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Taking Sudoku Seriously: The Math Behind the World's Most Popular Pencil Puzzle Hardcover – January 19, 2012

by Jason Rosenhouse (Author), Laura Taalman (Author)

12 customer reviews

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Packed with more than a hundred color illustrations and a wide variety of puzzles and brainteasers, Taking Sudoku Seriously uses this popular craze as the starting point for a fun-filled introduction to higher mathematics.

How many Sudoku solution squares are there? What shapes other than three-by-three blocks can serve as acceptable Sudoku regions? What is the fewest number of starting clues a sound Sudoku puzzle can have? Does solving Sudoku require mathematics? Jason Rosenhouse and Laura Taalman show that answering these questions opens the door to a wealth of interesting mathematics. Indeed, they show that Sudoku puzzles and their variants are a gateway into mathematical thinking generally. Among many topics, the authors look at the notion of a Latin square--an object of long-standing interest to mathematicians--of which Sudoku squares are a special case; discuss how one finds interesting Sudoku puzzles; explore the connections between Sudoku, graph theory, and polynomials; and consider Sudoku extremes, including puzzles with the maximal number of vacant regions, with the minimal number of starting clues, and numerous others. The book concludes with a gallery of novel Sudoku variations--just pure solving fun! Most of the puzzles are original to this volume, and all solutions to the puzzles appear in the back of the book or in the text itself.

A math book and a puzzle book, Taking Sudoku Seriously will change the way readers look at Sudoku and mathematics, serving both as an introduction to mathematics for puzzle fans and as an exploration of the intricacies of Sudoku for mathematics buffs.

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Editorial Reviews

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"This well-written book would be of interest to anyone, mathematician or not, who likes solving Sudoku puzzles." -- Mathematical Gazette

"While accessibly written, this book will be best appreciated by readers with experience in graduate-level mathematics or research. Highly recommended for puzzle fanatics and those with an interest in mathematics." -- Elizabeth Brown, Binghamton Univ. Library Journal

"Rosenhouse and Taalman successfully describe Sudoku from a research perspective; their descriptions and analysis of solving strategies are both clear and detailed, and their strategies for creating classic puzzles and variations are insightful. Highly recommended for puzzle fanatics and those with an interest in mathematics." -- Library Journal

"Several insightful chapters describe how to generate good sudoku puzzles...Highly recommended."--CHOICE

"The authors have produced a lovely addition to any budding or practiced mathematician's bookcase. Well-presented and readable for both the novice and the maths expert, which is an admirable feat, this book is for anyone with an interest, no matter how vague or intense, in Sudoku." -- Significance

About the Author

Jason Rosenhouse is Associate Professor of Mathematics at James Madison University and author of The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math's Most Contentious Brain Teaser.
Laura Taalman is Professor of Mathematics at James Madison University and co-founder of Brainfreeze Puzzles. She is the author of Integrated Calculus and co-author of three books of original Sudoku puzzles.

Hardcover: 226 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (January 19, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0199756562
ISBN-13: 978-0199756568
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 0.4 x 6.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 12 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #143 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Pure Mathematics > Logic
- #146 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Math Games
- #257 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Sudoku

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A. Menon

Really enjoyable introduction to the math of sudoku and related structures

January 22, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Having been playing too much Sudoku recently, i picked up this book to just read through and see if there were any relationships I was missing when trying to solve the puzzles. This book was not quite what i expected with a much broader discussion which focused on abstracting sudoku and discussing how it could be analyzed from a formal mathematical lense. Despite the content being a bit different than what i expected, i am really happy i picked it up as the contents are both interesting and motivating to the reader to consider a much larger set of puzzles and problems.

