tough one

is everyone's puzzle flickering?

nope

nope

dang

i am about 2/3 the way thru

just refresh your page

i had to restart firefox to get rid of it

mine's not flickering just logged on

Ah - donE!

well done Behe

Morning to everyone :)

Morning

Morning On.....and sorry evening or afternoon which ever it may be

flarfu: which version of Firefox do you have?

1.5

the newest one

ok

i just restarted firefox and it was fine

flickers with older versions

ahhh a hard one well, here goes

Debs, it is afternoon for me. Trying to keep awake.

I haven't long got up so having the same problem...lol

I've got none in the middle cube yet - tough one

I've finished :)

Oh, that's quick. You aren't as sleepy as you said! Lol!

Your good Debs!

I can be!......lol ty lick

Congrats!

Ty On....... :)

Well I'lll leave you all to it I'd better go and check Damian reincarnated is getting ready for school

Take care, be happy & smile.. Lifes too short ((((hugs))))

see you tomorrow!

Will do On... I'll bring the coffees ;)

sounds good.

I am...lol

finished. night folks

hey..

131313 - that was fast too!

i'm done too. going to take a nap. zzzzz.....

A hard one! Is it fun? Morning all :)

it's pretty good - was stuck for a while, spotted the single remaining clue, and then it fell like a house of cards.

:D
That sounds more than promising. So far all goes smoothly here, but the hard part is yet to come.

Hi Sprite!

Hi Sprite!

I don't know, this one was fun but I think it may be the easiest I've done on this site - fell together very quickly for me.

I'm still baffled about how the difficulty ratings are set - the medium puzzle seems to really stump me.

Ha Krys10! Yes, I know, the diff ratings are very obscure to me too. This one is a breeze so far. But I don't mind, I just jump in every morning and see how things go :)

huh, I feel inferior. getting nowhere with this one.

I'm headed to bed. Sprite, my business partner found another 5-vowel word today - "hellacious" Also "cautiousness"

Beautiful words! Sleep well, see you tomorrow :)

trioptimum, it's weird, it seems like there's always people posting that a puzzle is easy and others saying it's hard, and it's usually not the same people from day to day. I'm convinced that it has to do with what type of puzzle strategy you use, what corner you start in, etc. If it's any help. I filled in all posslble values starting near the bottom and worked my way toward the middle. Everything fell together nicely!

I have a grid full of red values where I've blocked out every single non-possibility and I'm still nowhere :)

I guess my strategy needs work.

I have no real strategy at all, I just jump around the grid and do some reasoning. If anyone should work on her strategy, it's me :)

i got stuck at the bottom, but then got out of it using locked candidates

Nah. The jump around strategy works for me too.

hee. well, I'll have another stab at it later, need to get ready for work.

blaaah what time zone are you in

So far I did a lot of counting with this one. You know, going from 1 to 9 and see what is excluded by appearance on same row, column or box.

It's 8.30 am here.

That's my strategy. Usually works.

GMT

oh dear, i accidently clicked away from the page....there's no way to revert if you haven't clicked the 'save' button is there

EST

I am sorry mikeh, no, there isn't. You have to start over :(

bah - nothing to do anyways haha

Happened to me first day, couple of times even. Didn't know that going to the HOW TO page or My Account page removed the entries. Now I save very regularly, lol.

yes yes

i was like oo i want a picture

Exactly :)
The picture bit is for pro's, as I found out then.

haha yes

i'm going to give it a week or so before i put money into my habit

That's what I like about Dr_God's approach: you can play for as long as you like, forever even, without ever having to pay. It is entirely up to us whether we want to pay or not. :)

done deal

done too

done

hola

phew

i finished

even though my numbers notations had gone whack at the end

*waves hello*

There has to be a better way to clear greens and reds without having to click on each square...

not yet vega

Well then, it has to be made. ;)

tis

right, let's have another go at this... this time from the office

ditto

hmm, 20 minutes later and I've filled in one more number

think I'm gonna need every one of these 20+ remaining hours

i've given up on actually putting numbers in and am simply populating everything with green numbers :)

yeah I've filled out every square with red and green numbers

and it's not helped me much

red?

ooh, red!

need many, many more 7s

How do you reset the puzzle to start over?

no idea, tchansen.

Thanks. I just cleared them by hand, I was looking for a quick way. I noticed that there is a save button but no way to restore to that save either.

that saves it against your profile, I think reloading the page will restore to it.

to restore just reload the page

ah finally making some progress!

Woo a number in the middle at last.

at last, finished it!

\o/

hard? meeeeeeeeeep - doesn't sound good!

too easy.........

hmm, a hard one...

whew, that was some mental workout

Maybe it was miss tagged and should have been bloody hard.

grin

I like to think I'm fairly good at these - but today. It's just not happening for me.

I've gotten somewhere, havent hit a block yet, but its slow going

this one is certainly hard work

hmm, yes, very slow now

I'm going to have to go with a hunch and see where it takes me

Ian... try opening another browser & working your hunch out in there... makes a useful 'play' area, as long as you don't save it.

Missed yesterday - let see if this is any good...

sorry, didn't make that very clear... open another grid (it'll open your last saved one) in another browser.

cracked a bit more off

I wish it displayed a progress (number of unfinished squares)

nah. thats too deprssing!

man, thats a lot of little green numbers

hi all.. was hoping for an easy day.. no such luck!!

hmm, a number in the center box would be nice

I've got one - kinda tentatively! but only tentatively

got one!

I just know this is going to go wrong. I'm going far too much on gut feeling!

yay! i filled in another square! ;p

another number in the center box

it all went wrong with 2 boxes left!!

ouch

yep.. very painful

doh

yay! third-level logic box filled. those are so satisfying. all that work so rarely actually pays off...

"third-level logic box"?

if this, then this. since THAT, then THIS, and since THAT, then this must be X.

ahh

oh, and luckily, because of X, then Y. ;)

your method has got me on a role again... any money it goes wrong

yep

what sucks is that all of my logic now comes back to two boxes.

yeah me too. the most annoying things is i cant remember what i did at the begining to try it the other way.

when did you save last

after i put all the possibles in

wow! fifth-level logic! w00t

lol.. now Im stuck again!!! :( lucky I'm not busy at work today

oh for cryin out loud

grrrr dead end again!

it's stupid when you have the four numbers you need to work out one in the center and it takes you 10 minutes to notice...

done!

no way!! wd

w00t! Finished!

wow...I come in, and someone's done! Heartening XD Nice one, Thuryn! Congrats :)

have fun all

:) It took less than an hour, but I'm not doing anything else, if that helps.

ah...I'm headbanging, could that hinder concentration a little? ^^

...and it's only now that I notice the bit which says 'difficulty: hard'

...nice - done, but lucky with 3 guesses. 8(

well doen ozzie

ta..roll on a medium - and keep plugging away.

roll on an easy

nice one, OzzieRain :) An influence to us all XD

urgh, finished.... and I'm not ashamed to say, that about kicked my ass square :/

congrats, Pennypiece! *envy envy*

ty, X ... unless you're envious because *you* wanted to kick my ass square ;)

LOL! this is not the place for my sadistic fantasies :)

*snerk* Actually, I would have thought everyone tackling this grid today qualifies as a masochist.... right, I'm off, enjoy the boxes everyone :)

you may be right...enjoy the rest of your day :)

darn... i think i have done all my green numbers wrong... no matter what way i go i end up with either 2 in the same row or none at all in a box!!! grrrr

Breathe, Kellie, breathe! *hands out chocolate* best cure :)

Afternoon, that was hard but not as hard as some of the mediums that have been here recently!

Afternoon, FMitch...you're done! If you are, then I will be building a bronze statue of you and placing it at the top of the hill, and I will pilgrimage to it every year :)

LOL x I am done but no need for the statue!!!!

Done

oh, well...at least a little sort of wooden effigy I can place in a shrine, or something? XD

Much easier than Sat's medium

ROFL Oh OK then,.

wow...congrats to Twofisted, as well! Hopefully FMitch, you aren't the jealous type XD

LOL...did I twist your arm? ^^

Yea, BTW you could let go now.. please.

*looks guilty* er...yes :) only if I get an autograph.

LOL x, gotta go now.

*sigh* starting again ...

later, FMitch :)

Oh hey Atalante!!! you done with Babble or just taking a break?

