|
|
|
Budget your Family Fun – Rent Games Online
As a parent it is sometimes hard to not be able to always buy your child the next new thing that usually costs a lot of money. Sometimes it just isn’t feasible and you also probably can’t make sense of spending upwards of $50 or more on one video...
Dragons: A Very Short History
Have you seen a living, breathing dragon in person lately? Me neither. But that doesn't mean they don't exist. The history of dragons goes back at least six thousand years, and there are dragon tales and legends from every continent except...
Evaluating Starting Hands In No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments
There are three main factors that influence how you should play your hole cards in No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments. They are: your position, the size of your chip stack, and the size of the blinds. As a basic rule you need to avoid marginal hands that...
Introduction To Sudoku
Have you ever played with a Rubik's Cube? You may have mastered the Rubik's cube and are looking for a greater challenge. Try the puzzle game called Sudoku. Sudoku is a number placement puzzle that requires logic skills and patience. It is a...
Puzzle Rush - Five Great Games For Your Coffee Break
You want to kill a few minutes by playing a small, non-engaging puzzle game to which you can
come back later at any time, but you don't want to waste time digging the web to find a good one?
Look over here to find the best sellers which you can...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Introduction To Sudoku
Have you ever played with a Rubik's Cube? You may have mastered the Rubik's cube and are looking for a greater challenge. Try the puzzle game called Sudoku. Sudoku is a number placement puzzle that requires logic skills and patience. It is a fantastic puzzle game that can be found in newspapers, books and on puzzles and games websites.
How do you play Sudoku
The Sudoku puzzle consists of a series of grids. The grids include one large 9 x 9 grid that houses, nine 3 x 3 smaller grids. The purpose of the game is to place a number from 1-9 in each of the grid cells. You don't have to worry about finding the sum of the numbers of the rows, columns, like in Magic Squares.
No addition is involved; however there are three conditions that rely on each other and must be followed. Each number 1-9 can appear only once in each column, once in each row, and once in each small 3 x 3 grid. Mathematically, Sudoku puzzles are a derivation of Latin Squares.
The famous mathematician Leonard Euler created Latin Squares. They are a prevalent part of discrete math. Basically, a Latin Square consists of an n x n table filled with numbers, letters, or symbols. Each symbol can only appear exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. Sudoku puzzles take the Latin Square one step further with the 3 x 3 smaller grid constraints. The fact that you have to make sure that each small 3 x 3 grid contains each number 1-9 only once significantly increases the complexity of the puzzle.
Sudoku puzzles come in varying levels of difficulty. The amount of numbers given initially in the 9 x 9 matrix varies. One would think that the more numbers you are given initially, the easier the puzzle would be to solve. This is not always the case because the "placement" of the numbers has a profound effect on the complexity of the puzzle.
Where did Sudoku puzzles originate?
Sudoku is the Japanese word for "placement puzzle". Sudoku
swept Japan in the mid-1980's. Before that, however, a puzzle constructor in the United States named Howard Garnes created the first puzzle of this type in 1979. It was called "Number Place" instead of Sudoku. It was published in the Dell Magazine Math Puzzles and Logic Problems.
How do you solve a Sudoku puzzle?
Good question! The key is to have patience and use your logic skills. Don't just use a trial and error method. Many players construct their own puzzle solving techniques and methods, which they share in Sudoku player online forums.
You can start anywhere in the puzzle, but as a beginner start by focusing on the top three smaller 3 x 3 grids. Look at the initial numbers and start with the number "1". Check to see if a "1" appears in the other two smaller 3 x 3 grids. Then find cells in these smaller grids where you can possibly place a "1" while still adhering to the rules. You will also need to take into consideration 3 x 3 grids that are attached to the given grid. It is like dancing on eggshells, but the key is to look for patterns. Logically, you need to prove why a number should go in a certain cell.
Sudoku is a clever puzzle game that will sometimes make you feel like you are going around in circles. However, practicing on different puzzles will help you to understand certain techniques that work and those that lead you to a dead end. The beauty of the game is that there are a great number of Sudoku puzzles to solve. Time yourself. Many puzzle solvers can finish a puzzle in 10 to 30 minutes. Get out your stopwatch and see how fast you can solve a Sudoku puzzle.
