Samurai Sudoku

By: Conceptis Puzzles

This popular, even more challenging variant of sudoku is for true puzzle warriors Each one consists of FIVE sudoku grids arranged in an X-shaped array, with overlapping corners. No grid can be solved on its own; to complete the entire puzzle, players have to work on several grids at once, making their way to overlapping areas and constantly searching for new clues. While regular sudoku-solving techniques provide the starting point, the game's more complicated than that. Because the overlapping areas belong to two different grids, they must comply with the rules of both simultaneously. That changes the puzzle's underlying logic...and makes these sudokus more fun for the serious fan. An introduction, with a sample puzzle, shows all the strategies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402737645
• ISBN13: 9781402737640
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Sterling
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

(4 ½ stars) A New Challenge for Sudoku Fans

A samurai sudoku puzzle consists of five standard sudoku 9x9 grids that overlap at the four 3x3 corner grids of the center puzzle. Thus, each of the four corner puzzles share one grid of nine numbers with the center puzzle, which has a total of 36 of its 81 squares that must in effect be consistently used in two of the five interconnected puzzles at the same time. This collection includes an explanatory introduction and sample puzzle for individuals who have no previous exposure to this form of sudoku. However, it does assume a familiarity and problem solving experience with the basic 9x9 format. It consists of 77 puzzles (and with solutions in the back of the book) which the publisher has attempted to arrange in an increased order of difficulty. This does generally appears to be the case although as any sudoku fan is aware, the difficulty of any specific puzzle is always a function of the interaction of the particular puzzle and your various methodologies for solving the puzzles (I have several techniques among which I alternate depending on several factors), with luck occasionally playing a role as well. These puzzles vary tremendously in their construction, although with a few exceptions the one common feature which they generally share is that the four shared corner blocks are originally devoid of any numbers. Thus, regardless of how you approach the puzzles, you are faced with the unusual feature that one puzzle contains four totally blank grids and the other four each contain one. Sometimes you have to complete the center puzzle in order to accumulate enough information to finish the four other puzzles, which then in effect just becomes an instance of sequentially completing four other puzzles. But often, you have to go back and forth between the center and the various individual puzzles. On a few occasions, one specific number is frequently enough shown that it falls into place in several of the puzzles very quickly, while another number is almost completely absent initially from all puzzles (In one extreme case, the whole center puzzle only contains 12 numbers originally, these provided just enough additional information to gradually complete the corner puzzles.) THE KEY IS TO REMEMBER THAT NO PUZZLE CAN BE SOLVED INDEPENDENTLY, THE OTHER PUZZLES ALWAYS CONTAIN SOME OF THE NECSSARY INFORMATION. In fact, at times the key information will indirectly come from a puzzle that is not even interconnected to the puzzle on which you are working, e.g., the row or column location of a number in one corner puzzle may combine with additional data in the center puzzle to effectively determine a specific placement in one of the opposing corner puzzles. I enjoyed these puzzles a lot, although except in the instances when I had a fairly substantial block of time I found them hard to complete in an uninterrupted manner, especially the more difficult ones. This could be frustrating, although occasionally it actually helped to take a break and then retur

Wicked Fun!

I am addicted, and now regular Sudoku does nothing for me, but the Samurai is challenging and fun! Keeps me thinking and keeps me sharp! I love it! And the quality of the paper used it great too, very important if you need to erase a lot!