Boo...Atalante, that sucks :/ Luckily for me, I haven't got far enough to know I have to start again :)

about to throw my hands up to both of them today! For some reason, I cant see words *and* I cant see numbers!

but now I have chocolate, so it might get better

chocolate makes evrrything better!!

my thoughts exactly!

I'm starting over..

I'm still staring at it with an expression of horror in my eyes. Why, God?! WHY?!

ok have completely stopped

Bex, join the club! I came to a complete stop about an hour ago...yet, I'm still sitting here. WHY?

Yay! Just done it...

Congrats, AlienHunter! *fireworks*

its mesmeric

i too am now starting over.

I can't do any work till I get this finished

I found this one easier than one of last weeks medium's!!

I'm more than halfway done and I haven't hit any roadblocks....yet...

Woo! Go, HatesTheInternet! Keep it up :)

Heh, just got done. I agree with carolecs62. It took me 15 minutes

mutters. I wish I could turn the chat log off! Its too depressing! :P

Hate to add to that but I finally finished.

nice one...*is in awe*

LOL Atalante...just think about the chocolate, think of nothing but the chocolate...

X.. how you getting on.. i have again had to start all over again.. the chocolate didn't work!!! I'm gonna have a fag and go again!

15-20 minutes. that was actually fairly easy

OMG cheb this is my 3rd attempt

This one was actually pretty straightforward. I didn't have to resort to weird strategies

Same here, I just finished. I don't know the strategies yet, but did it by elimination except for one spot where I applied the "these two can only be here and here so the others in the same boxes have to go" strategies, and that helped

finally i have done it!!! good luck everyone

holy crap i need to start over..

i had to do that too it sucked i feel better about this time around i dont know where i went wrong last time

it really seemed easy.. i really don't know where i got sidetracked ;)

Couldn't do today's puzzle online. I had to go to the DMV at 6am (opens at 8am) to get in line. I typed it into Simple Sudoku and left the house. Unfortunately, it only took 5 minutes in SS with no hints and no invalid moves - so then I had to sit in my camp chair for another hour and half. I had a weak open wireless signal there (and a strong encrypted one), and was never able to get to the Internet. See y'all again tonight...

how thou dost suffer

Very Slow. Just can't get the lynch pin to solve this...

I agree tchansen, I know I'm missing something but not sure what this time. Going to take a break and come back to it later.

LOL! startover #16 here... : /

#3 for me. Glad for the save though...

oh I have all my little notations in place now... still drawing a blank

16!!!

done!

and shoot, i forgot to capture the screen first AGAIN

i think i've done about all i can do without a cup of coffee. back later...

I've got down to 2 numbers to go about 10 times...

Needless to say toys have been launched out of the pram due to mt numerical ineptitude today } ( LOL : )

poor anj

Hursh, just one of those days I guess. I've given up on strategy. Now it's every number for itself. Itr's not pretty... : /

I've found that I can 'pencil' one color or the other - If I try both, I mess up.

I've broken off diplomatic relations with the subscripts } (

Heh.

1 minute left?

NaN+

LOL
"Last saved: Somethin' ain't right. Hopefully Dr_God's on the case"

The server has a little indigestion at the moment. It should let out a relieving burp any minute now...

lol

i warned that server about eating too much crab rangoon...

Hi Dr God ... just discovered this game... cool!!

crab raccoon?

do you have to pay a fee to get the little flags etc here as well as ABBLE?

Sí

OOOPS Babble not abble!

i'd like to see a crab racoon

Dr_God. Figured out what was wrong with the server yet? :)

put a tiny lil mask on a crab, noumenon

that'll take care of one end...

my technique is easy and quick ha

haxored-
I know I caused it, just not how yet. ;)

The good lord giveth, and he taketh away

The New Iron Sudoku Mascot!!! http://andrewtibbetts.com/images/crab-racoon.
jpg

whoa, that's kind of creepy

I finished but I admit I guessed.... took two tries at a different number in the center square and working out from there.

I know I should have been able to figure it out without guessing but I was tired of staring at it so I took a stab in the dark!

I'll be back later to figure this out.

urf. I hate this puzzle! dammit puzzle! I WILL subdue you!

crap

why, why, why am i doing this at 2.21 am in the morning?

at least someone else in asia (or at least the 2:21 a.m. time zone) is doing this with me :)

i was thisclose

Dr_God, please for to make a "clear all' button

ooh. where are you from, naive?

taiwan

;) im from singapore.

expat?

i can't see the horizontal block dividers in opera - is this a bug ?

nah. imma singaporean.

doing this online is ten times harder than on paper

naive-
Check out the How to Play page for instructions on how to use subscripts.

That was an easy one.. no guessing

Thanks muchly, Dr_God - I think you just pushed my bedtime about 30 minutes closers

...for the 25th time this grid raises my hopes, then dashes them quite expertly...

25th?

...at least... :' (

same here Anj!

Thanks Atalante : ) I was beginning to wonder if my brain had downgraded during the night, lol!

I think mine has!

sigh. getting killed on this one.

well, it does say it is 'hard'

indeed it does, indeed it does.

I thought I had it, but I made a mistake (not a guess) somewhere.

i wish u could fill in all the subscripts at once, and then remove the ones that don't apply, rather than have to go thru and add EVERY SINGLE SUBSCRIPT separately!

I think that is what hte red subscript is for

add the ones in red until there is only 1 missing...

i mean start out with all the boxes filled with every green small number 1-9, instead of having to add the 1, and then add the 2, and then add the 3... and so on for every box.

i'd just done loads and forgot to save it! so going to have to start again. at least it is always quicker the second time . . .

so you want everybox to start with the numbers, then you remove them when you know they can't go there?

same here!

yes!

why? davidtoc

Well thats what hte red subscript is for. Leave it blank, then when you know the 2 can't go there, you add the 2 in red

makes it easier. plus, faster to set up so i can start figuring it out right away rather than have to "write in" all the small numbers first.

you shouldn't need to write in allllll the small numbers

well, i realize that. but it's easier tohave all 9 to start with and quickly remove the ones you don't need.

we're going round in circles!

For example, let's say a cell has candidates 1,3,4,5,7,8,9

i have to shift-click SEVEN times to enter those. and that's just for ONE cell.

it would be nice to automatically enter all 9 for that cell and then remove the 2 and the 6.

david - most people would add 2,6 in red

rather than going for the blank cells, try looking for cells you can fill in easily first eg you can fill in the second column quite easily without too many pencil marks

i just use the green. mixing red and green on the same board is too confusing for me.

by the way, i don't usually finish the hard ones!

i do, Linda. because you're right--that does save a lot of time and a lot of clicking.

I've got the 2nd column and the 3rd row...it's everything esle that's gone to h*ll in a handcart : /

but it would be nice it when you clicked, that in addition to the 1-9 buttons and the cancel and the clear buttons, there was a "add all" button.

is this one hard

ok, we get the message. you would like to be able to pencil in all the 9 numbers!!!

sonofabitch...that sucked...took me 4 restarts...but it is done...now to get on with my life!!

yes, Linda. I would. :)

yes, Linda. I would.

yep

3 a.m. is my limit - i've been defeated

oops! sorry about that.

ok, after 2nd column and 3rd row, any suggestions where to go?

...bilndfold and pin??

random number generators?

haha.

I'm not seeing a lot of "I solved this"

Hey, Dr_God! How about an easy one for morons like me?

and easy for me too pls!

giving up for now - going to get my tea. might be back

bleat : (

Hi Anj... been away from Babble a while, nice to see something new and some old faces!!

Hi Ginger : ) Nice to see you again. I haven't even looked at Babble today yet. This beast has me in thrall... : /

torgone - you can practice on easy ones on websudoku.com, and then you'll get better :)

oh, scottru - i solved this

yeah, I didn't pick a good one to start on did I!!

...and clear down again : (

That's what I do, hurshy. A bunch. And books too.

has anyone ever ready addicted

oh...

read Addicted

by Zane

hmm... i don't know what to tell you, tor.

i haven't read any books...i just started playing sudoku a week ago...but as i've done virtually nothing BUT sudoku all week, i am now confident that i can solve any sudoku.

maybe that's half the battle... if you believe you can do it, you can!

no keisha, have not read that.

ok

i just started sudoku on this site today

welcome!

ty

10 boxes left and something is wrong. argh.