About the Author
Steve is a member of the GrandMatrix team. They provide a broad range of games and puzzle articles and reviews. Read more articles, download and play the latest PC games for free plus enjoy thousands of user submitted puzzles, quizzes and word games at: http://www.grandmatrix.com
|
|
|
|
|
| AddictingGames — Free Flash and Java Games |
| A very large collection of free Flash and Java games in numerous categories. |
| www.addictinggames.com |
|
| Yahoo! Games |
| Internet gaming community offering free multi-player games, downloadable games and games clubs. Also news, reviews, demos, ratings, and cheats. |
| games.yahoo.com |
|
| Play Free & Fun Online Games – Card, Strategy, Word & More |
| Welcome to Games.com, the best place to play free online games. Play arcade, board, word, card, and casino games, plus community gaming forums. |
| www.games.com |
|
| Miniclip Games - Play Free Games |
| Play Free Online Games, sports games, massive multiplayer games, action games, puzzle games, flash games and more. |
| www.miniclip.com |
|
| Free Games Online at Shockwave |
| Play free online games, game downloads, and multiplayer games. |
| www.shockwave.com |
|
| MSN Games - Free Online Games |
| Play the best free games, deluxe downloads, puzzle games, word and trivia games, multiplayer card and board games, action and arcade games, poker and casino ... |
| games.msn.com |
|
| Welcome to PopCap Games - Fun, Free, Addictive Games |
| PopCap Games, creators of Bejeweled, Bookworm and other addictive free online games. |
| www.popcap.com |
|
| Open Directory - Games |
| Business: Consumer Goods and Services: Toys and Games (329); Kids and Teens: Games (3638); Recreation (116762); Science: Math: Recreations: Games and ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| Orisinal : Morning Sunshine |
| Collection of Flash games, designed by Ferry Halim. |
| www.ferryhalim.com |
|
| FunBrain.com - The Internet's #1 Education Site for K-8 Kids and ... |
| FunBrain is the #1 site for online educational games for kids of all ages. (math, grammar, science, spell, history) |
| www.funbrain.com |
|
| PrimaryGames.com - The Fun Place to Learn! |
| Free educational games for elementary school students. Also offers interactive story books, musical postcards, coloring pages, and stationery. |
| www.primarygames.com |
|
| Games.net - Gaming Community, news and reviews, Video Game FAQs ... |
| Games.net delivers an immediate interactive experience to users who crave instant access to multiple levels of gaming content, including; blogs, ... |
| www.games.net |
|
| Find Free Online Games and other fun games at Pogo.com |
| Find Free Online Games, puzzle games, word games, and other games online at Pogo.com. |
| www.pogo.com |
|
| Welcome To GAME Stores Group |
| GAME The next level. Buy games from the UK's largest game retailer. |
| www.game.co.uk |
|
| Play free, fun online games - Yahoo! Kids |
| Games for kids including chess, checkers, and dominoes. |
| yahooligans.yahoo.com |
|
| Yahoo! Video Games - Video Game Demos, Cheats, Reviews, Previews ... |
| Find all the latest video game news, demos, videos, reviews, previews and cheats. Get the lowdown on the newest consoles and game releases. |
| videogames.yahoo.com |
|
| Slashdot: Games |
| In non-geek, this means that the game is finally at a point where EA ... The excellent games coverage at the San Jose Mercury News site offers up a gamers ... |
| games.slashdot.org |
|
| Kids Games |
| Descriptions and rules for dozens of traditional children's games, including indoor and outdoor activities, playground games, and jump rope rhymes. |
| www.gameskidsplay.net |
|
| Times Online - Games |
| Slim and portable. A great gift. Buy The Times Su Doku Board Game by calling 0870 160 8080 or click here to buy online ... |
| www.timesonline.co.uk |
|
| EA - Action, Fantasy, Sports, and Strategy Videogames |
| Official site. Includes game information, screenshots, and a newsletter. |
| www.ea.com |
|
|