First Error detected!

I have been doing Sudoku since my return from India.

Yesterday, as I was doing the one in my local newspaper, first thing in the morning, I detected for the first time, an error in the Sudoku Box.

In the top left box the 2 had been wrongly printed!

It was a feeling elation that I could find an error and solve the problem.

Success at last

After my return from India, where I saw my cousin, Bina, happily enjoying a morning with the newspaper doing Sudoku, I started attempting the three levels in my local newspaper, the KALEVA.

I started about the middle of January 2010.

I first took about 45 minutes to complete the EASY level. Slowly, this time reduced to about 15 minutes. The MIDDLE level was then achieved, again in about 20 minutes. I was never able to complete the DIFFICULT level, usually getting to about 30% and then giving up.

From Sudoku

Today, after 3 months, I completed all three levels in one sitting. The total time taken was 75 minutes.

Now that my primary objective has been achieved, I realised that my brain cells were actually not functioning as they should. The confidence this has given me is so immense that I feel am not quite a doddering old man.

I will now try to achieve the higher level by trying to complete all three levels in 15 minutes. It may take me a year to get to this level - so stay tuned! I will shout it from the blogtops when I get there!

Thank you Bina!

Well done Sudoku, and whoever invented this!

I try my hand at Sudoku

I have not been very good at any sort of non-physical game (except Chess and Bridge), although I enjoy trying them.

I was extremely good at crosswords. It used to be a contant battle, when I lived in Bombay, as my dad and I would try to get to the Times of India newspaper before the other, so that we could finish the crossword before the other got his hands on the paper. I was particular good at anagrams, while he was good at quotations!

That was probably how I got into the habit of waking up at the unearthly hour of 4 am!

When I was studying and working in England I used to get The London Times, an expensive newspaper, just so I could do the crossword puzzle. My dad would have enjoyed that as there were far more quotations in them.

But I lost that crossword habit many years ago.

When we were in Mumbai for our holidays last December, my cousin's wife, Beena, was there for a couple of days. I saw her really enjoying doing something in the newspaper. I thought she was doing the crossword, but she told me she was doing something called the Sudoku.

I had never tried it although my grandson, Samu, had tried to explain the basics to me.

On returning to Finland, I found that the local newspaper, Kaleva, carried three Sudoku entries every day. They are labelled as EASY, MODERATE and DIFFICULT.

I started to attempt the EASY one. After a couple of days I was completing it within a span of about 35 minutes. Slowly the time decreased. I am now at a steady 15 minutes. Occasionally I have completed it in as little as 5 minutes.

So I started attempting the MODERATE puzzle. I have only completed it a couple of times. I think I was extremely lucky on those occasions. Most days I get about halfway and then other pressures call me away from the newspaper.

I also have been attempting the DIFFICULT version. In most cases I complete about 50% in about 5 minutes and them am completely stuck.

Can anyone explain whether there is some methodology to handle the MODERATE and DIFFICULT puzzles. Would greatly appreciate any advice as it is a bit frustrating to give up halfway!

And I don't want to cheat! :-)