The Virgin Book of Killer Sudoku [Paperback]

Virgin Books (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2010 | Series: Sudoku

If Sudoku is difficult, just wait to try Killer Sudoku. The next step up from normal Sudoku, the Killer puzzles use the same grid as Sudoku and require the reader to fill in the numbers one to nine as before. But this time the numbers in the outlined boxes must also all add up to a specific number. Already hugely popular in the national press, the puzzles are a must for Sudoku fans. With five difficulty ratings, from very easy to deadly, the 100 brand-new Killer Sudoku puzzles in this book will provide a challenge to the most ardent Sudoku addict.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Virgin Books (March 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753511584
• ISBN-13: 978-0753511589
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.4 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Quizzes
  • #100 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Quizzes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent intermediate level book, March 15, 2007

By 

Senor Brujo (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Virgin Book of Killer Sudoku (Paperback)

If you enjoy solving logic puzzles and you'd like to sharpen your mental arithmetic skills, then these are the puzzles for you. These puzzles are similar to Classic Sudoku in that you have to place the numbers 1-9 uniquely in each row, column, and box. The difference is that a Killer Sudoku puzzle is also covered with dotted outline "cages", each of which has a number that indicates the sum of the numbers within the cage and the numbers within the cages must also be unique. There are many techniques that can be used to solve these puzzles, and discovering them is half the fun.

This book contains a two-page Introduction, three pages on "How to Solve a Killer Sudoku", a one-page "List of Unique Number Combinations", 50 Easy puzzles, 35 Medium puzzles, 10 Difficult puzzles, 5 Deadly puzzles, and Solutions. The format is one puzzle per page and the puzzles are a good size (3.75" x 3.75").

The "How to Solve a Killer Sudoku" section gives a fairly minimal explanation of some simple techniques. One of the most important techniques (The Rule of 45) is not even mentioned. If you don't figure this one out you'll have a hard time completing a lot of the harder puzzles. For an excellent explanation of Killer Sudoku solving techniques, see Djape's book "Sudoku K (Killer), Volume 1".

In each section the puzzles tend to progress from easier to harder. There are a couple of hard puzzles in the medium section. A couple of the deadly puzzles are slightly harder than the hard puzzles; the others are about the same as the hard puzzles. I would have preferred fewer easy puzzles and more medium and hard puzzles. Overall, I think this is a good book for intermediate solvers and beginners who learn quickly. For advanced solvers who are looking for more of a challenge, check out Killer Sudoku Online. The Greater Than Killer Sudoku puzzles are especially fiendish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right challenge level for Killer Sodoku, May 4, 2010

By 

Carol K. Haas (wilmington de) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Virgin Book of Killer Sudoku (Paperback)

This book provides 100 puzzles in the Killer Sudoku format where the clues for solving the traditional soduku 9 by 9 grids are provided by the sums of numbes in adjacent blocks. I enjoyed this book because the puzzles provided enough challenge but weren't so difficult as to become frustrating. For example, this book was more enjoyable than the "Revenge of Killer Sodoku" that fell in the frustrating category for me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer Killer, January 21, 2010

By 

Wilfrid Nixon "eclectic engineer" (Iowa City, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Virgin Book of Killer Sudoku (Paperback)

If you like killer sudoku puzzles (not just hard sudoku puzzles - a different beast entirely) then you will like this. Good puzzles, from easy to difficult...