhere near as hard as Dell's "brainbuster" level puzzles.
In summary to fully enjoy Second Degree Black Belt Sudoku you'll need to understand X Wing, XY Wing, and Swordfish which unfortunately the preface of the book doesn't tell you. Otherwise you'll just be blind guessing at certain stages of each puzzle as a previous reviewer of this book alluded to.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not all that hard but at least logical, September 23, 2008
This review is from: Second-Degree Black Belt Sudoku (Martial Arts Sudoku) (Paperback)
I thought that this book would offer some challenging puzzles after I had read books about the advanced solving methods; swordfish, jellyfish, turbot fish, Gordonian rectangles, etc. But they're actually not any harder than any other "very difficult" puzzles I've done before. But at least they can be solved using logic and solving methods, unlike some you'll find in the local newspaper which can only be solved with guessing. I enjoyed the puzzles but they don't deserve the Black Belt rating.
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