Customer Reviews

Will Shortz's Favorite Sudoku Variations: 100 Kakuro, Killer Sudoku, and More Brain-Twisting Puzzles

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Anyone who has looked over the huge assortment of sudoku books should be familiar with the name Will Shortz. While sudoku books are starting to lose way to the lower-priced puzzle magazines this book represents some of the things the magazines do not yet supply. Here we have a number of sudoku variations as well as kakuro (which is also starting to feature prominently in the magazines).

First we have Wacky Sudoku (what Carol Vorderman calls Squiffy Sudoku). It follows the same idea as normal sudoku. It is a 9X9 grid with nine smaller sub-grids. But these sub-grids are not the easy 3X3 squares of standard sudoku. These varying shapes add a new level of challenge to the puzzle. There are twenty of these in the book.

Next we have Hyper Sudoku. This is played on a standard 9X9 grid made up of nine 3X3 sub-grids. But, there are four more 3X3 sub-grids overlapping the other nine. These are separated out by being shaded. There are twenty of these puzzles included in the book.

After that we get ABC Sudoku (also called wordku). Here the grid is the same as standard sudoku but the numerals 0 thru 9 have been replaced by nine letters of the alphabet. Each grid uses a different selection of letters so greater care is needed. Once solved, one row or column will spell a nine-letter word. There are twenty of these puzzles included.

Next is Killer Sudoku (one of my favorites). Here the standard grid us used but the clues are given in different ways. Any square may be roped off in a sub-region and a total is given for what the numbers in the sub-region add up to. The regular rules of sudoku apply. Twenty of these are included.

Finally we get kakuro (also known as cross-sums). This is not a true variant of sudoku but a puzzle all its own. It resembles a crossword puzzle but there are no clues. Grids can vary greatly in size. Each row and column segment is labeled with the total the numbers in it add up to. There are no duplications in any row or column segment. I find this as addictive as sudoku. There are twenty of these puzzles included.

So we wind up with one-hundred puzzles on five different types. This is a good way to experience some of the variations and see if you wish to pursue them more fully. The low cover price makes it a safe investment even if you don't like all of the variations.

I'm a fan of variation. I like to intersperse a little Acey-Ducey into my backgammon. I like to break up the old Texas Hold-`Em with some Omaha Hi-Lo, nighttime baseball, 7/27, Screw Your Neighbor, or good old fashioned 5 card draw. So imagine my excitement to see Will Shortz' new book of Sudoku variations. Something novel, something to give me back that same rush I used to get doing regular Sudokus.

I have to report mixed results. Some of these variants have the appearance of a novel challenge but are actually easier. Or the same, as in the case of the first set, the "Wacky Sudoku." Wacky just means the boxes are irregularly shaped. So everything is the same, but you need to squint at the shapes, take a beat, and then solve it the same way you would any Sudoku. It just slows you down a step, and you might have to adjust your notation system accordingly.

It's a little bit of headache but not much of a variation. An anaology would be me inventing "Dim Sudoku" and claiming that as an a new game. It would be a version in which you do Sudoku in a room that doesn't have adequate lighting, so it's a little harder and hurts your head.

"Hyper Sodoku" falls in the same category as Samurai Sudoku, those overlapping puzzles, but in the hyper variant there are 4 extra 3X3 boxes inlaid within the puzzle, in which the same rules apply, no repeating of the digits one through 9. Sounds trickier but it is actually easier, it's additional data. Some of the little boxes are contained in a column, a row, and then two different 3X3 boxes, so there are more paths of deduction. "Wordoku" I guess is for people who really dig those jumble puzzles; it's basically a cross-contamination of the two. You have letters instead of numbers, so it slows you down for a second while you get a hang of the 9 letters. But then, one shaded column contains a 9 letter word. So when you are about two-thirds done with your Sudoku, all of a sudden you solve the jumble and get to cheat the puzzle a little.

