Sudoku

In the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, they did a spoof/parody of the Da Vinci Code. Jessica Alba finds a body on the ground with a Sudoku puzzle on his stomach. And she begins to take her pen out and tries to think quickly.

I've heard of this game for quite some time already. But I've never really knew how it worked until last week. I had some extra time while reading the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and I noticed this puzzle beside the usual crossword one. I read the instructions and it seemed challenging. And that was it. Since then, I try to find time each day to solve the daily puzzle.

Sudoku, also known as Number Place or Nanpure, is a logic-based placement puzzle. The aim of the puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"); each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral. Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability. No math necessary.

The PDI Concepti Sudoku puzzles gradually get tougher each day of the week. I tried my first puzzle on a Saturday, so the difficulty level was 4 out of 5 stars. It took me almost 3 hours to complete it. But it was really fun. I've always loved puzzles, word games and the like. This is something new and I love it. The next day, 5 stars, it took me under 2 hours to finish. And on Monday, 1 star, it was a piece of cake - less than 20 minutes.

I'm still getting the hang of it so I guess my "solving time" will eventually improve. There are some tips available online, which I haven't gone through yet. It's tempting to know the techniques to solve the puzzles quickly, but I think I'd prefer doing it my way, since I've started to develop my own set of procedures.

I was able to download a PC game, Sudoku by GameHouse. At least now, I could play as much as I want to.