No words are necessary, hurshy. I'm just bemoaning the fact that I have trouble here ..

oh, i'm sorry tor. :(

hi guys : )

Hi babe ((xx)) : )

loly!!

(does anyone ever call you loly?)

Howdy!

Hey you ((xx)) .....why aren't you spending time with your folks?? lol : D

hi hurshy! Um, no. But then they don't call me lola either (except for tbear!) : )

crap. how do u reset the puzzle?

hi tor! : )

I am...they are drinking my wine while I flounder in this grid of purgatory : (

LOL! You should get your dad to help you, bet he''d be great at this : )

oh, your name isn't really lola?

is there a way of clearing everything at one?

GingerUK, not that I know of.

ok thanks!

Sorry, davidtoc, I didn't see you ask the same question.

no hurshy : )

Still stressing over this puzzle; not reading the comments much.

well then is it ok if *i* call you loly, or does that make you want to roll your eyes?

of course it is hursh ; )

hello!

hi wac : )

ok then :D

curious - why do you call yourself "the wac"

Lo he was hot metal. He looks on computers with the sort of disdain politicians reserve for democracy...

lol, thought that might be the case! : D

my initials are wac. . .cheesy i know

damn! Have to leave, back in a bit : )

bye lola

bye

finished! now i can make my boss happy and actually get some work done.

boo ! :D

be back at midnite... :)

Babbler, run away while you can. This one has teeth : (

not cheesy

I know. : / I tried on paper, it seduced me into thinking I was doing ok, then gave me a big slap! :'(

just a screen name

I have to start all over again.

haha

right right

dang babbler

it used up so much of my brain juice, I had to take a nap!! lol! gonna try again ...

can you do this one without guessing?

yrd

oops

that was yes

with fingers in the wrong places

ha ha hurshy

you're certainly not the only one who does that

AAAUUUUGGGGHHH!

I messed it up AGAIN.

disheartening isn't it, tchansen? I'm with you, I know how you feel. :'(

Hi kids!! I was stuck for awhile...saved where I KNEW I had the correct numbers, and then just tried a combo that ended up working!!

guessing eh?

I haven't attempted the babble grid today...

((EB)) that's encouraging! :)

Hi EB, slap me with that fish of belief!

*gentle whack*

I love how you can put the numbers you think it might be in 'green' in the subscript...it's how I work my paper ones too...

me too, EB : )

same with me

hey Wac - are you a fellow "Babbler" too??

occasionally

i think i would like it a bit better if i could actually do it

ah, well, then - pleased to meet you (do you use the same name there?)

yep yep

nice to meet you too

Anj - have you tackled the babble grid today?

babble babble

yey i finished

that reminds me of a fish

congrats Kerryanne!!

*sigh*

hi hursh!!

of COURSE babble reminds you of a fish

hi auntie! :)

i got a fish the other day

i usually am only able to do the easy ones, must mean i'm improving.. possibly.. anyway, your obviously all pros

you are on "my friends" list, auntie!

kerryannee, have you been listening to what they're saying?

I'm back! So, is this one a toughie?? : )

anj has had to restart...at least 17 times (what's the count now anj?)

run away lola!

depends who you ask, loly

not that many times, Anj??

Kerryanne - this was not an easy one...

...i've stopped counting : ' (

obviously not, sorry, i just wanted to see if this box would work, you know the hearts convo ones microspft does never works

Lo - it's a big bad nasty monster. :'(

:)

hursh - I haven't gone pro yet...perhaps I should!!

...the restarts or the glasses?? ; )

perhaps you should, auntie :)

hi EB! : )

i cheated and printed the thingy out

*hands tissue to Anj*...there, there...you'll get it!!

hi lola!!

ah nuts

congrats, anyway, kerryanne.

i have to restart too

i don't think printing is cheating.

kerryanne - it's only cheating if someone else gives you all the answers!! : )

what would be the point in that

sympathies, Wac : (

thanks babbler

it wouldn't be such a problem if i hadn't saved right before i found the mistake

it took me, like maybe an hour, just staring at it going.. c'mon etc etc.. didn't really help, then there was this thing, and suddenly, wow, very exciting (okay i need to go out more)

I've restarted on screen. Can't face all that effort again. Let's see how I do...

really Kerryanne?? hope that happens to me too :)

i'd rather not have the staring for an hour part

ouch.

oh, wac...that's harsh...

major inconcistency :-/

I did the staring, taking breaks, back to staring, carefully entered numbers, and still got slapped. :'( (I'll be over it soon, promise).

everything was going smoooothly, and bang ...

((Babs))

I hear you, totony : /

i think the key to sudoku is to be very, very careful.

thanks, EB ((collapses into most welcome hug)) :' )

hurshy: agreed...

i'm sure perserverance (sp) will pay off, i like scribbling in the boxes though, yeah the hour thing, well one fall out boy album later. . . well it entertained me, going for lunch, later everyone

laters, Kerryanne : )

*hands Babs a shot of whiskey*...that'll 'shore you up!!'

bye Kerryanne

ooooh!! : D thanks, EB!!

and even then, you have to be even more careful. just to be on the safe side...

see ya kerryanee

hursh - agree...I save when I know the #'s are right...and then play around for a bit...if that doesn't pan out, it reverts back to my last save...

ooh! that's interesting. how do you save?

at the bottom of the sudoku

Babs - on the bottom of the grid, there's a 'button'

LOL!! I see, the big button that's been staring at me! I thought that was an instruction, not a button. duh!! :' )

ha ha

Babs - LOL!!!

tis alright babbler

awwww, that's cheered me up. good to have something to laugh about. :'D

im gunna suggest again that Dr_god get a Dr_Bot that periodically tells people to check out the 'How to Play' section ;)

Hi Noumenon!

probably a good idea ;)

yooooooo

if I click on your profile, will my grid revert to start? Hi Noumenon. : )

Babs - if you want to keep anything you've done, save first, then click on the profile...

aah, thanks EB :)

Babs - I learned that one the hard way...I was almost finished the other day, click on a profile (hadn't saved) --whoosh!!! entire grid wiped out...(and I even heard the music!!)

btw, we all wondered at first if it was really always possible to do these without guessing...found it hard to swallow...but i am now convinced that it is in fact true.

awww, poor you!! ((EB)) It happened in my first grid, I went to look at the rules. Luckily it was an easy grid that day. : )

you can play sudoku without guessing, hurshy, but it depends on the grid. Some are so difficult, Stephen Hawking would have trouble.

OK, I'm ending up crashing and burning on the same number every route I take : ( Quittin' time. I'm Babbling...

in the last few days i have been playing only "evils" on websudoku, and have never had to guess

hursh - I think most can be completed w/o guessing...but I'm not sure...

bye Anj...

was it an 8, Anj? see you later, :')

I have to go too...see you later (conf. call...)

later babe : ) xx

i have done about 1000 of these this week, that is what convinced me :) t

laters, EB : )

No, it's a 6 in the middle box every time : (

bye auntie

see you both

I can't believe it. I finished the puzzle, then the server had an error, and now it shows the state it was in three hours ago.

oh that's horrible jhlipsey!

so sorry to hera that jhlipsey!! : '(

hear I mean

'bye EB : )

good luck all...bye!

argh, hiccups

that's exciting hurshy

NO it is NOT

ok, maybe you're right

but i was hoping for the best

I have a cure that I use all the time and it works 100% for me, but for some reason, not for everybody else

well????

I get a glass of water, put my lips on the far side of the glass, and lean my head forward towards the floor, until I start to drink, and I keep drinking the water, basically wiht my head upside-down, and the hiccups are gone

I have someone scare me ;)

that's pretty intense stuff tp17

just a few sips necessary, not the whole glass

oh, yes, i have tried that in the past with no success

for me, holding my breath for 30 seconds usually works

my mom had me try it when I was young, and it's ALWAYS worked for me. it's very strange

i think i just got rid of them

that always works for me too TP17

hi Atalante! : )

the annoying thing is, have you noticed that when you have them once in a day, you get rid of them, but you tend to get them back again

why would that be?

hi Babs!

yay... first tiime i finished by myself

couldn't help ya there hurshy. . .they must like you ;)

wow! congrats, allan! : )

hooray for you!

what do you mean, all by yourself, btw?

i usually get some help from other ppl

after spending 2hrs on this one, something clicked

ahaa! well, you picked a good grid to complete on your own. This is a toughie!! You can give yourself a pat on the back!

thanks

g2g now.... hf

see you

laters, allan

Well, at least it was easier the second time.

evening all :D

goodnight. . . even though it's barely afternoon here

yesterdays was a sinch compared to this

yup, it was, raggedyandy

evening sherb!! :D

hello sherb!

hi sherb : )

i see sudoku won, sherb :)

evening Babs and hurshy :D :D ...and lola :D

well. . .food is calling. . i must be off for now

sudoku won for the moment... until I get stuck, which may not take long!!

laters, Wac

lol

anyone wanna tell me the first solid they got in the center block?

not where but what #... if they remember...

