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Difficulty: Medium Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Not Completed Play This Puzzle

CHAT LOG for Wednesday, March 29, 2006

12:01 am
AliMcsweet

stupid time limit
12:06 am
santa1563

this one doesnt seem so har
12:07 am
gcsoftballcutie9

blah
12:07 am
Infininight

man this server gets slooo right around 12, wonder why... ;)
12:07 am
gcsoftballcutie9

lol this is my first night on here
12:09 am
santa1563

welcome to our humble community
12:12 am
Debs40ish

morning all
12:12 am
santa1563

morning debs
12:12 am
Rachel

morning!
12:13 am
Debs40ish

Hiya Santa & Rachel..... 07:12 here...
12:13 am
Rachel

just after midnight here
12:13 am
santa1563

same here
12:13 am
Debs40ish

<<is in england
12:13 am
freshMagic

Morning, 8:12 here
12:13 am
santa1563

tejas
12:14 am
Rachel

Minnesota
12:14 am
freshMagic

Germany
12:14 am
Debs40ish

International Sudoku
12:14 am
santa1563

and my friends why i like this place so much
12:14 am
BlakeStone

new york here - where in germany, magic?
12:14 am
santa1563

lol
12:14 am
santa1563

ask why*...cant type
12:15 am
freshMagic

Karlsruhe, south west.
12:16 am
BlakeStone

cool - my father works for deutsche bank, so i've met a few other germans, mostly from eschborn and munich
12:20 am
BehemothCat

Done - MUCH easier than yesterdays!
12:20 am
santa1563

wd
12:32 am
GingerUK

Morning! (or evening depending on where you are!)
12:33 am
chebuctonian

morning! :)
12:33 am
santa1563

very early morning
12:33 am
GingerUK

7:31 her
12:33 am
chebuctonian

2:33 here
12:33 am
GingerUK

oops *here
12:33 am
santa1563

12:33
12:33 am
Debs40ish

I'm done.... Morning Ginger.... UK here
12:34 am
GingerUK

love your name debs!
12:34 am
Debs40ish

Thanks...can keep it for a while yet...lol
12:34 am
GingerUK

where are you Chebuctonian?
12:34 am
chebuctonian

Halifax, NS (Canada)
12:35 am
Debs40ish

Time to go and make sure rugrats getting ready for school.... cya tomorrow (((hugs)))
12:35 am
santa1563

adios
12:35 am
Debs40ish

ttfn
12:35 am
GingerUK

just looking at the time difference... have you done daylight saving yet Chebuctonian? or it is usually a 6 hour difference to the UK?
12:36 am
chebuctonian

we haven't yet. we do it a week after you, IIRC
12:36 am
santa1563

april 2nd here
12:36 am
freshMagic

lol
12:36 am
GingerUK

:)
12:40 am
guerro

yay
12:40 am
chebuctonian

done. this one is a piece of cake compared to yesterday's
12:40 am
GingerUK

oh dear, I have found only 1 very obvious number... surely I'm missing something!
12:40 am
guerro

you are missing the un obvious numbers
12:40 am
chebuctonian

not that I finished that one... sigh
12:40 am
chebuctonian

ttfn
12:41 am
GingerUK

wow... really guerro!!! :D ;)
12:41 am
guerro

yesterday's was EXPERT though it should've been hard and was
12:41 am
santa1563

i didnt count the obvious ones
12:41 am
santa1563

i think theres more than one though
12:41 am
guerro

hahah the obvious one in the very middle square ? lol
12:41 am
GingerUK

ah... found another
12:41 am
GingerUK

that's 2 LOL
12:42 am
GingerUK

yes
12:43 am
santa1563

just wish there were a few more 1s
12:43 am
GingerUK

there are a lot of 2 number possible squares
12:43 am
santa1563

yeah ive got quite a few
12:45 am
morgan

good morning
12:45 am
GingerUK

morning morgan
12:45 am
morgan

fresh magic, you are from karlsruhe too?
12:49 am
euph

done - time to get out of bed, and go to work...
1:07 am
Atalante

medium - thank goodness after yesterday!
1:10 am
Anne

yes - yesterday was difficult - but I've not found much difference between any of the others
1:10 am
TheMadRef

had to start over LOL
1:13 am
Cheesenips

Anne i agree - they are more the same than different-- although when we need to save to explore a branch and return to a saved position, that IS hard!
1:22 am
GingerUK

there seems to be a lot of guess work needed in this one!
1:23 am
Infininight

seems so, aye
1:23 am
Infininight

I find myself wanting more than one checkpoint :)
1:29 am
GingerUK

found 1 more 'obvious' that makes 3
1:49 am
guerro

dont guess you wont feel as good about yourself
2:01 am
Atalante

done :)
2:06 am
Atalante

ginger, you don't need guesswork for this one ...
2:06 am
GingerUK

you don't?
2:07 am
GingerUK

I don't know where to go after i found the 3 obvious numbers
2:09 am
Atalante

start looking at where numbers can't be - e.g. if there's only 2 places that 6 and 8 could be in a row or column or group, then you can eliminate 6s and 8s from other places. I had to use that method a *lot* in this
2:10 am
GingerUK

yeah, that's the kind of thinking I try to use.... can be very confusing after a while with lots of red/green numbers1
2:12 am
Atalante

I know!! I've ended up using the green and red completely differently - green for possibles, and red for pairs like that so the "probables" stand out. If that's any help!
2:12 am
GingerUK

thanks :)
2:13 am
Atalante

but doing that over and over and over and over again was pretty much all I did
2:45 am
trioptimum

right, let's hope this one is easier than the last
3:18 am
stane

work work
3:27 am
Vega

Hi folks!
3:29 am
morgan

shit! somewhere i got confused, but i had t realize that it was BEFORE saving an checkpoint
3:29 am
boric

