Sudoku Blog
Welcome to my Sudoku blog - here you'll find anything and everything related to Sudoku. Feel free to search the blog, or the web if you can't find what you're looking for!
| 2008-04-01 |
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| Peter at the Sudokuworld Yahoo Group has unearthed some amazing new facts about the history of Sudoku:
Following extensive research, I have unearthed information that the Number Place puzzle and the name "Sudoku" has its origins in France and not Japan as previously thought. I have discovered that an English woman, Sue Patton, a Mathematics graduate of Peterhouse Cambridge, originally created the classic Sudoku puzzles in 1966. She married a French man, Jacques D'Oque and moved to Paris in 1964 where she took a job with "La société des poissons d'Avril" as an Archivist. Being fluent in French, she also edited "Bulletin de la La société des poissons d'Avril" and added a logic puzzle, which was acknowledged with her married name Sue D'Oque . The puzzle ran, quarterly, for 4 years and her name Sue D'Oque became abbreviated to Sudoke as the name of her puzzle. The puzzle was a classic 9x9 Sudoku puzzle, as we know it today, with a unique solution. Sue, sadly, died in 1970, 38 years ago today, aged 32 at home, following a freak accident with an ironing board. |
| 2008-03-18 |
| I've added a new page: Solved Sudoku List
This page shows all the previously unsolved puzzles that have been beaten either by a program or by a visitor the website. |
| 2008-01-03 |
| XY-Wing technique has finally been added. Here is an example. Remember to show the pencil marks when solving these extremely hard puzzles.
Many more can be found in the Extreme section on the right of this blog. I should add that because of this technique, many of the unsolved puzzles have now been solved! |
| 2007-12-20 |
 Hot on the heels of Old Goat's printed version, here is a fully playable AJAX version of Poker Sudoku
You may notice some similarities in the style, that is because it was designed by yours truly. The main difference is the use of playing cards instead of numbers. This isn't just a bit of fun, it actually makes it easier to distinguish between the numbers / symbols. Anyway give, it a try and see what you think! |
| 2007-12-18 |
| The home page now proudly displays an AJAX Sudoku Solver. This means it should be easier to use, with no annoying screen refreshes. Gradually I'll be changing each page to use this. The first step towards Web 2.0... |
| 2007-12-11 |
| "Old Goat" has created a new variation on Sudoku, called Poker Sudoku. It's Sudoku with a twist, namely that you use playing cards instead of numbers.
Because of this, you can have the same number in one box, for example the 8 of hearts, 8 of spades, and the 8 of clubs! Download the free PDF magazine and give it a try. It is bit confusing at first, but definetly worth a try. If you are interested in creating your own variation on the Poker theme, check out this list of Poker Hands that you can have, and see what other Poker Sudoku puzzles you can create! |
| 2007-12-10 |
 Holly Stevens kindly sent her new book The Sudoku Grid to review. The book is essentially a ring-bound collection of blank puzzle grids that provides a "visual guide to solving Sudoku puzzles of all levels".
I've tried it and it does take the hassle out of solving a Sudoku manually (I hope people still do this!!!). Basically you copy your numbers onto the A4-sized sheets, and away you go. You can eliminate the candidates as you go along (they're pre-printed). You can also note the puzzle origin, date, time to complete etc. I'd recommend this for someone who wants to store their favourite puzzles in one place. It's especially useful for very hard puzzles, as they can get very messy indeed! |
| 2007-09-27 |
| I had a request for the code to add a Sudoku puzzle to your own website. Here it is:
[iframe id ="puzzle" name="puzzle" width="299" height="502" align="left" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://www.sudoku.uk.com/puzzle.php?cat_id=1"][/iframe] Replace "[", "]" with the usual opening and closing tags. Every time your page is loaded, a new easy puzzle will appear. Change cat_id to 1,2,3 or 4 depending on the difficulty level you want. Have fun! [Updated 29-Jan-2008] You can also display a particular picture sudoku, by replacing the 'cat_id=1' with 'puzzle_id=????' where ???? is the number of the picture sudoku puzzle. |
| 2007-09-24 |
| I've change the Sudoku Generator to generate new puzzles every morning (rather than every hour). I guessed that no one would be getting through them that quick! |
| 2007-08-22 |
| Picture Sudoku is finally back up and running! |
| 2007-05-30 |
| After recent feedback, some major improvements have been made. Enjoy!