Those first three variations didn't do a lot for me, since they just gently impede you instead of calling for a new approach to the puzzle. It's like shooting pool with a heavy winter coat on. But then, we get "Killer Sudoku," which really is different. There aren't enough numbers given to just get going on the puzzle, but smaller grids are marked off with the sums of the numbers in those squares listed in the corners. So, if Wordoku is for people intimidated by the mathematical appearance of Sudoku, then Killer Sudoku is for people who resent the actual lack of arithmetic in the classic Sudoku. You really do need to think through these differently, which I enjoyed. These lead to "Karoku," and now you're doing algebra. This is a little bit of a trend on its own, where you are given the vertical and horizontal sums and then have to fill in the numbers. Digits can't repeat within a single answer. You have to generate the sets of possible numbers and then eliminate them down to the single integers. I don't think the excitement will last long, it feels a little too homeworky.

I think the excitement of Karoku will wear off in about the same amount of time as math in base-8. But at least it is really different, forces you to flex some different muscles for the moment.

CONTENTS

1-page introduction by Will Shortz
2 pages of instructions
20 Wacky Sudoku puzzles
20 Hyper Sudoku puzzles
20 ABC Sudoku puzzles
20 Killer Sudoku puzzles
20 Kakuro puzzles
Solutions

Wacky Sudoku - (Also known as "Geometrical Sudoku", "Geometry Sudoku", "Jigsaw Sudoku", "Shape Sudoku", and others.) In these puzzles you place the numbers 1-9 uniquely in each column, row, and outlined region.

Hyper Sudoku - (Also known as "Sudoku Extra".) In these puzzles you place the numbers 1-9 uniquely in each column, row, 3x3 box, and shaded 3x3 box.

ABC Sudoku - (Also known as "Alphabet Sudoku", "Wordoku", and others.) In these puzzles you place 9 letters (all of which are given in the starting hints) uniquely in each column, row, and 3x3 box. The 9 letters can be anagrammed into a word that appears in the shaded row or column.

Killer Sudoku - (Also known as "Sums Sudoku".) In these puzzles you place the numbers 1-9 uniquely in each column, row, and 3x3 box. In addition, outlined regions indicate the sum of the numbers in that region and the numbers in each region must be unique. (Think of this type of puzzle as a cross between standard Sudoku and Kakuro.)

Kakuro - (Also known as "Cross Sums".) In these puzzles you place the numbers 1-9 in the grid such that each section adds up to the indicated sum and within each section the numbers are unique.

OPINION

If, like me, you've done hundreds to thousands of standard Sudoku puzzles and now find them boring, or if you're a relative newcomer to Sudoku puzzles and would like a taste of some of the variations, this is a good book to check out.

There are no difficulty levels listed for the puzzles, but they generally run from easy to hard within each section. I found the difficulty of the puzzle types to be (easiest to hardest) ABC Sudoku, Hyper Sudoku, Killer Sudoku, Kakuro, Wacky Sudoku. If you're good at anagrams, you'll find the ABC Sudoku puzzles easy to solve. I had trouble only with the last puzzle because it took me quite a while to figure out the anagram. I found Hyper Sudoku to be generally easier than standard Sudoku because of the extra clues afforded by the shaded areas. Killer Sudoku is currently my favorite variation. I found these puzzles to be pretty easy. My only gripe with them is that the background of the sum regions is shaded so it's really difficult to see the borders of the 3x3 regions. (Publisher take note: bad idea.) Kakuro is almost as interesting as Killer Sudoku. Most of these puzzles were pretty easy except for the last two which were fairly tricky. I found the Wacky Sudoku puzzles to be the hardest mainly because of the more complex configuration.

The book is supple enough that you can fold it in half and the grids are large (roughly 4 3/8" x 4 3/8") giving a reasonable amount of room for making notes in each square. I think this book is a good sampler and beginner book and is an amusing diversion for intermediate and advanced solvers.