D'oh
3:30 am
miametro

I've found two obvious and i'm stuck. lol.
3:30 am
morgan

that's hard
3:31 am
boric

there are 2 or 3 more fairly obvious numbers.
3:34 am
miametro

here goes the little green numbers.
3:34 am
rcheramy

I'm about 1/2 way through.
3:38 am
Lamancha

Logic triumphs... unlike yesterday...
3:38 am
rcheramy

missed yesterdays tough one?
3:42 am
stane

done
3:44 am
miametro

whoo, have found 4 numbers -shakes head-
3:51 am
rcheramy

that wasn't too bad.
3:58 am
pring

this is like pattern rocognition, right?
3:58 am
Vega

Essentially, yes.
3:58 am
pring

each grid is stand alone?
3:59 am
Vega

Yes
3:59 am
pring

ok, got a good idea, thanks
4:08 am
Vega

It's very puzzling... lately I haven't been able to solve these Sudokus on the screen, but I always get them when I do them on paper. (Except for yesterday's - that was beastly.)
4:09 am
Vega

I blame it on the confusing little green and red numbers. =P
4:22 am
morgan

not my day today.... had to start over the second time now. :-(
4:24 am
miametro

5 numbers! slowly progressing.
4:28 am
miametro

6 numbers! whizzing by, hahaha.
4:29 am
mikehell

11, and taking eternity...
4:36 am
pring

got seventeen and stuck, got some ideas though
4:40 am
miametro

i have a one that can only go in 2 places, and one of those squares only have 1 other number in it, ie a double. the other square with a 1 in has 3 other possibles tho, can i eliminate the two of those that don't match the double? does that makes sense?
4:44 am
mikehell

14, aargh
4:45 am
miametro

10 numbers now... slowly slowly.
4:46 am
morgan

miametro, i don't understand your question. but: if you have e.g. 2 cells of a square with only "2" and "5" as possibilities, you can eliminate all other "2" and "5" in this square
4:47 am
miametro

i had a cell with 1, 8 and one with 1, 7, 8, 9. i took out the 7 and 9 because the 1 & 8 are doubled.
4:48 am
santa1563

yeah thats like having a 2 and 5 that can only go in the same two squares but 4s that can go in the whole cube...it cant go where the 2 and 5 go
4:48 am
morgan

that's ok IF the doubled numbers aren't possible in other cells of this square / row /colum.
4:48 am
santa1563

yeah
4:50 am
miametro

for that row they couldn't be, no.
4:50 am
miametro

for that row they couldn't be, no.
4:51 am
miametro

all these little numbers get so confusing tho!
4:51 am
morgan

so you can eliminate the other numbers that's correct
4:52 am
morgan

usually i prefer P&P play ;-)
4:54 am
miametro

P&P?
4:54 am
morgan

pen & paper
4:55 am
santa1563

ive got a little book of sudoku i do at work then i get home and get on here
4:59 am
santa1563

its 5am..time for bed...maybe ill finish this one later
5:00 am
santa1563

adios guys...good luck
5:00 am
morgan

adios
5:00 am
SeaBrie

it's 12PM here
5:00 am
mikehell

4:30 pm
5:06 am
RobG

morning
5:14 am
mikehell

Whoppee, cracked it...
5:19 am
pring

whats the secret?
5:19 am
RobG

get the numbers right
5:20 am
pring

like with babble you need to know how to spell, huh
5:21 am
RobG

:)
5:26 am
RobG

yes i am!
5:26 am
SeaBrie

hehe
5:29 am
trioptimum

hmm I seem to be at a point where guesswork is needed
5:30 am
SeaBrie

isn't the point of sudoku that guesswork is never needed?
5:30 am
RobG

have you got the middle number in the top-right box?
5:30 am
trioptimum

yes
5:30 am
SeaBrie

I haven't :(
5:31 am
jdog

ahh, compared to yesterday's, an easy one today.
5:31 am
RobG

top middle in the bottom left box?
5:31 am
jdog

no y-cycle, no x-cycle no medusa
5:31 am
trioptimum

well, lookahead is sometimes needed, trying one of several options and backtracking if it leads to unsolvability
5:31 am
SeaBrie

compared to yesterday's achieving world peace seems easy
5:31 am
trioptimum

RobG: got that too
5:31 am
Onpaki

but it doesn't seem so. i haven't been successful so far.
5:32 am
jdog

many people consider look-ahead a form of guesswork
5:32 am
SeaBrie

x-cycle? y-cycle? medusa?
5:32 am
RobG

it's not guesswork, it's brute forcing it
5:32 am
jdog

yes, that's true rob
5:32 am
jdog

also not necessary to solve a proper sudoku tho
5:33 am
trioptimum

I'm not sure about that...
5:33 am
RobG

it shouldn't be needed
5:34 am
trioptimum

I'm in a state where I can't see any more numbers that I can fill in for sure at this point, nor any possibilities I can eliminate
5:35 am
miametro

me too trioptimum, and i've only filled in 10 numbers!
5:35 am
trioptimum

so either I've missed something or I have to work through the consequences of an either-or option and see if it pans out, and revert to checkpoint if not
5:35 am
trioptimum