You can now reset a puzzle if you need to start again. New email option when creating a picture Sudoku, no need to wait until it is activated. Step and solve have been removed from Picture Sudokus to keep the picture a mystery! Once solved you can view the picture on it's own. Puzzles are now checked automatically each time a number is entered, highlighting any mistakes. Front page now shows instructions on how to use the solver, hints etc. |
| 2007-05-29 |
| Yippee! - the Sudoku Generator has produced it's 10000th puzzle! Here it is:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=10000 |
| 2007-04-25 |
| A minor site update. I've improved the performance a little on the front page. The page should no longer refresh every time you step throught the puzzle. Hopefully this will speed things up...
For the 'techies' among you, this was done using an iframe. You can access this frame (the puzzle) directly if you want using this url: http://www.sudoku.uk.com/puzzle.php You can also add the following parameters: cat_id (1=easy,2=medium,3=hard,4=extreme) puzzle_id (the puzzle number) puzzle_string (81 digit string in the format 12...45.89....) Here are some examples: http://www.sudoku.uk.com/puzzle.php?cat_id=2 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/puzzle.php?puzzle_id=1234 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/puzzle.php?puzzle_string=123456789.........abcdefghi As long as the copyright link stays in the bottom you can add this iframe to your page, or link to it from anywhere. Have fun! |
| 2007-04-11 |
| Robin Raniero Norris is an editor that is compiling a book entitled "Feeling Sudoku". Most of the proceeds are to be split between the Massachusetts Brain Tumor Society and St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Tennessee.
She is looking to have people submit their own stories or those that they've heard, for the compilation. A template for submitting your stories can be found here: Feeling Sudoku Questionnaire Please contact Robin by Email or visit her website at www.seasidetherapy.com Your Sudoku fun can make a difference! |
| 2007-04-08 |
 Pictures - now with colour!
I have enhanced the picture sudoku page to make it easier to use. I've also added the option to change text colour so you can see the numbers against any picture that you might add. Please give it a try, and see if you can make it onto the front page 'top 10'! |
| 2007-03-29 |
| I have updated the techniques section to include X-wing, Swordfish and Jellyfish. |
| 2007-03-06 |
 Finally added Multi-Colouring! In celebration, Here is one of the first 'unsolved' puzzles finally tamed, using colours (or colors). Puzzle posted by TheEdge.
Remember, you can show 'pencil marks' if you Register - It's really needed when it comes to colouring... While I update the techniques section to be in line with the solver, you can read a good guide to colouring (or coloring) Here |
| 2007-02-26 |
| I've just completed a major site update! Gone are the ads on the blog page. In their place the latest 40 puzzles either added by you guys or generated by the Sudoku Generator. This is now back up and running due to a bit of tweeking on my part!
Also, you no longer have to log in to use the Sudoku Solver or to add a Picture Sudoku, you can simply enter your name. You can still register if you want to change your settings or simply want to be kept up to date with future changes to the site (more news later). Anyway, hope you enjoy the new improved site! |
| 2007-02-23 |
 If you are looking to personalise your Sudoku experience, try Personal Sudoku. Make your own puzzles based on the 2 initials that you choose. You can see my effort on the left (OK).
The solver is based on the Sudoku Hints one, so it is very fast an easy to use. |
| 2007-01-05 |
| The discussion board has now been removed permanently, was being overloaded with spam. The usual rubbish - viagra, gambling sites. These people just ruin the web for everyone else![/RANT] |
| 2006-12-27 |
| Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for all the puzzles & pictures that have been added over the last year. I hope 2007 will be another year of Sudoku!
