Evil Puzzle

Scott Hardie | June 21, 2005
Warning: Do not begin this puzzle if you would like to spend the next three hours doing something else.



I've had sudoku puzzles on my mind ever since discovering them in Wikipedia (where you can find the solution to this one). The idea is simple: The same number cannot appear twice in a single row, column, or nine-space "region" of the grid (there are nine regions). It starts out simple enough, just using process of elimination to determine what numbers must go in certain spaces, such as how 7 must go into the third space in the second row, because no other space in the upper-left region can possibly have a 7 in it. That line of thinking is all well and good, until after about fifteen minutes and you discover the true evil of this puzzle. Give it a shot, I dare you.

Denise Sawicki | June 21, 2005
It's not *that* bad, of course, I grew up doing cross sums for fun... (link)

Jackie Mason | June 21, 2005
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | June 21, 2005
I agree, Denise -- standard fare in a Dell puzzle book. But I'd be lying if I said that these were the first puzzles I jump on... ;-) I much prefer word puzzles and logic problems myself, and I would have thumbed through and/or completed *many* other exercises before getting on these. ;-D

Scott Hardie | June 23, 2005
Standard fare? That son a bitch took me three hours. :-P

Amy Austin | June 23, 2005
I didn't say that it couldn't be time-consuming! ;-) (But... I have done them in under or around an hour...)

Scott Hardie | June 23, 2005
Well then... My dare still stands. :-)

Amy Austin | June 23, 2005
:-D

Denise Sawicki | June 23, 2005
I did do it before I posted to this discusion. I'm not sure how long it took though cause I did it in several short sittings...