2

thx

the first I got in my first attempt was a 1

hm

hi Tor-Tor!! :D

I wish I knew how the answer to that question helped...

Heya Bab-Bab!

tee hee!! :D:D:D

5

well, my first attempt was all wrong, so maybe I shouldn't have answered that. : /

I hope I'm right ..

me too!

i keep forgetting to capture my screen before i finish

i was determined to remember today

but then it's so exciting when you're about to finish everything else flies out of your head

I'm at a standstill, and I'd rather not guess

never mind

heh

take a little break and come back, TP17, usually helps : )

Now we're moving ..

Oops ..

TP17, I guessed, only to discover I had guessed wrong when I had 10 squares left

I guessed too, and went an awfully long way before I had two of the same number in the one column. :(

I didn't guess, but I goofed up somewhere ..

gosh, I like that save button a lot!! lol : )

\o/

what does "\o/" mean? I keep seeing people use it, but haven't figured it out. : )

hands over head

Giving birth?

hint: the "o" is the head ;)

oh! nice one! : )

lol Tor-Tor! :D

hey, that wasn't so bad! : )

have you finished, Lo?

yup! : )

wow!! congrats!! I haven't recovered from my earlier dashed attempt yet.

Thanks!...think I'll go taunt Anj in babble...LOL! : D

have you started today's grid? I think I've left it too late for myself.

yes, finished there too : )

well double congrats!! lol!! :D

hey lola, do you have msn or aim?

er....yes, msn but I've never used it! : /

my grid is a sea of green and I'm going nowhere... except back to Babble... :D

lol! I am so stuck on this sudoku and I don't know enough about them to understand what I'm doing wrong or where to correct myself! I need someone to give me a shove in the right direction!

or else I'll never *learn*

Son of a . .!

ata - i have aim

ata, addy in profile : )

atalante, if you look in my profile you'll see what you need to put on my name to get my aim screenname

woohoo! thanks guys!

let me know when you've got it so i can take it off again

got it :)

you will be my 7th buddy! send me a message!

k! let me just kick aim into working!

ata, can I leave hursh to help you? Don't want to confuse things : )

not happy...

finished , bt folowed a trail that lead me to the end...

it like just guessing :-)

urf. now aim can't find you - but I loathe aim and it loathes me back! my name there is elegaer if you can find me! but I guess sudoku is pretty impossible to give hints for anyway. perhaps I should just clear the board and start *again*!

ata, clear it and start by looking for the obvious numbers. If you get too carried away with the red and green numbers they will just confuse you : )

*am chilled* serene, happy, all things are possible!

is there an easy way to clear the board?

Yay! Also, I only use green numbers : )

mw, not if you've saved I'm afraid.

congrats, totony! : )

euw... just took a break, returned, looked at my grid, and see a sea of green.... : /

evening all just popped on to put in y grid printed off a copy this morn n finished it at work,i thought it was alot easier than yesterdays

hi sandr. : ) I'm finding today's harder.

hi sandr...me too! : )

well it was for me babbler till i found what i call the key to the puzzle

first time on I.S. I <3 sudoku tho

hi jdog : )

grr. i need a 'clear all' button

sandr - where do you get easier from? i'm struggling here

hi, how are u?

woo hoo another 5 points for me,linda its easier if u work out what cannot go where with this one

never done 'cannot go' before. might be too late today

anyway ill go over to babble now talk to you lot tommorow probally

i've messed up again and haven't got time to go and re-do it. hopefully have an easy one tomorrow. bye for now

i think we need a "clear all" and multiple "undo" buttons

totony, I believe DrG is working on it : )

that would be great :-)

ata, babs...how are you doing? : )

making verrrrrry slow progress, Lo. But I've got half an eye on the football.... ; )

Man City are my team! poor things are losing (as per usual)

well, I need to get some sleep. Another early start tomorrow and I'm helping out at s/p's nursery! : )

wow, I bet that's fun, Lo! All those cute little'uns! :D Sweet dreams and see you tomorrow : ) xxx

Babs, they are down to 10 mn as well... : /

ok, coming back to this evil puzzle.

Anj, it's killing me. I told you my sis is West Ham?

Anj! Was about to go to bed....do you want any help??

Here,..all the help I can get : (

Every strategy i've tried has ended up in an impasse in the centre...

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anj did you see that???

i cannae believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 WOWWWWWWWW!

i cannae believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 WOWWWWWWWW!

well, I was helping ata on msn...wanna do the same?

famous last words: it's amazing what 'starting over' does... i feel like i'm well on my way to success.

don't tempt me

That was a rather good goal!

my heart's still thumping, Anj!! :D:D:D

Lo, I can't run MSN. My system will fail : (

last shoutbox?

Yup, that will do : )

ooh! ooh! mind if I peek?? I need help too! :'(

pretty please?

i don't mind babs : )

ooh! was gonna start crying then, lol! thanks! :D

where;s the shoutbox on this site?

is there an easy way to clear the whole board?

there isn't one here. there is on Last FM. : )

scott: you're in it

oh yeah, this is it for here, lol : )

ah yes,that I am.

never mind. sigh.

Should I be looking for a swordfish?

this one'

I've never used it before.

this one's got a piranha

Anj, are you still there?

I've never heard of a piranha.

it's a fish that bites you! lol : D

sigh. thanks.

(I might have spelt it wrong)

Yup...beavering at this soab : /

middle babe : )

have you finished Babble as well, Anj?

that's the right spelling

guess you're good at babbler!

thanks Jiraya

sorry babble

(i'm not so good!)

I'm not too bad, but there are plenty who are miles better! thanks, Jiraya. Do you play?

WOOHOO!

Solved it

no, english is my second language, so I'm not even trying

Man, that was easier than the last two... those took me hours

what? that West Ham won or you've finished, bjornkri?

hehe reminds me of a joke.. stop me if you've heard it.

So this, whatchamacallit, guy who shovels coal on the train right? He dies and goes to hell.

So the devil walks by on his routine check to see if everyone's miserable enough, and sees this coal guy. He's smiling.

"How come your smiling?" Asks the devil. "This heat," says the guy, "it's just like a nice day by the steam engine."

*smell of burning brain* } /

sssh, Anj! *wags finger*

So the devil, the devilish as he is, won't allow this and turns up the heat. Grins devilishly and all that.

do you have the 5 in the centre box? That was the first one I got.

So the next day everyone is even more miserable. Except the coal guy who's even happier. "How come you're so happy?" asks the devil, annoyed. "This heat," says the guy, "it's just like a warm sunny day by the steam engine."

But the devil is clever and sees where this is going, so this time he turns down the heat, so it's freezing.

The next day howeer, the coal guy is ecstatic. "What the hell! (no pun intended)" excaims the devil, "what are you so happy about now?!"

No : /

"Man City must have won the title!"

... sorry :P

what no's do you have in the middle box?

*gasp* : o !! and I listened patiently and shushed a friend! tsk!

LOL! : D

I said I'm sorry ;)

yeah wasn't that hard. no guessing indeed. good luck all !

Not sure lola, the thing goes blank once you've solved it :\

I'd best ask Anj if he'll forgive me for shushing him. mutter grumble horrendous joke mutter mutter.

But I had a revelation in the lower right box, and that started a chain reaction.

Anj, I'm sorry I shushed you. :'( pls forgive me?

sorry bjorn, that last post was for Anj...will stop being rude now : )

I agree with bzikofski, this was easier than the Medium ones from the last few days

uuh eeh... ok got it

you're not Man U, are you, bjornkri?

I had to look at my fingers while typing that joke, couldn't follow the conversation

I am a man, you.

