Tri-Doku

I really love this new form of Sudoku puzzle. My daughter borrowed it and now can work the hard ones. Fun to do.

Tri-Doku is a fascinating and challenging variant on sudoku...the rules are simple, but the strategy becomes complex in the more challenging puzzles. The rules are clearly explained and illustrated; the puzzles are arranges in four levels of increasing difficulty. A must-have for sudoku fans.

I am a longtime Sudoku fan, despite my deeply held belief that I am not pronouncing it correctly. I have to admit that, although the puzzles are fun and challenging, they do tend to get somewhat repetitive for me. Maybe I haven't studied enough of the advanced techniques or perhaps I'm simply unable to appreciate the subtleties that present themselves in the various puzzles. At any rate, stumbling across this Tri-doku book in a local B & N was a pleasant surprise. I thumbed through the book and was curious enough about how the puzzles worked to buy a copy. Once I brought the book home I sat at the kitchen table trying to familiarize myself with all the rules, of which there are a fair amount. Once I was immersed enough in the instructions I dove into my first puzzle with a #2 pencil (more on that later). After many mistakes and frustrations I finally got the hang of it and I am now officially hooked. The puzzles offer (to me anyways) so many more twists and "a-ha moments" than traditional Sudoku and are much more addictive. Of course your mileage may vary. Given that there are about 10,000x more Sudoku titles than Tri-doku (I think this book is the sole one, in fact) maybe it appeals to a much smaller type of puzzle solver. At any rate, if you are looking for a unique twist on this phenomenon you should go over to the author's site (http://www.tridoku.com) to read the rules and give some of the puzzles a test spin. If you are at all like me you'll probably be purchasing the book soon after. Now. The pencil thing. I found that, unlike most other puzzles you might work on, a pencil -- for this book anyway -- is a poor choice. This is more of a statement about the type of paper the puzzles are printed on than the puzzles themselves. I found that a black ball-point pen worked best and -- if you're careful -- was adequate even with the occasional goof. Using a pencil results in dull, very light numbers that don't erase off the page very well. I suppose I could take a star off my rating for this but the puzzles are just too damn cool.

Wow, I've done about 20 puzzles so far and enjoy the new challenge. I will be done with this book quickly because I can't put it down. I hope the author plans to make more because I'll have withdraw symptoms. If you like Sudoku, you'll love this one too!!!

These puzzles are great! If you enjoy Sudoku but are bored with the same old thing, these puzzles use the same kind of logic but with a new twist. Beware: they will keep you up at night! I can't wait for more books by this author!