Mastering Sudoku Week by Week: 52 Steps to Becoming a Sudoku Wizard

Finally, a book on Sudoku that truly can be your guide to realms undiscovered. Thank you, Paul, for breaking this down step by step. I have discovered some new strategies that have really helped me solve some fiendish brain-rackers. I have had some difficulty in understanding the more advanced concepts at first, but soon I am able to put the pieces together and can transfer the new skills and concepts to my work. I also like how the book gives a name to some of the strategies that I have developed on my own. I think it is a wise concept to introduce one logic per week...it takes time to digest each new concept before building on a new one. Get it!!!!

....but don't let the size fool you, there is a lot in here. This is not only a great sudoku technique book, this is one of the best "how to" books I've ever read. It goes from the most basic techniques to the most advanced, and at every step of the way provides sample sudokus to illustrate the concept under review. Each successive section of the book builds on the previous section. I have also looked at the Mensa book, and that one is not laid out anywhere near as clearly or logically. And I have gotten major results. In a few weeks (of admittedly spending WAY too much time doing these puzzles, I have gone from being a rank beginner to just having completed my first "extreme" puzzle. In short, this is a great book for a great price!

I am new to Sudoku having just discovered sudoku about a month ago. The other books I bought are the Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku by Peter Gordon which seems to be thought of as the bible of sudoku and Sudoku Master Class by Tom Sheldon. All three seem to be excellent instructional books but ... I think this deceptively small book by Stephens is a GEM. This book is ABOUT LEARNING TECHNIQUE and is NOT a mere collection of puzzles. In this sense, this book is a rarity; the book that seems to have the reputation for being an in-depth approach to technique is the Gordon book. I think I prefer Stephen's book. Like the larger, better known and highly praised book by Gordon, the Stephens book presents a very comprehensive collection of techniques from the most simple to such quite advanced techniques as XY Wing, Swordfish, etc. with each technique accompanied by puzzle(s) so the reader can use the technique in a puzzle. I began with the Stephens book because it seemed the most user friendly. Why?? Unlike the Gordon book, the puzzles in the Stephens book are clearly labeled as to their level of difficulty - "easy", "moderate", "hard" and "extreme" and at the bottom of each puzzle meant for the reader to complete is the time that a "novice", "improver" and "expert" would take to complete it as well as a line for the readers to enter their own time. This awareness of how your time compares seems a great learning tool. Also, this is one of very few books I have come across, so far, that is, from the beginning of its 176 pages to the last page, totally dedicated to explanation of technique with no separate section of just puzzles ... that section, in most sudoku books, is the whole book. This allows you to keep the decision about what you need from a collection of puzzles separate. I find myself leaning toward collections that are all one level. Especially nice is that the language is clear and concise. I find some sudoku authors such as Carol Vorderman define a word with itself by just starting to use it and never present a clear definition. Finally, there is a really nice section on sudoku on the internet. Both the Stephens and the Gordon books have grids that are too small to provide the space necessary to work especially as one progresses to more difficult puzzles. But who says you are limited to making entries for the puzzle directly into the book?? Alternatives?? Well, one thing that I do is create my own blank grids on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, xerox a bunch and copy the puzzle from the book onto a page ... usually, with the starter numbers in a different color. Another alternative could be to invest in one of the numerous types of sudoku boards: I was amazed to discover the variety - wood, magnetic, dry erase board, etc. that can be used with any sudoku puzzle. Because I have had too many attempts to erase numbers result in huge dark smudges that make everything else almost impossible to read, I was quickly more than ready to

I've been doing Sudoku for a year now and this book immediately improved my game so I'm now at the Challenger level(****). I have not even finished it yet. Thank God books like this have just started to come out. A straight forward book, well written. One gripe I have, which include all Sudoku books, is small grids. The harder the puzzle, the bigger the piece of paper I need to solve. I just can't get all the possible numbers in such tiny boxes. I feel the grids need to be bigger. My success rate improved once I found books with larger grids.