I've filled in 12
5:35 am
RobG

hmm, i've only got 11
5:36 am
trioptimum

yesterday I got 2 :)
5:36 am
RobG

yeah, same heh
5:36 am
RobG

3 and 4
5:36 am
realpond

hi there
5:37 am
miametro

11! hehe
5:38 am
miametro

!!!! complete row!
5:38 am
trioptimum

you've passed me then
5:39 am
miametro

complete column, sorry.
5:39 am
trioptimum

same :)
5:39 am
miametro

c6 :)
5:40 am
miametro

which has opened up a lot more doubles.
5:40 am
SeaBrie

I have 2 left to complete in that column
5:40 am
SeaBrie

not sure how to eliminate one of them
5:40 am
miametro

are they doubled?
5:40 am
SeaBrie

yeah
5:40 am
miametro

try working along the rows. see which numbers only fit in once
5:40 am
miametro

all 9 numbers, not just your two doubles.
5:42 am
SeaBrie

hrm, I must be missing something
5:43 am
SeaBrie

none of the 9 along those 2 rows will only fit in one place (yet)
5:45 am
miametro

how many numbers do you have placed in the top middle box?
5:45 am
SeaBrie

7
5:46 am
miametro

and the one below?
5:46 am
SeaBrie

4
5:46 am
miametro

for me, it came about because i placed two in the top box, in that column. so not sure how to help, sorry!
5:47 am
SeaBrie

the top box for that column is filled for me
5:47 am
RobG

ditto
5:48 am
miametro

do you have all your greens filled in?
5:48 am
SeaBrie

YM for the whole puzzle?
5:48 am
miametro

yes
5:48 am
SeaBrie

hell no :)
5:48 am
miametro

it's really advisable.
5:48 am
trioptimum

it does help
5:49 am
SeaBrie

it just gets really cluttered
5:49 am
SeaBrie

and you can't see what's what any more
5:49 am
miametro

unfortunately, but it stops you from making silly mistakes
5:58 am
miametro

of course, i'm completely stuck now. which is annoying.
6:01 am
Babbler

hi everyone. : ) I see talk of x/y cycles. Is this another toughie?
6:02 am
RobG

wish there was a quick way to hide/show all of my green
6:02 am
MrOoijer

I have 7 locked pairs now, and still stuck :-(
6:03 am
miametro

me too
6:05 am
peternl

hi all
6:08 am
miametro

right. i'm trying a route. wish me luck!
6:13 am
peternl

hmmm
6:14 am
narrativium

*tries a route* (hi all)
6:14 am
RobG

hmmm, got 17 without guessing yet
6:15 am
miametro

ah screw this. i'm tired of all these stupid numbers.
6:15 am
MrOoijer

hmm only 14 without guessing
6:15 am
peternl

grin
6:15 am
miametro

until we start getting points for the amount of correct squares instead of completely puzzles, i'm not coming back because it's doing my head in!
6:16 am
caderoux

thin one kind of spins like a pinwheel
6:16 am
MrOoijer

brrrr need a brreak
6:16 am
caderoux

thin=this
6:16 am
narrativium

hmm. this seems to be a good guess...
6:17 am
RobG

no guesses are good guesses :)
6:17 am
narrativium

nope. backfire
6:17 am
M3

OHHHH and it was going so well. now i have to start over!!!
6:17 am
haggis10

Done - 1 hour 10
6:18 am
narrativium

in which case, the other route was right :)
6:18 am
RobG

lol finally, a full column
6:19 am
M3

1 hour 10. oh dear i need more practice then!!!! lol
6:24 am
RobG

done!
6:25 am
RobG

(and don't guess, you didn't need to :p)
6:25 am
peternl

well done
6:40 am
caderoux

done - neat one
6:40 am
Babbler

good going, caderoux. how long did it take you, all in?
6:40 am
GingerUK

getting nowhere fast here!
6:41 am
larafae

This is driving me crazy
6:41 am
narrativium

hmm. just stopped guessing and found some logic...
6:45 am
peternl

ugh
6:46 am
caderoux

less than half an hour - quicker if I had spotted more before I filled in - I find it hard to scan here
6:46 am
Psycho_Puppy

I love this one!!!
6:46 am
narrativium

complete!
6:46 am
Babbler

I find it hard to scan here too. takes me that long just to do that. good going..... hope I'm not too far behind you, lol! : )
6:46 am
Babbler

good going, narrativium : )
6:56 am
GingerUK

well the 6's just went in nicely... well 7 out of 9 did!!
6:57 am
Psycho_Puppy

Lol. Keep it up ginger!
6:59 am
GingerUK

I'm trying PP LOL
6:59 am
M3

i need a clue, can you give me the first 9 lines lol
7:00 am
Psycho_Puppy

Lmao!
7:00 am
Beelzebozo

roflamaolollol
7:00 am
M3

im sooooo stuck
7:01 am
Psycho_Puppy

Lol just stop and start over in your mind without restarting the puzzle.Go through it one colomon/row/number at a time, as if you're only just starting out.
7:02 am
M3

oh shucks ill have a go!
7:03 am
peternl

this is fun. hard, but fun
7:06 am
Psycho_Puppy

I'mreally enjoying this one. It's not so easy that it's boring but I feel like I'm constantly going somwhere slowly!
7:06 am
peternl

done
7:06 am
GingerUK

wd petrnl
7:06 am
Babbler

good going, peternl : )
7:07 am
peternl

yep, and lots of tricky bit
7:07 am
Psycho_Puppy

Well done!
7:07 am
peternl

and not evil like yesterday ;-)
7:07 am
Psycho_Puppy

That was SOOO hard!
7:07 am
M3

yeah i know what you mean.im really go somewhere. !!! oh yeah in circles,
7:08 am
peternl