The book starts out with discussing sudoku. It begins with taking more simple problems and through showing forced relationships in simple settings, is able to set the stage for understanding some forced relationships in sudoku squares. It goes through basic strategies and solution techniques. Soon after though the book starts getting into more abstract settings with fewer rules and more possibilities. It goes through various ways of looking at solutions to Sudoku and it looks at the similarities of various sudoku squares. For example rotations of sudoku squares are analyzed and are quite clearly solutions in themselves as are any sudoku square who's entries are all shifted by the same number (with any 0 going to 1). It discusses some group theory and some unsolved problems in Sudoku.

This book discusses some Sudoku and more importantly discusses how Sudoku introduces many interesting mathematical problems. Some of these mathematical problems are what the book explores. The book definitely motivates the readers ability to do some interesting math with a very concrete object and makes the learning process easier and more natural. Despite not being what I expected, i am really glad I picked this up.

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frankw

well written mathematical view of a popular puzzle

June 7, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The authors are college professors in mathematics who also have extensive experience with sudoku puzzles. In this book, they cover a range of mathematical considerations from quite elementary to advanced, discussing sudoku puzzles from a number of different perspectives and drawing many interesting conclusions. In several cases, they analyze a smaller sudoku-like grid that uses entries only from 1-6 to simplify the math.

Also enjoyable are a number of unsolved puzzles of various sorts, some quite unusual or advanced versions of the sudoku puzzles published in daily newspapers, etc. (with complete solutions provided at the end of the book).

Anyone interested in the mathematical underpinnings of these ubiquitous puzzles will find this book a worthwhile read.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

A new way of working with life and puzzles

July 25, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A math based approach to solving puzzles

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Molly Johnson

And I do! (take it seriously, that is)

February 16, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I really like the very interestingly designed Sudoku puzzles in this book. They are a new take on Sudoku and challenging but not so hard I can't do them. I have not read the whole books yet, but it does just what it claims, demonstrating the math behind the puzzle. I like these authors' other Sudoku puzzle books, too.

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Techbuy

Five Stars

March 23, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Gets to the point

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Derrick Niederman

More than just Sudoku

April 15, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Can you write a whole book about Sudoku? Maybe, but it's not this one. There are all sorts of non-Sudoku puzzles in "Taking Sudoku Seriously," and, frankly, when I started reading the book it seemed as though the authors might be straining to include some delightful but well-worn classics as part of the mix, as if Sudoku by itself weren't enough.

Not to worry. It soon became evident that Rosenhouse and Taalman were using these other types of puzzles to cast Sudoku against a broader backdrop of puzzle solving, and the book is greatly enhanced by this approach. Let's face it, one big problem faced by ordinary Sudoku collections is the sameness of presentation and typography. "Taking Sudoku Seriously" nicely sidesteps this problem not only by the "adjunct" puzzles, but also by the way in which the authors highlight the wide variety of Sudoku-type challenges that have evolved during the genre's still relatively brief history. The result is a book that is both comprehensive in content and diverse in its displays. The use of color is both welcome and purposeful.

Perhaps the best thing I can say is that I'm not even a Sudoku nut and I enjoyed every page. The revelations of this book make Sudoku more interesting, not less.

14 people found this helpful

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Dickenz

I Enjoy the Puzzles So I Enjoyed the Book

September 8, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

After working Sudoku puzzles for years, I was curious about how many puzzles are possible, how they are made, and why puzzles with the same number of starting clues can have very different levels of difficulty. The book answered these questions and several more that I had not thought of.

The author used color to aid in some explanations and I could not see that on my Kindle. So I stumbled around the Amazon website until I found Kindle For PC and I downloaded it. Now I can read all my Kindle books on my PC as well as my Kindle and I can see the color book jackets and any color pictures that are included in my books. Also, I could probably have printed the many puzzles in Taking Sudoku Seriously from my PC to get a paper copy to work them. I chose, however, to make copies of a Sudoku template and make the paper copy of each puzzle by hand. Perhaps other Kindle users would be happier with a physical book to write in.

In summary, I enjoyed this book because it gave me a look at the many details that are behind the Sudoku puzzles that I like to work.

2 people found this helpful

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