As a small change the site, i've merged my sister site "www.sudoku.web.com" into this site. This is a simplified version of this site and is perfect for work, or printing off puzzles. Note - it is the same puzzle database as this site, so there are plenty to choose from! The site can now be found here: www.sudoku.uk.com/simple |
| 2006-12-11 |
| Here are some of the links that were on the discussion board:
Double Wordoku Sudoku Secretary Sudoku World Contest If i've missed any, please get in touch. |
| 2006-11-30 |
| Have had to take the discussion board for a while, it is not fully compatible with Internet Explorer 7. In the meantime, i'll move any links to this blog. |
| 2006-10-09 |
| If you fancy playing Sudoku whilst helping a good cause, please visit The National Autistic Society Sudokuthon It's "The UK's first Sudoku fundraising challenge to help kids with autism'".
You can play Sudoku on the website this week, 9 – 13 October 2006, and help the NAS reach their targets of 500,000 grids and £500,000. You can also win a five-star holiday to Rhodes, so don't hang about - help out! (Thanks to Dan for making me aware of this event!) |
| 2006-10-02 |
 Drfuzz posted an snippet about ColorKu so i thought i'd check it out. It reminds me of the old solitaire game you would play with marbles. I always found that quite quite relaxing.
It's certainly worth checking out if you prefer something more tactile than paper and pen. Just don't lost your marbles! |
| 2006-09-09 |
| Adam from Sudoku Tiger contacted me with links to his new site. I'd recommend checking out his hints section, it has very clear descriptions of colouring, multi-colouring etc. The hints section can be found here:
http://www.sudokutiger.com/Hint_Sudoku.htm The site offically launches 14th September, so it may not be finished just yet! |
| 2006-08-31 |
| 2 new extreme puzzles posted:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=840 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=844 Thanks to matthewsail and alorey! |
| 2006-05-10 |
| Have been very busy lately, hence the long delay in updating the blog. Boring things like work... :(
First of all, thanks to everyone for continuing to add pictures and puzzles to site. A mention to Joanie for coming up with a new take on Sudoku: SuJoeKu! Check out the link! Also, I have updated the Unsolved Sudoku list. I've had to remove the many invalid puzzles; there was simply too many to maintain, and i never really seen the point of listing them anyway... The main thing that's coming out this list is that i need to implement XY-Wing and Colouring techniques sometime! If anyone wants to help out with this, please drop me a line - it would be much appreciated! Finally, the Sudoku Generator has been taken offline :( Apparently it was causing problems on the server for other sites, so at the moment i'm relying on the puzzles that you guys add! So keep 'em coming :) |
| 2006-02-05 |
| Have added a new page - Unsolved Sudoku. Here you can see all the posted puzzles that have have either 'beaten the solver' or are simply unsolvable (i.e. have more than 1 solution). |
| 2006-02-01 |
| Have updated the front page so that all picture Sudoku's can be chosen. They were getting a bit lost amongst all the other puzzles!
So now you can post in the knowledge that everyone will see! Who knows, with February 14th coming, this maybe an opportunity to create a "Valentine's Sudoku"? Or is that going too far...?! Anyway, I just that i found a great links site: Sudoku Links - Over 100 Sudoku links, so you really should find everything you need there(if you can't find it here!). |
| 2006-01-18 |
| X-wing and Swordfish now added, although does not take the perfect 'human' approach as i would have liked. Hopefully i can resolve this soon. I've uploaded one 'Extreme' puzzle created by Angusj's Simple Sudoku to start things off:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=708 The Sudoku Generator should start producing these over the next few days.  Also...The site is finally Firefox compatible! (Well, nearly - just got the discussion board to finish). Apologies to the 10% of you, who use Firefox for the delay. I didn't realise it was so popular! |
| 2006-01-17 |
I'm busy at the moment getting my head around some new techniques to add to the solver (namely x-wing, and swordfish). Many thanks to Ruud at Sudocue for helping me with this! Hopefully they will will bring a new level of difficulty - Extreme! In the meantime, try some "Extreme Hypnotic Sudoku" - 3 hard puzzles, with a certain twist. If you manage to stay focused through these puzzles, you certainly deserve a medal!