yesterdays? I didnt even bother
7:08 am
Psycho_Puppy

LolM. Bless ya lil heart.
7:08 am
M3

ohh no wait im on a roll. with the 8's ..........
7:09 am
Psycho_Puppy

With the 8's? I've got nearly all of them to do yet! I've already been doin this like 20, 25 minutes!
7:09 am
M3

ok thought it was to good to be true lol
7:10 am
Psycho_Puppy

Uh oh. Did you make a mistake? You might be right!
7:10 am
M3

hey tell me something i dont know lol
7:10 am
Psycho_Puppy

:-P
7:11 am
peternl

cya
7:11 am
M3

im new to this Sudoku thing. i needed a distraction to get away from Babble. think i may take up Knitting, it the latest craze!!!!!
7:11 am
Psycho_Puppy

Ciao for now!
7:11 am
Psycho_Puppy

Lol I suck at Babble.
7:11 am
Laura_M

Yeh she does lol!
7:11 am
M3

LOL
7:11 am
Psycho_Puppy

:-P
7:11 am
Psycho_Puppy

Still better than you!
7:12 am
Babbler

Babble got me off sudoku last year..... now sudoku has got me off babble..... I have stuff I started knitting a couple of years back..... in a bag.... ; )
7:12 am
Psycho_Puppy

I started knitting last year! I'm making a scarf! And when it's finished, I'm gonna make a poncho!
7:12 am
Psycho_Puppy

Hahaha.
7:13 am
M3

babbler lol . im still on scarf's. now i torn between Babble Knitting, and SuDoku. you should see my house its a realy mess.... lol
7:13 am
GingerUK

restart arghhhh
7:13 am
Psycho_Puppy

Have to go for a bit! Be back later!
7:13 am
Psycho_Puppy

Good luck everyone! x-x-x
7:14 am
Babbler

lol, I hear you, M3 :D
7:14 am
Babbler

bad luck, Ginger : (
7:14 am
M3

luck need more than luck lol
7:16 am
M3

hey Ginger where are you in the UK?
7:16 am
GingerUK

Surrey, Greater London
7:17 am
GingerUK

you?
7:17 am
M3

Near me im in Sunny Essex
7:17 am
Babbler

anyone need a clue before I put my last number in and the grid disappears?
7:17 am
GingerUK

not far then!
7:17 am
M3

small world
7:17 am
GingerUK

it sure is
7:18 am
Babbler

I'm in South London : )
7:18 am
M3

hello Babbler
7:18 am
Babbler

hey M3 : ) what's your handle in Babble?
7:18 am
M3

same M3
7:18 am
Babbler

oh, lol! :D:D:D
7:19 am
Babbler

I might wake up today ; )
7:19 am
M3

dont look up my stats there just awfull
7:19 am
Babbler

I haven't played for a while, I'm dropping down the ranks : /
7:19 am
Babbler

okey dokey - last chance - any clues before I put my last number in?
7:19 am
M3

me too im now about 700+
7:19 am
M3


7:19 am
M3



7:19 am
M3




7:20 am
M3

531 on the hot list. lol
7:20 am
M3

ohh what happend there sorry folks.
7:21 am
Babbler

awwww : ) with this influx of newbies, the ranks will probably totally change now anyway
7:21 am
Babbler

well, I've put my last number in. all gone! :D
7:22 am
Babbler

(and I did guess :P )
7:22 am
M3

good may be ill go up in the rankings. !!!!
7:22 am
M3

well done babbler. you can email me the answers if you like ..!!!
7:22 am
Psycho_Puppy

Lol M3 do it yourself!
7:22 am
Psycho_Puppy

:-P
7:23 am
M3

puppy thoght you were on a break!! lol
7:23 am
Psycho_Puppy

I was, I literally got back just to see you write that!
7:23 am
Psycho_Puppy

Tut tut.
7:23 am
Babbler

too late, M3.... I have no idea what I put where, lol! ;D
7:24 am
M3

i think all this chatting is the main reason im unable to concentrate. lol i can find an excuse for most things !!
7:24 am
Psycho_Puppy

...Sorry. Will leave you to it for a while. :-(
7:24 am
M3

no im fine really, just have ing a bash at the 4's
7:25 am
Babbler

soz M3.... I'll go say hi in Babble... (big grid today).
7:26 am
M3

good luck i have only had a quick peak myself
7:28 am
Babbler

oh, I'm not playing, lol! just saying hi. I'll sign out from here for today though. ttfn and good luck everybody. :D
7:28 am
Psycho_Puppy

Bye Babbler.
7:28 am
M3

TTFN x
7:52 am
NJL

hi all, I hope this is easier than yesterdays
7:54 am
MrOoijer

I finf it much more difficult
7:59 am
morgan

it's not so easy as it seems.
8:22 am
Dave

pretty easy for me... much better than yesterday
8:25 am
MrOoijer

pfff done
8:25 am
dplass

grr
8:37 am
NJL

done.....I think I should have had more sleep before I started
8:37 am
apsmith

Not trivial, but a LOT easier than yesterday's.
8:37 am
NJL

much much easier than yesterdays
8:38 am
NJL

must go to bed. goodnight all
8:39 am
NJL

time to go to bed...goodnight everyone
8:39 am
Ronin

G`nght
8:45 am
Cornfed

good morning
8:49 am
Ronin

Ugh looking for forcing chains gives me a headache
8:52 am
Rachel

Hi matt :)
8:53 am
raerae7133

Hi there
8:55 am
caderoux

Ronin - no forcing chains today!!!
8:55 am
Ronin

well no wonder it is giving me a headache looking for them caderoux! ;)
8:56 am
morgan

what are "forcing chains"?
8:56 am
Ronin

http://www.sudokuoftheday.com/pages/technique
s-10.php
8:57 am
Ronin

They were the key to yesterday's puzzle so I made a goal of figuring them out
8:57 am
raerae7133