But no, I'm not even English :P

... whatever that means

noooo! lol! do you support Manchester United football club?

Jiraya, definetely easier than last hard (3 days ago or so..)

Babbler, I got that ;)

But no just about everything but

well that's something in your favour :P

hehehe

My old man is or was a Leeds fan. The reason? They were the easiest team to recognize on a black and white TV :)

*whooshes over head* is their strip b&w then?

clueless

hehe, white. Or they were anyway, think I saw them playing in blue not too long ago

Might be the away kit

that's what I thought. I thought Newcastle were b&w

could be. don't know much about these things : )

Yeah, but on a b&w screen red looks black, so they'd get mixed up with.. uh... Suderland? Southampton?

hehe me neither :P

Anj, yes : )

What do you get if you pay for this, by the way?

Anj, that column is wrong : /

I was just gonna say!! that's not right, Anj

That's where my logic imploded then : /

swap your 2 and 8 : )

swap the 2 and 8

have you finished babs?

no :'(

Uh.. How can you watch each others' games?

we're chatting on another site : )

...sorry, misread my own list. That's what I had...

bjorn, I'm watching you right now } ) LOL!

Ah ok

hehehe

yeah me too, bjorn! boo hahahahahah

} )

I was seriously contemplating giving out my username and password on the medium one the other day :P

Just so I could ask for some hints

bjorn, don't ever do that : /

I know, I know

I managed to guess my way through it in the end ;)

I get to a point where clearing the green and starting fresh is the only way to make progress again.

...just say 'yes, mom'. *sigh* everyone else does...

babs, replied in my shoutbox : )

you star!! :D:DD:

i think another potentially useful feature would be to invert reds to greens or vice versa?

eg 1,3,5,7,9 red becomes 2,4,6,8 green

like a toggle?

yeah... what do you think?

yeah, sounds good : )

how do people use the reds and greens anyway? both at the same time? or exclusively all reds or all greens?

I stick to one, green for go. (too much thinking involved as it is to start thinking "this box is deffo not..." lol)

i stick to green : )

Anj, how're you doing sweets? Lola's getting bags under her eyes : /

gah, just spotted a very obvious number, but I confused myself by misusing the greens. : '( sooooo frustrating!

...badly : ( Go to bed babe, Im a lost cause : ' (

so is there no way to play archived puzzles if you haven't already?

babs, I used the greens a lot less tonight and found it easier : )

awww babe, don't want to leave 'til you're done : (

I've just blown it again...

I don't often fill a grid with potentials. Only when I'm very very stuck

((Anj)) :'(

Okay babe, going to bed then...can't keep my eyes open any more. G'night, sweet dreams (((xx))) : )

'nie babe, thanks for trying ((xx)) : )

nite Lo, sweet dreams (again) : ) I'm taking 5 but I'm still playing, Anj : )

'nite babs : )

OK Babs : )

Oh good grief, i've just fluked it : /

have you finished babe??

Yes, but I haven't a clue how. Total fluke : /

Hey thanks for the encouragement babe : ) x

WOW! good going, Anj! :D

Yay! Well done!...quick slow dance before I really do go to bed??

Reeeaaal slow...I'm out on my feet, lol! : )

Babs, no idea how : /

I guess I'll be here a while longer yet :'(

.

nice name, numbers : )

mmm, me to. Maybe we should just snuggle? ; )

hey, i've heard of hard, but aren't some number supposed to prefill in here?

if i were a guy. that might be tempting

thank you babbler

hi evanonut : )

thank you babbler

oops

hey babs - you got number?

???

Hey 'nut! : )

LOL, behave babe ; )

hay anj

ok i have redone the puzzle and captured it this time so can help if needed

i've got numbers now!

oops wrong account

ok

right, really am going now. g'night(again!)

here is the real me

dummy was me

i had to set up a dummy account to redo the grid

Hursh I fluked it : ?

well if you want help i can give it now!!

hursh, i kinda like that dummy name

you think it apt, nut?

'nite babe : )

uh...no hursh, not at all...i just think it sounds nice

Babs, are you still with us??

yup

:'(

Shoutbox!

got it :D

you're done babs?

nope :'(

i can give hints if anyone wants them

so can i, you're looking for a number between 1 and 9.

I feel like I'm missing something very very obvious (again)

no i mean really

i screencap'd the puzzle before the last number

so i can see it in paint

i think i'd rather logic it out myself

i have also done it twice through, the second time walking through it slowly with bex and atalante as a tutorial

so i am really well versed on this particular puzzle

good for you nut!!

and we love you for it!

oh, hi ata!

i have yet to get my dinner :)

try to forget about it before bed, i had a sudoku dream once, i found it very stressful.

i know, somehow when i look at my cat, i think where do the numbers go on her

it is weird

well if no one here wants help i think i WILL get my dinner

Is an advanced strategy needed for this, or is elimination enough?

i don't know

i don't know what counts as advanced strategy

and i don't know all the funny names like xwing and swordfish

clearly boys made up the strategy names

x-wing is a good name .... the others arent!

I don't know any strategy names either : /

but you notice there aren't any called tulip or anything

Well this looks like a fun site. Are other people here from Babble?

babbler isn't

what is babble?

x-wing could be renamed chocolate box as its kinda just a square

I name this puzzle Piranha!

yeah, there should be a pansy

Babble is another game site by the same person who made this one. www.playbabble.com

ah, thanks!

how many of u got here ...

*us!

ug?

This is the second puzzle I've attempted. I know only the odd-man-out elimination technique..

sounds about right

there's another one, where, if there are 2 boxes with the same 2 numbers, you can eliminate that pair from others in the same box. (if that makes sense)

David, this one if full of multiple choices : / Doesn't make for a stress free environment in my experience, lol

too right you are babbler

Anj? Last?

That does make sense, Babbler

Unfortunately I don't seem to have anything that applies to

same here. doesn't apply today, I think. : /

I'm getting a feel for strategy slowly, even if it's because i'm learning by my mistakes... : /

done!

woot! Ata : )

WOW!! DONE !!! woo hooooooo!!!! thanks Anj! :D

woot hurshy really for help!

Woot! Babs : D

:'D phew! such a good feeling!

I dont get it what am I missing- I still havent gotten one of the middle numbers yet...did everyone else get those last?

I don't have any of them yet.

For strategy, I look for the bigger pattern first, then go for detail. Then I try that pairs thing. Can't think what else I try... : ?

vonesh, the first number I got in the middle box was 1

Vonesh, I found part of the key was the 9 in the middle box. It can only go in two places.

I focused on the one too-maybe I need to take another look at that one

did you play today's Babble, Anj? I didn't. : /

the 1 can only go in one place. (look at the bigger pattern) : )

Babs, I had to as this thing was fibrillating my brinjalls : /

Needed to see some letters, not numbers...

how is today's grid? toughie? friendly?

k - I'm off back to babble!

I had to go to the list with 50 to go, but I wasn't concentrating that well...

I'm going to chill and watch Supernatural. Laters everybody! Thanks again, Anj :D

Done! Once I found where the 5 goes in the center box it all fell magically into place.

I think that was my achilles heel. I kept going with the 9 and *#!$ing up, as Mr Young would sing...

'niters Babs : )

I'm going to scoot as well. My brain is mush... later!

ooohee, dunners

Once I assured myself that it was a logically sound to assume that if a row contained three squares potentially containing: (x,y,z / x,y,z / x,y) it was correct to say that no other squares in that row could contain x or y, it was easy.

exactly

oh goodness i'm stuck

may i offer any assistance, wac?

you could sing me a sad lament

i have the completed puzzle

i actually think i just cracked it

but thanks hurshy

yw

huzzah!

i win!

congrats :)

why thankyou!

well, i guess i'm off

have a wonderful day though!

okay

time to give this another shot!

grrrrrrrrrr

maybe i just shouldn't play on "hard" days!