If you find you like Killer Sudoku, I recommend Steve Arons' book "The Official Book of Killer Sudoku: 120 Puzzles from Lite to Truly Killer".

If you're interested in other Sudoku variations, I recently found the following web site which shows quite a few of them: [...]

If you like Sudoku and other word/number puzzles this one is for you! With Will Shortz providing the puzzles you can always count on a solution, even when you're pulling your hair out. I find myself enjoying waiting room opportunities and other occassions to work on these brain teasers.

I really enjoy sudoku, kakuro (cross sums) and will shortz, so I was looking forward to this book and was not disappointed. Here you'll find Wacky Sudoku, in which you are plying with non-3x3 subgrids; Hyper Sudoku, in which there are 4 3x3 grids embedded within the usual puzzle and these must also meet Sudoku solving criteria; ABC Sudoku, sometimes called Wordoku -- these were not terribly challenging; Killer Sudoku, a combination of Sudoku and Kakuro; and Kakuro. There are 100 puzzles altogether. Size of the book is good, 6'x9" with nice big grids.

I'd buy it again.

If you loved sudoku puzzles but you have done so many that they are not fun anymore, then these puzzles are what you need. Each type of variation starts out simple and gets more challenging with each puzzle. The size of the puzzles on each page make them comfortable to do. As with all Will Shortz books, the puzzles are well designed to develop your logic skills as you move up in difficulty. These are fun puzzles. Do one every day and keep your brain in optimal condition.

I started off in Sudokus with New York Post Sudoku 1: The Official Utterly Addictive Number-Placing Puzzle (New York Post Su Doku) and its sequels. Although these were great at first, at some point it just got old: there's only so much of interest you can do with nine digits in a nine by nine grid.

Then I found this book and I was reinvigorated. It contains a number of different types of puzzles, all of which fit into the Sudoku grid style yet all of which are refreshingly different.

This book has "Wacky Sudoku" which the rest of the world seems to call Jigsaw Sudoku The "Daily Telegraph" Jigsaw Sudoku (Daily Telegraph). With these, the grids are no longer 3 x 3 but may be arbitrary shapes enclosing nine spaces. The regular rules apply in that rows, columns and the enclosed spaces all have unique 1 - 9 digits, but you need to think differently to solve them.

Hyper Sudoku has overlapping square grids which I had fun with but which seemed to make the puzzles much simpler to solve.

It also has a version of Sudoku using letters and spelling out a nine letter word or phrase. I had great fun with these and ended up getting an entire book of them Godoku: 200 Fun and Challenging Sudoku-style Puzzles with Letters!.

There were also Killer Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles, but these weren't my favorites. Unlike regular Sudokus where you're really trying to make a set of non-repeating digits (or letters), Killer Sudoku and Kakuro are more algebraic in nature. But -- I still did them all!

For anyone who is starting to get bored with regular Sudokus, or even for anyone who just wants to try some of the variations out there, I highly recommend this book. It's enjoyable, the puzzles are never so hard that they can't be solved and I simply enjoyed being able to open the book to a random page and find a new puzzle to be solved. Unlike plain old 9 x 9 Sudoku, you'll never find yourself bored with these.

The puzzles are VERY easy and the print is very hard to read, especially in the killer sudokus.

As a newcomer to this fad, I ordered this book to get a taste of many other Sudoku variations, which is exactly what this book delivered. The puzzles in each category range from easy to harder. I wish there had been more of the difficult puzzles, but it is a great introduction to many other styles of Sudoku. You can always trust Will Shortz to deliver exactly what he promises.

This is the only book that I have found that contains the NYTimes Hyper-Sukoku (more! more! Will Shortz!). Not only that, it has my two other favorites, Kakuro and Killer Sudoku (Kakuro + Sudoku), plus two other fun ones. I will be buying this for my puzzling friends. Fantastic, addictive, challenging, fun.

Amazon shipped fast, has the best price (as usual), and has everything. I am buying computer parts from Amazon now!