I wish I didn't have to copy and paste each line of that URL separately. Or even better, if it were actually clickable
8:57 am
caderoux

This one is pretty straightforward. If you hold of the green as long as possible, you'll actually go faster
8:57 am
caderoux

Use shrinkster.com or similar
8:58 am
mirrin

I've seen people here talking about color coding it. how do you do that?
8:59 am
caderoux

Forcing Chains: http://shrinkster.com/dhx
8:59 am
Ronin

mirrin, hold shift when you click on a number
8:59 am
Ronin

it puts it in a green subtext on the square to allow you to "pencil mark" the number into the square
8:59 am
morgan

ah i know the techniqe. but i've got the problem that at the end i forgot the beginning...
8:59 am
Ronin

If you hold alt and click the number, it puts it in red
9:00 am
morgan

shift + the number colors it green
9:00 am
Ronin

morgan, you can do it somewhat easier by utilizing the reds to mark your chain
9:00 am
raerae7133

alt (or option for mac users) for red
9:00 am
morgan

ronin, that's a good tip. going to use it the next time
9:01 am
Ronin

*nods*
9:01 am
mirrin

thanks!
9:01 am
Ronin

glad to help
9:01 am
Ronin

I need to email these guys my wishlist
9:01 am
yul

hello
9:01 am
Ronin

I want shift + alt click to color blue
9:01 am
Ronin

howdy
9:01 am
raerae7133

blue? whatever for
9:02 am
Ronin

Because I sometimes feel like I need a third color
9:02 am
morgan

me too ;-)
9:02 am
Ronin

I'm just that l33t
9:02 am
raerae7133

heavens!
9:03 am
caderoux

I want to have all the features of Simple Sudoku - it has four colors, automatic candidates highlighting and highlighting of numbers and pairs
9:03 am
Rachel

then it would be too easy
9:03 am
raerae7133

Well that's just too easy then
9:03 am
morgan

simple sudoku sucks!!!
9:03 am
raerae7133

Glad we agree rachel :)
9:04 am
caderoux

It takes the drudgery out of the scanning and marking - then all that's left is evil ones like yesterday's.
9:05 am
morgan

hate this game, because when i play it i don't think about the combinations, i only think nmbers that fit and numbers that don't fit. i use the "hint" mechanism more often that i would need it. :-(
9:05 am
caderoux

One which takes an hour here will only take 10 minutes in SS - and you almost do it by feel for the highlighted patterns.
9:05 am
M3

HINT how does that work?
9:05 am
morgan

f7
9:06 am
Ronin

on the webpage?
9:06 am
morgan

i've also got a smart small sudoku program i got from a friend.
9:06 am
M3

thanks ill check it out x
9:07 am
morgan

ronin, no. i thought the question was mentioning the program "simple sudoku" (i hate it)
9:07 am
caderoux

Only in Simple Sudoku: http://shrinkster.com/dhy
9:07 am
caderoux

But it only hints up to a certain level - It wasn't able to hint yesterday's puzzle.
9:07 am
Ronin

ah
9:07 am
M3

what browser are you using?
9:08 am
morgan

NOT f7 in browser! i ment a SS
9:08 am
M3

ss?
9:09 am
Ronin

simple sudoku
9:09 am
caderoux

Simple Sudoku: http://shrinkster.com/dhy
9:09 am
morgan

Simple Sudoku (a programm)
9:09 am
M3

oh doh!!
9:09 am
Ronin

And I've hit a brick wallllll
9:09 am
caderoux

Out of all the ones I've got, I'd recommend that one the most. Sudo Cue has some cool features, but a little rough around the edges.
9:10 am
morgan

f7 in firefox disables something called "caret browsing" ;-)
9:10 am
caderoux

Ronin - I missed some in box 9 during my scanning and I discovered I should have got them before I did all my marking
9:10 am
caderoux

really got to go to work now - I'll check in later.
9:11 am
morgan

i have an italian one. smart, nice, small (only a exe having about 500KB). doesn't much more than giving you a sudoku and some little help
9:11 am
corey

hey everyone
9:12 am
morgan

problem: is in italian (you would need a dictionary) & doesn't have a highlightin function
9:12 am
Krys10

Does anyone know of a solver like SS for Mac? I have somethign called Sudoku Susser but I haven't figured out how to use it yet...
9:12 am
Rachel

Yes, it's called your brain :-)
9:13 am
Ronin

There is at least 1 java sudoku app I know of
9:13 am
morgan

sorry no mac user
9:13 am
morgan

what about "practise"?
9:14 am
Krys10

What I'm ooking for, smarta$$es, is something that will help me to learn harder technizues. Teh websites that describe "swordfishes" and "x-wings" etc are really hard for me to undertstand thus yet...
9:14 am
Krys10

I think if I see it it owuld be easier for me to figure it out..
9:14 am
Krys10

ack, no coffee yet, typos..
9:14 am
Ronin

Nope I don't know of one that advanced for Mac - sorry
9:15 am
bunnyvicious

Krys...what is your icon? I've been puzzling that for a few days.
9:16 am
tonyfro