Keep at it, MoeDog

i am happy to offer assistance to anyone who wants it

hursh, i'm pretty sure i've got all the zeros placed correctly. everything else i'm a little iffy on.... :)

I still haven't placed a single number in the middle. Lots of either two or three slots, but...

lol moedog

scott, same here... still messin with it though

scott, we're probably staring at the same configuration...

my advice is that you fill the whole grid with possibilities, eliminating what you can as you go. don't try to figure too much out while you have a lot of blanks

patience is the key, not miraculous insights

right now my board is marked to hell with green

you need never "follow" a what-if trail

haxored, tell me the greens you have in the bottom row

heh

in the bottom row I have

seriously

7,9 - 7,5,9 - 7,8,9 - 2,4,5,8 - 4,2 - 7,8

the only one I have complete is the 6 in the bottom left box

ok, so you see how you have 3 boxes with only some combo of 7 8 and 9?

brb

only one has 7 8 9

yes but one has 79

and one has 78

yes

if nothing but those 3 numbers can go in those boxes, then they MUST go there

and none of them can go anywhere else in that row

aaah. I should have thought of that, of course.

That's a 'triplet' or some such thing.

Still not following you

so what that means then, haxored, is that the other boxes where you have green 7's and 9's can't have 7's and 9's.

you couldn't put anything but 7, 8, 9 in those 3

so you have to put 7,8,9 there in some order (which we don't know yet)

but we do know that they will be used up

and they cannot go in the other spaces in that row

so for example if the fifth box in the bottom row has 5,7,9, it has to be 5, because the 7 and 9 are going to be in the other boxes.

exactly, scott

this principle also applies within a group of nine, not just rows and columns, of course

i've done this with pairs but not triplets in the past.

same idea :)

once you get the 5, you can eliminate it from everywhere else in that group and column

so you may start with a lot of green

but you will whittle it away bit by bit

moving now...

lotsa green :)

okay, i should've followed that, but i don't.

the whole thing, moe?

i'm in the same boat - just the 6 filled in

I must be going crazy cause I can't put anything in that bottom row and be sure about it

i don't know what you're talking about with "green" numbers

that opened a lot.

have you marked the possibles, moe?

dunno how to mark the possibles

ah... moe... read how to play

hax, in the box where you have 5,7,9 -

READ?? ;) ok, brb

wait, forget that for a second.

ah - shift-click for possibles

you have a 7,8 - 7,9 - 7,8,9 in the bottom row, right?

I was wrong about that last group
it's 7,8,9

that's fine too hax

the point is, 3 numbers, 3 boxes. they must go there

ok, so you have three groups; one is 7,8, one is 7,8,9, one is 7,8,9. is that right?

79 and two 789s

ok. so then you will have to put a 7 in one of those, right? because if those were the only three boxes and you didn't put a 7 in any of them, you'd end up with two 9's or two 8's.

right

ok. so somewhere else in that row you have a 5,7,9. right?

yes

but that box can't have a 7, because you know you had to put a 7 in one of the three other boxes.

same goes for the 9

making that box...

5. ok

that's a huge deal, it turns out.

that gives me my first value for the middle 3x3

which means if you have a 5 as a possible in any other box in that group, you can remove it, for that group has its 5

at this point, with just that insight, I've been able to fill in almost every slot.

really, that is all you need to solve any sudoku, even the most evil.

i'm doing good to scotty... i'm givin it time

indeed.

I've never done the triplet before. I can blaze through anything easier than that though

Wait wait, which insight?

some puzzles are easy and you might not need that

but on the harder ones you do

in fact, enough to solve the whole puzzle

:)

done!

congrats, scott

awright scott!

thanks for that info hurshy it helped me finish this one up

okay, I need a little more guidance here. I have 7,5,3 - 7,5,3 - 7-9-3. What can I do with that?

Ah... hmm... I'm starting to figure it out

u talking bottom left box, hax?

yeah

I've got the same, plus a 7,9

yeah

hax, you can't do anything with that at the moment, you need to do possibles for other squares

So now it starts to fall into place.

then later those will resolve

thanks all!

yw scott

Thanks, scott

and hurshy, indirectly, it seems

)

err, :)

if you fill up your whole grid with possibles and look for pairs and triples and use that to eliminate them from other boxes, you will be able to solve any sudoku

:)

you just have to be willing to let it look ugly at first with lots of possibles

it's like cooking

what do you mean by pairs and triples?

It's not the ugliness I mind. It's the tedium of holding shift and clicking 50 times :)

well, yes

but you can try websudoku.com - you can type the numbers there

I am making progress though

thanks :)

jdog - if you have a pair of numbers - say - 4 and 8, that can only go in two boxes, but you don't know which is which...

you at least know that they don't go anywhere ELSE in that group (or row or column, as the case may be).

do you get that, jdog?

ahhh, I see...

the same principle applies if you have 3 numbers and 3 boxes

hursh, if you have in a box 6,9; 6,8,9 and 8,9, you can't do anything with those, right?

ty!

you can know that the 6 8 and 9 don't go elsewhere

but you don't know which is which yet, diane

in that box - but they could go elsewhere in that row or column, right?

which means you could remove any possibles in the rows and columns involving those three boxes, right?

yes

yes diane

some people make the mistake of thinking

that if you have a 4,8 pair in a column, those don't go anywhere else in each of their rows

but that is not right because each of those rows will need both a 4 and and 8

you can only apply the principle within the row, column, or group in which the pair or triple is contained

so it is nicest when a pair appears together in a group

in the same row or column

Uht-oh, I'm stuck again... but I'm probably not seeing the complete effect of what I've just done

that often happens, david

you must just look carefully to see that you have removed everything you should based on what you've filled in.

Aha!

occasionally you must look to find a row or a group wherein there is only one of some number in all your possibles, in order to get moving again. but not in this one, only in the highest level difficulty.

:)

Actually, that's what I was doing.. :/

I think.

well it will work, david

it just isn't necessary

all it means is that you overlooked something

Sort of a brute-force approach..

but there is nothing wrong with doing it the long way

yes!

I don't have a grasp of the techniques yet

that's pretty much it, david. i mean, you look for obvious things first, then you use pairs and triples within the possibles and gradually eliminate.

you want to start with groups or rows or columns where you have a lot of stuff

so that you don't have too many possibles to begin with

and if you do it right, you will never have more than 5 possibles in a box.

How's that?

dunno exactly

i'm sure there is a technical mathematical explanation

it is just what i have found to be true

and i have done like a thousand of these in the past week

i have a box with six possibilities at the moment

pat, that just means you shouldn't be filling in that box yet :)

you should hold off until you've done others.

me, too, patgas

oh, i thought you meant you would never have a box with more than 5 ever

my rule of 5 only works if you go in a good order.

no, obviously at the beginning you would have chaos

that is why you fill in most obvious things first, and work first with things where you have a lot of stuff.

chaos is a good way to describe this

but, again, it is like cooking.

you start out with nice neat ingredients.

you make a big mess

Yay!

and it doesn't necessarily look like it's turning into anything

but in the end, it does, and you clean up the mess, and all is well, and you have a nice cake.

i guess you're done, david?

:)

Yes. :)

congrats.

Thanks for the help!

3 points?

yw

I thought it was 5.

it is 5

Must've changed today?

no

I got five.

I got 3 points just now

mine said i got five

check the how to play page

hax - perhaps you are suffering from number confusion :)

OH

i guess he DID change it

i don't think that's right, i've definitely gotten 10 points for expert

yeah

and I just got the shaft. *sob*

It does say three points for hard puzzles, but I got five

yes pat but maybe dr_g decided that was too much

so if you finished earlier today you got more!

i am surprised he didn't wait until a new puzzle to apply it

I agree

poor hax, i'm so sorry

but you know what

he may be planning to go back and adjust everyone's totals

I reloaded the page and now it says three points have been added to my ranking

see, dr_g is fair :)

What happened to the logo?

heh, it's no big deal though

It seems to have black lines through it now

at the top?

I'm just pretending to be cranky. :)

Yeah

i have no black lines and i refreshed too

Hmm.

refresh again

see if they go away

Nope, but it's okay in Opera

what were you in before

Perhaps I need to restart Firefox

that reminds me, i need to do a system restore on my computer

if everyone is all set now, perhaps this would be a good time

Go ahead

Good luck, hurshy

Restarting Firefox fixed it :)

thank you :)

I'm still confused. I'm fine with the twins, but I have no triplets

at least that are identical, with three boxes in a row or box or column that have the same, and only the same, 3

It works if you have a,b,c twice and a,b once

oops. I ended up with a blank box

;S

Uht-oh

ok, my bottom row: empty: 7,9; 7,5,9; 7,8,9; 2,4,5,7,8,9; 2,4; 7,8,9.

three boxes with the idential 7,8,9 - two with only that, the third with 3 extra numbers

The principles scale up. 2 with 2, 3 with 3, 4 with 4. X-Wing is 2 columns/rows with only 2 possibilities, Swordfish is 3 with 3.