 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=692
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=695 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=701 (Hypnotic backgrounds courtesy of the Hollywood Witch) If you have any animations you would like to add to the site, you can email them to pics@sudoku.uk.com |
| 2006-01-02 |
| Happy new year to all you Sudoku addicts out there!
Hopefully 2005 was just the warm-up and 2006 will be the year Sudoku goes truly global! Can only be a good thing i say. Helps stimulate the brain and gets people interested in maths. I even heard last year from my nephew that Sudoku was being used his school! Anyway, expect even more features on this site as the year goes on, and keep the pictures and puzzles coming in. In the meantime, here are some real tough puzzles to get you going, fresh off the Sudoku generator. Oh, and the step and solve buttons are now back to help! http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=639 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=614 http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=552 |
| 2005-12-22 |
| This site has probably the most up-to-date Sudoku news you can get, as well as many, many good links for the Sudoku addict. One good feature is the blank printable Sudoku grids.
Sudoku Online - Sudoku fans, find all the best news and information at Sudoku Online. If you think it's easy to create a Sudoku puzzle though, think again! It took me longer to write a Sudoku generator, than it did to write a Sudoku solver! Who'd have thought...? |
| 2005-12-21 |
| Found another great Sudoku resource:
Heebie Sudoku -Everything there is to know about Sudoku. Check out the downloads. There is an Excel Sudoku helper, as well as blank Sudoku worksheets (pdf) and others. |
| 2005-12-21 |
| The Sudoku generator has produced a real stinker of a puzzle. This puzzle requires all the solver's elimination techniques, so you'll definetly need the pencil marks turned on for this one!
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=401 |
| 2005-12-20 |
| Especially for those with slow connections, or those who simply want a simple, printable Sudoku puzzle, here is a new site: Sudoku Web. The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice a similiarity in the puzzles. This is because Sudoku Web uses the same Sudoku generator and solver as this site. The puzzles are simply stripped to their most basic form (i.e. no 'pencil marks' or pictures).
http://www.sudoku.web.com |
| 2005-12-15 |
| First picture Sudoku added by nounette:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=22 Try and guess what it is before you start! Also, the Sudoku Generator is now running every night, creating wierd and wonderful (and symmetrical) puzzles for you all. You should therefore never run out! |
| 2005-12-13 |
| More puzzles coming in, try this one posted by valsteam:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=295 Remember puzzle posters, to add your picture to your puzzle before someone else does! Also, as a thank you people who have added exceptionally good puzzles or pictures, the step and solve buttons have been enabled. Keep 'em coming! |
| 2005-12-06 |
| The battle for the Sudoku mis-spellings continues... Since October, there has been major changes, with a huge leap by "Suduku", from two thousand Yahoo searches a month to over ten thousand!
Sudoku - 610274 Soduko - 24937 Suduko - 22469 Soduku - 13119 Suduku - 10069 Sodoku - 8278 Sudoko - 4408 Sodoko - 589 (Data courtesy of www.overture.com) |
| 2005-12-06 |
| Only one puzzle added last month, so by default it takes the number one spot!
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=290 (Easy puzzle posted by qn31852) |
| 2005-12-01 |
| Finally finished the site update! Can now go back to actually Playing Sudoku! Please see the discussion board for details... |
| 2005-11-08 |
| It's been quite quiet on the old blog front over the last few days. This is because i'm preparing some major improvements to the site.
The Sudoku Solver is being improved to use a more human approach when offering hints, or stepping through a puzzle. It should also be faster because of this. I am also adding 'candidates' to each cell (the small numbers which indicate potential values for a cell). These should help when using elimination techniques. Finally, I'm adding a very important 'Undo' button! Any further ideas for improvement, will as always be welcome. Expect the update soon... |
| 2005-11-02 |
| Another great idea: Sudoku League. Basically, it's you against the clock to see how fast you really are at Sudoku. Work your way up the league, and try to get in the hall of fame.