It's Butters from South Park. I also would like a website that explains what the heck you guys are talking about.
9:16 am
morgan

oh i've got too catch my train bye guys
9:16 am
Krys10

I need a better picture for my icon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_
Chaos_(South_Park_episode)
9:16 am
RandLS

http://www.scanraid.com/AdvanStrategies.htm gives a decent explanation of the advanced techniques
9:18 am
Krys10

ooh, pictures! that is helpful, RandLS, thank you
9:19 am
tonyfro

Thanks RandLS!
9:19 am
RandLS

np...i found it yesterday when i was searching for some better examples of the high-end solves for yesterday's puzzle. ;)
9:20 am
Ronin

Alright, time to work, I'll come back to this later
9:27 am
Krys10

RandLS, that site you found is SO MUCH better than the others I've seen mentioned here - thanks again for sharing!
9:27 am
Krys10

RandLS, that site you found is SO MUCH better than the others I've seen mentioned here - thanks again for sharing!
9:49 am
yul

good
9:53 am
yul

48min with 1mistake :( could be worse
9:58 am
yul

caderoux, did you managed to solve yesturday puzzle with the 2s chain?
10:14 am
miller da killer

this one is such a relief after yesterdays!
10:14 am
btwrt

*whew*, all done :) took me about ... 30, 40 minutes or so?
10:15 am
miller da killer

yay! finished in record time!
10:30 am
colleen

haha you guys talk about sudoku like it's a job
10:33 am
dplass

i dont get it. why is this medium, it's almost as hard as yesterday
10:33 am
Sulihin

bwah
10:33 am
Sulihin

yesterday i got 2 numbers period :)
10:33 am
dplass

today me too
10:34 am
Sulihin

well, i guess i only have 3 so far, but there's lots of triples/pairs showing up in my marking
10:34 am
Sulihin

wait i have 4 :)
10:50 am
btwrt

i had a lot of luck checking to see where numbers COULND'T go. such as, i might take the right column of 3x3s, pick a number, and see if there are instances were the possibles in a column are only in one of the 3x3s. so lets say maybe the 3s can only be in the left column in the middle 3x3. i can then safely take away the other possible 3s from the rest of that middle 3x3 (the middle and right columns). did that make sense?
11:02 am
caffeinatedelf

yup. :)
11:26 am
hurshy

hurshy slow today
11:27 am
hurshy

hurshy stooooopid
11:28 am
artlady

tsk tsk
11:28 am
hurshy

aha!
11:28 am
artlady

you're not alone... :-(
11:28 am
hurshy

breakthrough!
11:29 am
marciikeler

yay!
11:29 am
marciikeler

that was pretty easy actually...
11:29 am
marciikeler

after the hell of yesterday anyway
11:29 am
hurshy

yes
11:29 am
hurshy

yesterday baaaaaad puzzle
11:30 am
artlady

torture
11:31 am
TP17

yesterday = brain hemorrhage
11:32 am
hurshy

all done yay
11:32 am
hurshy

back to babble
11:33 am
Limer

Yesterdays puzzle took 2 hours out of my life and I still did not solve the &*$# thing.
11:37 am
marciikeler

yesterday's was totally ridiculous
11:37 am
marciikeler

i had to guess
11:38 am
Limer

I guessed 9 or 10 times, no success.
11:38 am
marciikeler

tried four different guesses before i got it :P
11:42 am
artlady

yippee!!
11:44 am
Limer

Holy Wa, You are good, GirlFriend.
11:54 am
usagi

compare to yesterday, this was a warm up :)
11:55 am
usagi

Someone posted a link to a math grad student's sukoku sight yesterday......you had to start using algorithms that I didn't understand to get past the first two numbers :)
11:55 am
usagi

Today's was possible without using anything more complicated than cross-hatching and twins/triplets
11:57 am
Limer

Nailed that Puppy!
11:57 am
Limer

Rank me, baby!
12:09 pm
TP17

cross-hatching?
12:09 pm
TP17

is that like x-wing?
12:11 pm
amyh

not too bad today?
12:11 pm
sellout

Nope, not bad
12:12 pm
amyh

yesterdays was too tough for me
12:12 pm
sellout

Was yesterday's the Expert one?
12:13 pm
amyh

yup
12:13 pm
sellout

Yeah I think I had to do some guessing to get that one...hate when I have to do that :(
12:13 pm
poopsonya

yay, finished my first one
12:13 pm
amyh

that's why i gave up, prefer to logic it
12:16 pm
sellout

Yep
12:16 pm
usagi

TP17 : sorry, I wandered off....cross hatching is someone's name for working rows/columns/boxes to narrow possibilites....that's much simpler than x-wing. I haven't managed to wrap my head around x-wing yet.
12:19 pm
blitzkrieg

done
12:19 pm
blitzkrieg

it
12:20 pm
sellout

What is X-Wing?
12:21 pm
TP17

Somebody posted this earlier. Good site.
http://www.scanraid.com/AdvanStrategies
.htm
12:21 pm
usagi

x-wing is another algorithm you can use to reduce your possible values for a square....I haven't quite grokked it yet....if you're interested look at http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hansonr/sudoku/
12:23 pm
usagi

Until yesterday I had never looked at any 'Advanced Sudoku Strategies' :)
12:24 pm
sellout

Thanks...I'll take a look
12:24 pm
sellout

Might have come in handy for the Expert puzzle...
12:25 pm
usagi

Even 'x-wing' didn't solve yesterday's puzzle, you had to use '3D Medusa chain analysis' - at least, using the tool on that web site I posted....way over my head
12:26 pm
citizen511