You can't use the one with extra numbers but you can use the one with 7,9

That's actual a quad: 7, 5, 8, 9 It shoudl reduce to -,79,579,789,24,24,789

ok, so let me get in on this, 7-9; 7-8-9; 7-8-9... what can you conclude?

nothing, sorry - except no 7, 8, 9 exlsewhere in that row.

gotcha

You have three squares with only three possibilities, so those three possiblities won't show up elsewhere in the row

caderoux is quicker and smarter :)

more addicted...

Hehe

yeah, i am getting that way :)

How do you clear off all the numbers to start over?

The insight on that row broke the puzzle for me

I couldn't get anywhere with it

I understand that - but I don't understand what happens if extra numbers are added, or how I can use the 7,9 along with the two 7,8,9s

There's a Greasemonkey for that - http://www.userscripts.org/scripts/show/3519

click on that square and click Clear

I thought there was a quick shortcut besides doing it one square at a time.

Only the Greasemonkey right now.

caderoux.... wow

:) addicted is right

Not my script.

just that you know about it... well understandably you prolly learned about it from someone... ok i'll shutup

Diane: Can you clarify?

ok, bottom row:

i'm back, let me try to explain to diane again :)

7,9 - 5.7.9 - 7,8,9 - 2,4,5,7,8,9 - 2,4 - 7,8,9

the deal is this diane: the 7,8,9 boxes, along with the 7,9 box, are a triple because...

even though they don't all appear in all boxes, NOTHING BUT THOSE 3 can go in those boxes, so those 3 MUST GO in those boxes, in some order.

ah . . .

this means that those 3 cannot go in any other boxes in that row, so you may eliminate them as options

which leaves you with...

a light bulb!

well i meant a 5

but it may leave you with a light bulb

:-)

Hehe

leaving me with 7,9 - 5 - 7,8,9 - 2,4,5 - 2,4 - 7,8,9

Sorry, when I first looked at it, I thought it wasn't a triple. So, yes, that reduces the whole row a lot further.

ok, so now you have one box filled

your 2,4,5 is actually a 2,4 now

and you can then eliminate that 5 from every other box in its row, column, and group

y

because that row has a 5, it can't have another

you get it now diane?

Did you restore already, hurshy?

yes i did

That was quick

I think - except I accidently deleted my greens in the middle box of the bottom row :( - took me a minute to get it back.

well you just tell it to do it and it just reboots

Oh, okay

system restore is just a thing you do to set your computer back in time

that way if you have anything unwanted it goes away

but it doesn't affect documents or anything, so it is really perfect

I never use it but I ought to know more about it

it isn't often needed

but when it is you are very thankful for it

i had downloaded something, uninstalled it, but it had left something behind

you just go into control panel and you'll see it

under "performance and maintenance" or something

question...

query away

oh nevermind i answered myself :) i think

Y'all have fun

I'll probably be back tomorrow

Thanks again, hurshy

nice seeing you david mitchell, and you're welcome

thanks hurshy, finished it!

yw and congrats :)

how do they calculate rankings? I got 3 points?

we don't know yet, the site is only a week old

in babble we have 3 types of ranking

so maybe he'll do more than one thing

but my guess is he'll just add them up

what is babble?

rankings don't come out until april 1 anyway.

babble is the greatest game in the world

i thought sudoku was! ;-)

umm...

anyway, dr_god, who just created this site, created babble, a few years ago

or maybe golf

what's the website?

www.playbabble.com

FINALLY!

Thanks, hurshy & others!

yw :)

I give up on this puzzle. I restarted and I hate it

I have one box that can't contain any #'s, and 3 in the same row that just say 7 or 9

I have one box that can't contain any #'s, and 3 in the same row that just say 7 or 9

I have one box that can't contain any #'s, and 3 in the same row that just say 7 or 9

And I normally get these without any problems

sorry for the repeat

tp17, are you really giving up or would you like help?

I'm going to try again after my hockey game I guess

you can read the whole chat log, you know

using the button on the right

if you look back a little ways you will find help

I know.... but thanks for the help!

after your game i mean

i thought hockey season was over...

can some one help me with this game please

yes, alika

what do you need?

hurshy... HELP! I keep ending up with either two 5s or two 9s in the same row :/

hi mac

are you starting over at the moment?

hi :)

no

alright, are you at a point where you are sure everything is ok, at least?

I'm wondering if I made a mistake early on

I thought so... but who knows

well you could ask me if a certain box is correct for starters if you wish

okay... the middle box, I have from left to right, top to bottome...

errr, bottom...
7,7 / 1,5,7,8 / 1,5,7,9 / 5,7,9 / 7.8 as possibilities

ooops, make that first one 7,5

wait, i am confused, is that all in one row... or...

no, the middle bottom cube

oh middle BOTTOM

ok

Hrm, This one's a toughie.

and what do you have for possibles in the far right bottom square?

i got 7 boxes in and i'm swamped

7,8 9

and how about the bottom row third column?

oh, that's what I just gave you - I have two numbers set and then the last box in the bottom corner is... 7.8.9

i know but i am referring to the grid as a whole

i want you to focus on the bottom row, 3rd, 6th, and 9th boxes

the very last box at the far right at the bottom, I have... 7,8,9

ok, so you have 3 boxes in that row with no numbers in them other than 7, 8 or 9, correct?

hi hurshy - its hard isnt it - but im done!!

congrats sandyloo :)

no, i have numbers in that box

i am giving periodic tutorials

lol i print it out and work on it while im watching tv ( i print a few copies)

mac, in the 3rd, 6th, and 9th boxes of the bottom row, you have possibles only, don't you?

yes

and those possibles are 7, 8, 9 (not necessarily all 3)

yes

ok, so think about that.

if there are 3 boxes, and no numbers but those three numbers can go in those boxes, then those numbers MUST go in those boxes, in some order yet to be found.

so that means that those numbers canNOT go in any other boxes in that row, and you may remove them as possibilities in those other boxes.

I understand that concelpt, but when I get done with everything else, I end up with the two 5's or 9s :/

*concept

at the very end?

or soon?

yes

well then you have just been careless that is all

lol, leave it to me

if you place a number, you must be careful to immediately remove it from every other box in its group, row, and column

otherwise it will mess you up later

I do - but for whatever reason, this one is kicking my butt

well, keep at it mac, just go slowly and be patient

patience ran out long ago, lol

Still helping out us novices, hurshy? :)

attempting to :)

hax, i only started about a week ago

i had never done sudoku before dr_g created this site

so in some sense i am a novice too

I think part of my problem is I haven't had any sleep for over 24 hours :/

hurshy - If I have (7,4,3), (7,2,3), (7,4,2,3) and (4,2) in a row, does it work as a quadruble like the triple you just explained?

sudoku, like driving, should not be done without a clear head

*quadruple

oh. cool. I've been playing for a long time, but never really got into the advanced strategies

yes, robo, however, at that point you usually already knew the other things in the row for sure or as other pairs, so it doesn't tend to do much good

all right. thanks.

all right. thanks.

oops

the basic idea is just, whatever number of boxes you have, if you have that many numbers and no others, those numbers must go there.

i do it too

i didn't know they were advanced strategies, hax, they were just things i figured had to be true

when i heard there were advanced strategies i thought they would be really cool crazy stuff, and it turned out there was nothing beyond what i had already been doing

well aren't you miss smarty pants :)

:P

i guess it's cause i like spock

logic, you know

Okay, so if I eliminate 7,8,9 from the 2 other boxes in the last row, I get a single number in box 5, yes?

yes you do tor!