Note - don't even try to cheat! You will be blacklisted immediately, and shunned forever by the law-abiding Sudoku folks the world over... |
| 2005-11-01 |
 Is it just blurred? Or is it insane? No, it's Sudoku Grand Master!
Is he serious? Well all i can say is this site gives you that "just can't be sure" feeling, ala Napoleon Dynamite... |
| 2005-10-30 |
| Every month i'll be publishing a selection of registered user's added puzzles. Here's the best ones from October:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=50 (Hard puzzle posted by poiriero) http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=60 (Easy puzzle posted by babygirl9901) http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=271 (Easy puzzle posted by Ropada) Keep posting those puzzles! |
| 2005-10-27 |
| Sudoku Generator is now fully up and running. Some surprising results though. Here's three examples, one easy, one medium and one hard. They all have the same number of initial cells though (24). See if you can figure out what makes them different:
http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=246 (Easy) http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=90 (Medium) http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=72 (Hard) |
| 2005-10-26 |
 You'll notice my version of "Picture Sudoku" on the homepage. This was inspired by the British TV show Catchphrase where the contestants have to guess the picture as squares are removed from a grid.
The best one of all was called the 'Snake Charmer', which is now regarded as one of the best 'bloopers' of all time! |
| 2005-10-25 |
 I was recently given a Magnetic Sudoku as a present. Good idea, just make sure you've got small enough fingers to work it.
I actually think the idea of putting it on your fridge is quite cool. Could use it instead of a diet, i.e. you only get into the fridge if you solve at least one number. That way you could become smart and thin at the same time! Hmm, maybe that's Carol Vorderman's trick... |
| 2005-10-21 |
| Finally got started on the Sudoku Generator. I feel like Willy Wonka when he created his first chocolate bar!
Anyway, heres the first puzzle of the production line. Hopefully these will improve over time... http://www.sudoku.uk.com/index.php?puzzle_id=49 |
| 2005-10-19 |
| Think you've just about cracked Sudoku? You should try Sudoku Solitaire! Very simply, start from scratch with a blank Sudoku board, and then try and add in all the numbers. MAKING SURE the usual rules of Sudoku aren't broken.
Try doing it with all the 1's, then all the 2's etc. You'll probably find at about 7 you'll be stuck and have to go back. It's a lot harder than it sounds i tell you. Here's a link to a blank board. |
| 2005-10-17 |
| You will notice the recent site update. I must offer thanks to these 3 great sites for helping to improve the solver, and generally for being good Sudoku resources:
Sadman Software offers probably the best rundown of Sudoku techniques and a good downloadable Sudoku game. Simple Sudoku - a FREE, downloadable Sudoku game. Looks really good, and is great for just highlighting or marking your puzzle as you go. Sudoku Programmers - very, VERY indepth discussions on Sudoku and particularly how to design a Sudoku solver / creator. |
| 2005-10-16 |
| Some Sudoku history. To get the complete history, visit Wikipedia.
To summarise, Sudoku was first seen in the late 1970s, in the magazine Math Puzzles and Logic Problems. The title was originally "Number Place", rather than Sudoku. After being introduced in Japan in 1984, the term Sudoku was created, as an abbreviation for the Japanese term "the numbers must be single". It was here also that symmetry was added to the puzzles. It wasn " t until 1997, that Sudoku begin the slow rise to popularity in the west (and particularly in the UK). Wayne Gould, a retired Hong Kong judge developed a computer program to produce puzzles quickly, which was eventually (2004/2005) promoted to The Times newspaper, and many others. The rest as they say, is history... |
| 2005-10-16 |
| The true spelling is SU - DO - KU, although there are 7 (!) other mis-spellings of Sudoku that are commonly used.
These are: Sodoko - 540 Yahoo Searches / Month Sodoku - 6677 Soduko - 18949 Soduku - 11215 Sudoko - 3329 Suduku - 1961 Suduko - 4441 This leaves the true Sudoku getting searched a whopping 426553 times a month! |
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