Will Shortz Presents Beyond Sudoku: 100 Specially Selected Logic Puzzles from Japan

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Take a look at the red slot. Using ONLY the information from the blue square and the blue intersecting row and column, solve the number for this slot.

Tip 2: Break the grid up visually into 3 columns and 3 rows. Each large column will have 3, 3×3 grids and each row will have 3, 3×3 grids. Now, look for columns or grids that have 2 of the same number. Logically, there must be a 3rd copy of the same number in the only remaining 9-cell section. Look at each of the remaining 9 positions and see if you can find the location of the missing number. These three constraints, that a digit not occur more than once in a row, column or square, make up the basic rules of sudoku. Strategies for Solving Sudoku We can see with the available data that there is only one true place for 2 inside the square. Every column, row, and 3 by 3 square has 1 through 9 in it. Rules that allow elimination until one true answer remains. Where sudoku puzzles get challenging is when there are multiple open positions in a row or column... In these cases you may need to look at more than one part of the puzzle to figure out how to solve the puzzle. Consider a row that is missing digits 5 and 6. If that's all the information you have, you have little to do except guess. However, you could look at the column that intersects one of the blank positions in the row. If that column already has a 5 in it, you know the value that goes in the blank position MUST be 6 because putting a 5 there would violate one of the sudoku rules. This sort of mutual exclusion is a powerful way to filter out possible values in your solution, and with a little practice you can apply it with rows, columns and squares. Combining that process with some basic healthy-living strategies can help protect — and even repair — our memory at any age. Mind Over MatterIf not, start again and try a different method. There are several different ways to reach the answer. Also, skim ahead and see if you can find a pattern to these puzzles. They will reveal themselves as the puzzle is being solved. Very good! We have mastered the art of 1 through 9! Now let’s try some different puzzle patterns and strategies.

By eliminating everything that will not fit, we find that we are left with one number with no objections and that meets all three criteria. Taking up any new activity that is practiced diligently, such as guitar playing, knitting, or golfing, can also generate fresh neurons. “You form new connections between brain cells whenever you learn something new,” says Zaldy S. Tan, MD, medical director of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. This is also true if we stretch ourselves in a skill we already know — like learning a new or more challenging piano piece. By placing 5 in this slot we have satisfied this column, square, and row. Let’s see if we can find all the 5’s for this puzzle. Start looking for clear answers, and then move on to this new elimination technique. Whether you are new, or you thought that learning Sudoku was impossible, you have come to the right place. This will be a thorough walkthrough so you can fully grasp how the game functions.The blue lines indicate that the row or column has a 1 within it. The red box shows its location within that row or column. As we can see here, there is only one proper space for 1 to go. It wasn't always so easy for Sudoku. When US publisher Dell published a puzzle called Number Place in the 1970s, hardly anyone noticed; it was just another humdrum conundrum, destined for obscurity. Salvation came from a most unlikely source: the Far East.

In the red slots we see 1 through 8. This leaves 9 to go in our slot because it is the only number that satisfies all three criteria. This is the final technique we will be learning. This has led newspapers to publish new variants of the puzzle: “Killer sudoku”, “Samurai sudoku ” and “Hyper sudoku” to name a few. More interestingly, some have introduced entirely new kinds of logic puzzles. With simple rules, exotic Japanese names and plenty of marketing behind them, could one of these upstart brainteasers supplant sudoku as king of logic puzzles? Crosswords with numbers Every row, column, and 3 by 3 square MUST HAVE 1 through 9. This is also the puzzle’s downfall. Through proper elimination we can solve with 100% accuracy. It’s while we are sleeping that memory gets laid down and rehearsed and consolidated,” said Gayatri Devi, MD, FACP, FAAN, director of the New York Memory and Healthy Aging Services.Although we don’t know which row 7 goes in, we know that for the red square, the 7 must go somewhere within the red column. Eating fresh produce has been shown to lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia, Small notes. He endorses a Mediterranean-style diet, featuring fresh produce, whole grains, nuts, fish, and healthy fats like olive oil. He is particularly keen on anti-inflammatory foods, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids like wild-caught salmon, scallops, kidney beans, and walnuts. Avoiding added sugars and refined carbs is another brain-sparing, anti-inflammatory move (for more on that, see “ Food Habits That Age You“). 2) Move your body. Now that we have solved the square, we can solve for the row and column. Find which numbers are missing in the row, and then in the column, 1 through 9. In fact, these two rows alone tell us there is only one true slot. And since we must have a 4 in the square, these two rows give us sufficient information to place the 4 in this slot. This allows us to speed up the process by knowing the facts and principles of the situation.

Hard Killer Sudoku levels have the same rules as any other level, the only difference is very few numbers on the grid from the beginning. This makes the game pretty hardcore and requires longer playing time to fill out all the numbers. It’s definitely a great fit for players who have had enough of the classic sudoku and want to step up their game. “Minimum and Maximum” strategy Killer Sudoku is a fun number puzzle in the family of Sudoku puzzles. There’s a common opinion that even though its name contains the word “killer”, it is actually easier than the classic sudoku. Well, not if you play a hard Killer Sudoku. Sudoku is a fun puzzle game once you get the hang of it. At the same time, learning to play Sudoku can be a bit intimidating for beginners. So, if you are a complete beginner, here are a few Sudoku tips that you can use to improve your Sudoku skills. In 2013, Small’s research team surveyed more than 18,500 people nationwide and found that those who regularly practiced at least three healthy behaviors — things like eating fresh vegetables and working out, for instance — were 75 percent less likely than their unhealthy counterparts to report memory-loss symptoms. Your answer was 5! Congratulations! Now try and solve each column and find each missing number from 1 through 9. Solving 3×3 Sudoku SquaresNikoli's hand-made Sudoku puzzles first appeared in Japan, about 20 years ago. Puzzler Media met Nikoli at the World Puzzle Championship in Arnhem in 2003 and were introduced to Sudoku there. We published a few puzzles in our titles, but things didn't take off until a Japanese puzzle enthusiast called Wayne Gould (who, in his spare time, had devised a computer program to generate Sudoku) walked into 'The Times' offices in London, in the Autumn of 2005, to demonstrate the program. Let’s focus our attention on the blue square for moment. It needs 4, 7, and a 3 as well. We can also see that there is only one available slot for a 3 in this square. Let’s go ahead and fill that slot.