So I got that going for me ..

and then that number can no longer be a choice anywhere else in its group

or in its column

That gives me another number in that group ..

indeed it does

and if you consider the 5's as a whole you may find out something else

That gives me the first box in the center group ..

yes!

and then you can find a couple more in that group if you look

I don't understand this game

when you say don't understand, what level are we talking?

are we talking, you don't know the goal?

or what?

strategy

after that, torgone, you should keep filling in possibles and looking for more pairs and triples, and whenever you fill in a number, make sure you eliminate it from everywhere else in its group, row, and column

thanks a lot

4th column complete ..

evenin sudoku-ers!
;)

wood, was that real or sarcastic?

hi evanadine!

real

I bet it was really sarcastic ;)

sorry woodhood. I had to :D

heya hurshy
i probably shouldnt have started this one just now -- im already tired!

oh ok, so you are picking up stuff from what i've been saying?

hax - don't cause trouble! :)

easier said than done O:-)

I can't answer all these questions, I'm trying to get some fives in

lol

yes evanadine, i did state earlier that sudoku, like driving, should only be done with a clear head

btw, hurshy... I have an all grey kitty too :)

Aha! Now I see where erred several times before ..

oh, this one is striped, but another of mine is all grey

My kitty is gray with brown/black stripes. She's a real stinker sometimes

the one in this picture has a white chin and stomach, and her tummy has grey spots in orderly rows and columns (like sudoku!)

she is VERY pretty

this is her model pose

Mine is a male with a very cranky meow

lol

my boy cat has the most pathetic meow of any of my 3

it's very high pitched and cute

i named him marty after marty mcfly

I had an orange tabby once and he squeaked instead of meowing

but he also reminds me of chip in beauty and the beast

I named mine Nomi.

lol

nomi--- that means something in japanese...

Mine's name is... Bongo

flea

bongo bongo bongo

it means flea, among other things

wood, tor, you guys doing ok?

this is impossible

I actually picked it because, at a former employer, one of the sales reps at a company we bought promotional materials from was named Nomi

I just liked the name, that's all. It wasn't in her honor or anything :D

it is a cool name

it's like claus nomi

i would tell people to read the chat log for tips but it is cut off at 3:50 this afternoon for some reason

it's like claus nomi

is that happening to everyone's chat log?

yeah, sometimes, it comes up blank

patently unhelpful

I blame firefox

Almost . . .done . . . must .get . .last FEW . . . . squares . . .MUST . .keep talkinglike . . . . .Shatner . . .

lol

heh, i still have y entire center cube empty

that is ok evanadine

3 points!

congrats, torgone!

Is it wrong that I want to stay up late in order to play tomorrow's puzzle?

yes hax

I thought so. :)

i've been doing it for days with babble and it's very very wrong

Thanks a ton, hurshy! I owe you 4 hours of my life ..

Congrats, torgone!

babble is definitely not my game

oh, tor, that's perfect, when can i claim them?

my house needs vacuuming.

On demand, and in whatever way you see fit ..

of course knowing what to do is also going to save you many hours in the future

so really i think you should just become my slave for life :)

Well, it is just a game .....

lol

I keed!

I'm yours.

babble is the greatest game on the fa-fa-face of the er-er-earth

to paraphrase lou gehrig

tor, i will emancipate you, on condition that you share the light of your newfound knowledge with those in need

I hadn't thought about the 3 square combos. I just haven't studied it that much .. I will try to pass on your wisdom ..

i didn't realize before that it wasn't obvious to everyone.

today i figured people must not know it or they wouldn't have so much trouble

blech starting over. i find if i come back to it, i might as well start all over

whew.. done

congrats, road

thx

is it that hard??

not if you know what you're doing, terfle?

i've done a few...not an expert

btw, torgone, i hope i don't sound horribly snobbish. sometimes i am too candid.

well terfle, practice makes perfect

stupid center square... ;/

usually 1/2 through these I have the thought "oh...thats what makes this one so difficult"

Doesn't bother me, hurshy. That's what confidence sounds like ..

thanks tor. funny, though, in real life i am not a hugely confident person. i was very shy as a kid, except in the classroom. social settings are much harder for me than task-oriented ones.

I'll drink to that

hax, is that you in your picture?

yeah

are you in college?

http://www.chipt.com/pictures/freaky_me.jpg (large version)

sweet.. finally wrapped this one up

congrats, shaiman

Nope. I'm all grown up

:)

thanks, hurshy

yw

well folks, i think it is time for me to be going

east coast girl

it's been lovely, and i shall see you on the morrow

Thanks for all you help, hurshy.... I think I've almost got it :)

oh, glad to hear it mac!

*your help

night all!

Bye hurshy. And thankx again. I'm off for a bit of babble.

have fun tor

hey

maybe I'm still learning...but it seems that you have to guess on this puzzle...is that correct/

No

no

done.......................!

never, ever guess

Any correctly made Sudoku (which is every professionally done puzzle) means you won't have to guess

there was 25 minutes of my life i'll never see again------good night everyone

so i'm stuck

lol Gnight HK

i started about 15 minutes ago

help!

:)

This one's pretty hard

serious?...ok someone help me then...all of the number are unique for vertical and horizontal lines...and within each 9 square space. what do I do now?

I should have said..."I've got it to a point where...."

How far would you say you are terfle?

it should tell you congratulations

unless there is a mistake you haven't spotted...

wait sorry...I'm talking about my green marks

just turn them all into black marks (no shift)

Terfle, how many actual numbers have you filled in that you are certain of?

and you're done (until midnight)

I can't make a logical decision based the vertical,horizontal or 9 square boxes

one more blinkin 7 and i'd have a game on my hands...

I already have maybe 12 boxes filled in

yes, exactly! was about to say that. stupid 7's!

Yeah, 7s the freak in this one

Terfle: OK, you're around 30%...which I'm only slightly past :)

Next step, start by finding the 9-cell boxes with the fewest gaps and deducing what must be there...

By comparing them with the vert/horizontal lines

so do you have to think of it like chess? If I put this here then this will do this and that will do that....blah blah blah

os x 10.3.9 / safari 1.3.2.... i cannot get the shift or option commands to work -- is anyone else having trouble with this ?

do you have firefox, iluke?

twinkie: yes, it doesn't work in FF either :-\

weird

I should say that I understand the basics of this game...and have all of the green makes filled out and 30% of the puzzle completed

Terfle: personally I end to think of them Like the old Lewis Carroll logic puzzles

i have ff and it works ok--maybe quit out and restart ff?

But I'm only passably good at these, so my advice probably won't make it super easy. :)

twinkie: i'll give it a shot!

brb :)

iLuke...do you have caps on/

don't know if that would make a difference

terfle: tried it with and without caps in both FF and Safari

iLuke: It's not the first click where you need the midufuer key, it's the second.

modifier

caderoux: oi! you may have just solved me many many hours of pen&paper solving

thx!!

terfle - change your green singletons to black

http://www.puzzle.jp/keys/sudoku_mid01-e.htm
l

that's a locked candidate which results in a single

http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php

is there a way to clear the whole puzzle after I've already saved?

Right now only this Greasemonkey script: http://www.userscripts.org/scripts/show/3519

finally... 30 mins to spare :)

i've returned :)

to realise i'm stuck :S

same here

and ive tried guessing, and im completely stuck

Damn, I messed up something. Can I revert back to another save?

those who are stuck: are you using the little green potential numbers?

yeah loads of them

try going through and making sure you didn't forget to delete any.

then look for situations where, even though you can't tell what square is what, you can tell that, say, 4 has to be in the lowest line of the upper-right box.

im using all the subscripts, if thats what u want to call them

but there are 3 or 4 spots that 2 spots could be either this or that number

once you eliminate as many little green numbers as you can, look through for any of them that only show up once in a line/box/column, or are alone in a square... and remember to delete the affected numbers when you fill someplace in

you probably missed deleting one.

im currently checking my work again

i'm missing so many squares that i have no green numbers that could go just once

im thinking that i have the same situation

you need to look for the ones that you can tell are only in one of a few squares... if in one box, a number only appears in the bottom row, then in the other boxes that share rows, that number must be in the higher rows

or if any two squares in a row have only "4 7" in them, you know that nothing in the rest of the row can be 4 or 7.

*nods*

yes, i have all the red numbers marked, and have been guessing via green numbers and nothing, so i have deleted all green numbers, and still cant see anything

I've never tried it with red numbers, I just use the green numbers

i get these situations where 2 boxes could be both this and that number based on what i have filled ind, and cant go any further

scan through the whole puzzle really carefully, and make sure you haven't missed filling in the red number.

i think 'backwards' of the way you do it, i just wait until there are 8 numbers that you know it cant be, as opposed to narrowing it down to 1 # it can be

aight

Argh. I messed something up earlier today.

Can I clear all?

manually

dunno, this is my first time running this program.

raggedy: that makes it hard to see the harder patterns