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Sudoku has taken the world by storm. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are `addicted', with the top ten books in the non-fiction best seller lists dominated by Sudoku, or Su Doku as it is also known. As an indication of the worldwide appeal, this site had visitors from 127 different countries in November 2005!
A couple of puzzles are on the right of this page. The top one is easy, but the one below is harder. Links to the solutions are at the bottom of the page.
Sudoku (meaning `numbers singly' in Japanese apparently) can really get you hooked! It seems that wherever there are people waiting, or travelling, then lots of people will be doing Sudoku!
Nearly all daily newspapers carry the puzzles, with the Times leading the way initially in the UK. There's even been a live TV programme on Sudoku hosted by Carol Vorderman.
What do you do?The aim is to fill in the grid so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contain the numbers 1,2,...,9. Simple as that! However, it's not always easy of course, and sometimes fiendishly difficult. But it's fun to learn strategies for yourself by just having a go!Sudoku grids can be automatically compiled by a computer. However, one must be careful to check that there is only one solution, and hand crafted puzzles by experts have been claimed by some (e.g. the Guardian) to be superior. |
What have Paris Hilton, David Beckham, Jennifer Aniston,
the Queen, Jose Mourinho, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela,
Elvis Presley, Tony Blair all got in common?
They are all in celebrity Su Doku!
Instead of the numbers 1,...,9 we use well-known faces.
You can fill in the grid on-line - and
it's a free Sudoku game. If you prefer to play Sudoku
with `Babes' or `Hunks' then you can!
Image based Sudoku (let's say `ImDoku') is essentially the
same as number based Sudoku - each row, column and
each 3x3 box must contain each of the nine celebrities.
Other variants include PicDoku (a board game) aka
Picture Sudoku.
Check out our game by following the link at the top of the page,
or clicking on the image to the right.
Logical skills are required rather than purely mathematical skills
for solving Sudoku.
For example, the game could easily be played with 9 colours,
or 9 animal pictures, or 9 words, rather than the numbers 1-9.
There is however a close connection with Latin squares in Mathematics, which themselves are very important in Experimental Design in Statistics. Latin Squares have been known about for a long time (since the 18th Century when the great Swiss Mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) investigated them). In fact, a Sudoku grid is a type of Latin square, but with about 2/3 of the numbers missing.
Euler's problem: (from Mathworld ): How can a delegation of six regiments, each of which sends a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, a major, a captain, a lieutenant, and a sub-lieutenant be arranged in a regular 6 x 6 array such that no row or column duplicates a rank or a regiment? The answer is that no such arrangement is possible. Euler conjectured it was false - and it took 118 years to prove it! A related conjecture was only sorted out in 1959!
From Mathworld: Euler was the most prolific mathematical writer of all times finding time (even with his 13 children) to publish over 800 papers in his lifetime. He won the Paris Academy Prize 12 times. [...] When asked for an explanation why his memoirs flowed so easily in such huge quantities, Euler is reported to have replied that his pencil seemed to surpass him in intelligence.
Sudoku originated in the 1970s from the USA (where it is called `Number Place') and really caught on like wildfire in Japan in the 1980s and in the UK since late 2004.
How many different Sudoku grids are there?An enormous number! Apparently the 21 digit number 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960 - see this technical report if you really want to know why!Many Suduku published puzzles are symmetric about a rotation of 180 degrees, but they don't have to be (like ours!). There are many programs around to solve Sidoku (some links below). It's something a computer can do really well by brute force (in particular a back-tracking algorithm can be programmed quite easily). For example, details are given on our Sedoku solver page. There's much more fun in trying yourself to use more satisfying logical methods for solving Su Do Ku. There's a jungle of information on Saduku on the web - here are some sites, with plenty of puzzles (potentially 6.67 x 10^21 of them!). |
SOLUTIONS!! The solution to the puzzles on the page are here (easier one) and here (more difficult one) .
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Sadoko Sa Doko Sa Do Ko Saduku Sa Duku Sa Du Ko Sadoku Sa Doku Sa Do Ku Saduko Sa Duko Sa Du Ko Sakodo Sa Kodo Sa Ko Do Sakudu Sa Kudu Sa Ku Du Sakodu Sa Kodu Sa Ko Du Sakudo Sa Kudo Sa Ku Do Sedoko Se Doko Se Do Ko Seduku Se Duku Se Du Ko Sedoku Se Doku Se Do Ku Seduko Se Duko Se Du Ko Sekodo Se Kodo Se Ko Do Sekudu Se Kudu Se Ku Du Sekodu Se Kodu Se Ko Du Sekudo Se Kudo Se Ku Do Sidoko Si Doko Si Do Ko Siduku Si Duku Si Du Ko Sidoku Si Doku Si Do Ku Siduko Si Duko Si Du Ko Sikodo Si Kodo Si Ko Do Sikudu Si Kudu Si Ku Du Sikodu Si Kodu Si Ko Du Sikudo Si Kudo Si Ku Do Sudoko Su Doko Su Do Ko Suduku Su Duku Su Du Ko Sudoku Su Doku Su Do Ku Suduko Su Duko Su Du Ko Sukodo Su Kodo Su Ko Do Sukudu Su Kudu Su Ku Du Sukodu Su Kodu Su Ko Du Sukudo Su Kudo Su Ku Do Sodoko So Doko So Do Ko Soduku So Duku So Du Ko Sodoku So Doku So Do Ku Soduko So Duko So Du Ko Sokodo So Kodo So Ko Do Sokudu So Kudu So Ku Du Sokodu So Kodu So Ko Du Sokudo So Kudo So Ku Do
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