Yeah, yesterday I looked at sudoku strategies too. Didn't help me out much yesterday because guessing was required. But today they helped me out big time.
12:29 pm
snlhartman

done
12:37 pm
Playwoman

Where do I go to see those strategies?
12:38 pm
RandLS

http://www.scanraid.com/AdvanStrategies.htm seems to be decent
12:38 pm
TP17

damn, I'm stuck
12:39 pm
Playwoman

Thanks, RandLS.
12:41 pm
sellout

Hm I think I understand this X-Wing thing
12:41 pm
sellout

Too bad I can't give it a shot till 10 tonight
12:43 pm
amyh

yay done!
12:44 pm
fnurt

This one was harder than I expected from a medium. But it was fun!
12:45 pm
bruzie

wow. after yesterday i'm taking more interest in advanced techniques. That's the first time I've used X-Wing but I reckon I might have got it in the end with my ususal strategy.
12:59 pm
brainwidth

Done! I finished this one off with X-Wing also.
1:10 pm
wwd

what is x-wing
1:18 pm
TP17

sweet. I was overlooking a simple pair, and I just finished!
1:30 pm
RandLS

me too. ;)
1:41 pm
ali22blu

whoohoo, finished
1:41 pm
MissBHaven

Wow! Just started playing sudoku! I wanted to find out about the game that has the nation on it's toes!
1:48 pm
caderoux

Not sure about that. Looks like a productivity sapper to me.
1:48 pm
caderoux

Still love it, though!
2:00 pm
guerro

crap i refreshed without saving as checkpoint grrrr
2:02 pm
MissBHaven

Guerro.... I know the feeling!
2:09 pm
celticsquid

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH
2:19 pm
morgan

yes! i got it!!! time to go to bed... 'night guys
2:31 pm
TP17

In honor of yesterdays discussion of "geek speak", I present to you:

http://www.toxin.org/lj/lollerskates2.g
if
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/emin
em_01_15/roflcopter.gif
2:33 pm
slutface

can someone help me and tell me what's between the 8 and 6 in the top left corner
2:36 pm
Rachel

Do it outside this chatroom please :-) I don't want any clues
2:36 pm
marciikeler

hey guys
2:36 pm
marciikeler

i wanna show someone the puzzle from yesterday to illustrate how f-ing tough it was
2:36 pm
marciikeler

does anyone know how to do that?
2:36 pm
celticsquid

Archives
2:36 pm
marciikeler

(clicking on "archives" and then on yesterday's date shows the solved puzzle with no indication of which cells were filled in at first)
2:37 pm
slutface

fine then don't look
2:37 pm
guerro

draw a picture, post it to the web somewhere, give us the link
2:38 pm
guerro

i think the given number boxes have a shade to them
2:38 pm
celticsquid

Naw its all solved.
2:39 pm
guerro

you are correct
2:40 pm
guerro

sorry
2:49 pm
redshoes

ok, I think I officially hate Sudoku. =P
2:54 pm
guerro

sorry
2:59 pm
redshoes

hehehe. it's cool. =)
2:59 pm
NatLT

on another website with sudoku there is a check to see if everything is right so far, is there anything like that on here?
2:59 pm
davidtoc

16 minutes. that was SO much better than yesterday's.
3:00 pm
davidtoc

i didn't even finish yesterday's. way too hard.
3:05 pm
davidtoc

here's yesterday's, just the givens: http://itchylot.blogspot.com/
3:15 pm
redshoes

do you just start guessing at some point, or what???
3:17 pm
davidtoc

no guessing required today.
3:17 pm
Danno

natLT - it will go red if you do something wrong that is apparent on the puzzle. but other than that, no
3:17 pm
davidtoc

yesterday on the other hand... :)
3:17 pm
redshoes

well crap. I have double possibilities everywhere. I think I might need to go back to crossword puzzles... sheesh.
3:18 pm
Rachel

Finally done!
3:18 pm
hurshy

oh, are you THE rachel? hax's rachel?
3:18 pm
guerro

hurshy!
3:19 pm
hurshy

what? was that a rude question?
3:19 pm
guerro

no, it was me saying HIYA!
3:20 pm
hurshy

oh, hiya!
3:20 pm
hurshy

i am not really here though, just a brief check-in
3:20 pm
hurshy

oh raaaaaachel....
3:22 pm
hurshy

sigh. we may never know, now.
3:23 pm
hurshy

well, are you done too guerro?
3:24 pm
hurshy

hmm, nobody talks to the hursh. well, i go now.
3:25 pm
guerro

i am not done i am playing online poker congruently
3:26 pm
sellout

Hey hurshy
3:26 pm
sellout

What are the benefits of the paid account, other than the icons?
3:26 pm
sellout

Access to any other puzzles?
3:27 pm
caffeinatedelf

hi hurshy! just got back from a work thingy. back AT work, actually. :)
3:30 pm
guerro

thingy? Is that a technical term ? ;)
3:33 pm
caffeinatedelf

definitely!
3:34 pm
Limer

Good question, what are the benefits to a paid account?
3:35 pm
caffeinatedelf

you get a friends list, an avatar and little person icon, and something else possibly that i have temporarily forgotten
3:36 pm
guerro

you get a pony
3:39 pm
patsee

nice to finish one before my sleepy head hits the monitor for a change
3:47 pm
sellout

Hmm
3:47 pm
sellout

I think I will sign up for the paid account
3:47 pm
sellout

Might as well
3:49 pm
Grendel

flag
3:56 pm
sellout

Is my icon showing up?
3:56 pm
sellout

Yessss
3:56 pm
RoboLaserBear

yup
4:07 pm
caffeinatedelf

yay, sellouot
4:07 pm
caffeinatedelf

WOOPS. sorry. sellout!!
4:07 pm
caffeinatedelf

c u all later once i'm home.
4:11 pm
sellout

Later elf
4:32 pm
Playwoman

Done, at last! I found it easier to do it on paper.
4:32 pm
Playwoman

Good luck, ALL!
5:42 pm
numbers scare me

summer... from texas? you here?
6:16 pm
evanadine

anyone still stirring around here?
6:17 pm
Shaiman

just starting off on today's, here
6:17 pm
Shaiman

need an ego boost after yesterday's
6:18 pm
evanadine

im not sure this one is gonna be the boost you want...im just not getting it...
6:19 pm
Shaiman

another tricky one, then?
6:19 pm
evanadine

tricky for me, at least
6:20 pm
Shaiman

yesterday's was the first i couldn't complete without any guessing
6:20 pm
Shaiman

the first expert one i've seen here too, though
6:21 pm
evanadine

mediums are hard enough for me!
6:21 pm
Shaiman

have you looked at any of the sudoku tip sites?
6:21 pm
evanadine

yeah, but my eyes glaze over after a few minutes...heh
6:21 pm
AdotB

do you guys do this in your head or use paper?
6:22 pm
Shaiman

i use the shift key to place notes in the boxes, AdotB
6:23 pm
AdotB

oh wow i didnt know i could do that, thanks
6:23 pm
Shaiman

alt will place red notes in
6:23 pm
batgirl

hell oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
6:23 pm
Shaiman

good for negation, or to highlight certain numbers
6:23 pm
Shaiman

hey batgirl
6:23 pm
AdotB

hello
6:24 pm
AdotB

Wow Thanks Shaiman
6:24 pm
Shaiman

don't mention it
7:25 pm
raerae7133

hello sudokuers
7:35 pm
yul

hi
7:35 pm
rosybifocals

hello!
7:40 pm
guerro

i resemble that remark!
7:49 pm
miller da killer

are you guys talking about marking the boxes with possible answers? i'd like to know how to do that.
7:49 pm
raerae7133

when you have the number selection popup showing
7:49 pm
raerae7133

hold shift and click the number you want to show a tiny green one
7:49 pm
raerae7133

hold alt and click for a red one
7:50 pm
ScottDavy

hi sweetie!
7:50 pm
raerae7133

green generally means possibles, and red means exclusion
7:50 pm
yul

i have a frige full of wonderful cakes but i've seen a horror video and could not eat any :(
7:50 pm
raerae7133

what? How does a horror movie make you not eat cake?
7:51 pm
ali_bones

Hi baby!
7:51 pm
raerae7133

I wonder how many couples play this game
7:51 pm
miller da killer

wow thanks! i've been printing out the puzzles every day to solve them!
7:53 pm
miller da killer

i don't know haxored but i know it's like a family thing for us because my mom plays too!
7:53 pm
yul

it was a real giant centipede killing real mouth and then eating it. the movie is on reddit.com
7:54 pm
yul

mouse that is
7:54 pm
raerae7133

Ahh, I saw that a couple nights ago
7:55 pm
raerae7133

I hate centipedes
7:55 pm
miller da killer

hey guess what? im switching between this and babble and i just found the word drool!
7:55 pm
raerae7133

time to watch my favorite show: Lost!
7:55 pm
yul

sudoku is my salvation
7:56 pm
miller da killer

ditto yul
8:00 pm
Douglas

all done :)
8:00 pm
Douglas

night everyone
8:00 pm
miller da killer

gosh, babble makes me depressed:( none of the words i make up exist!
8:06 pm
yul

hurshy, are you around? i would like to ask you about yesturday's puzzle. let me know, please, if you could answer a couple of questions?
8:09 pm
miller da killer

yes i would like to find out if there was a logical way of figuring it out without having to guess!
8:10 pm
melly126

i heard there was more than one solution to yesterday's
8:11 pm
miller da killer

i finally had to ask my mom to give me a number because she solved it by guessing like a million times!
8:12 pm
miller da killer

ok maybe a million is a bit of an exageration;)
8:15 pm
miller da killer

have you guys heard about that site where you type in your sudoku and get the answer? talk about cheating!!!!!
8:15 pm
miller da killer

and all for a silly ranking.
8:17 pm
yul

shoking ;)
8:19 pm
miller da killer

i know! doesn't it just disgust you. you should do sudoku because it's fun and you have fun actually DOING it!
8:38 pm
miller da killer

i love sudoku and i have successfully solved this one! goodnight alll!
8:41 pm
dplass

yay, done.
9:15 pm
hokie carla

no guessing! woot!
9:19 pm
thedave

What are some names of strategies (like x-wing) that I should look up on google?
9:19 pm
thedave

I'm stuck
10:46 pm
shortstop

dave: this is a decent one:
10:46 pm
shortstop

http://www.simes.clara.co.uk/programs/sudokut
echniques.htm
10:53 pm
thedave

Thanks
11:20 pm
thedave

I give up
11:26 pm
Su

damn, i'm stuck
11:36 pm
Ezpinaka

Ashling, i'm back
11:36 pm
ashling

yay
11:53 pm
jarski

done
11:56 pm
santa1563

dern...dont think im gonna finish
11:56 pm
sellout

It's nearly time
11:59 pm
RoboLaserBear

balls!
11:59 pm
RoboLaserBear

i kept getting distracted by class stuff
11:59 pm
Debs40ish

Morning all