5 comments about 1001 Sudoku: A Huge Collection of the 21st Century's Hottest Puzzle.

1. I saved the first 500 or so puzzles for my grown daughter, who is just getting into Sudoku, but have spent weeks working through the other 500 puzzles and still have a couple hundred to go. Lots of puzzles for the money.



2. This kept me going for hours. It is very good and has a lot of interesting and unique activities. I liked it.



3. A book that is large enough for even the best couch potatoes! Large print, big enough boxes for notes. Love it!



4. I am hooked on Sudoku and it takes my spare time even if only a couple of minutes. Which is why I rely on the categories, I usually expect Easy to only take me a couple of minutes; even with medium I don't need to take notes. Unfortunately that is not the case with this set of puzzles. In fact, the very first one in the Easy category wasn't that 'easy'. But then some of the hard ones are actually easy.
   
   There are a lot to do and it will be fun. If not for the poor editing I would have rated it 5 stars.



5. I've ordered this book three times - you can keep doing the same puzzles over and over because you'll never remember the solutions!

No comments about Will Shortz Presents Triple Threat Sudoku: 200 Hard Puzzles.

3 comments about Mario Party 8: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides) (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. With all the hype and excitement over the latest chapter in the Mario Party franchise, and its debut for the Nintendo Wii, many gamers wonder if it is worth it. They'll find out not just when they play the game, but with this guide from Prima. The guide for Mario Party 8 is a simple and easy to use guide that highlights all the 70+ minigames and unlockables, including hidden characters like Blooper. The maps here are detailed nicely, and shows how simple it is to play each of the games with the Wii remote. While there hasn't been a strategy guide for the Mario Party franchise since Mario Party 5 on the Gamecube, this is well worth the hype. I definitely recommend this as a must buy for new Wii owners, and Mario Party fans alike. Party on!!!
   
   Price: B+
   
   Maps: B
   
   Overall: B 1/2+



2. this is a great game not only for kids, but for adults too. My wife and I play this game with our 5 and 7 year old all the time, we enjoy it as much as they do. The only thing that we dislike about it is that we cant seem to figure out how to open a new board or open up new characters and the book doesn't explain how. Maybe some day we will figure it out.



3. What else can I say? The games are good, the mini-games are fun, the graphics are great, but there's no real need for a player's guide. Still, some people feel the need to own all game guides...If this is your style, don't hesitate to buy it. We have all the Mario Parties for the GC, GBA, DS and now this one...but we won't be buying any more guides for the various MP games.

1 comments about Simon & Schuster Super Crossword Book 9: The Biggest and the Best (Simon & Schuster Super Crossword Books).

1. This series of crossword books by Simon and Schuster are great for the crossword lover who is bored by the "too easy" crosswords in the books available at most newstands. The puzzles are challenging but mostly do-able. If you're looking for something that stretches your brain a little, but isn't downright impossible, try any of the books in this series.

5 comments about Rogue Galaxy (DoubleJump Official Game Guide).

1. This being about the eight millionth Strategy Guide I've used, it suddenly occured to me that I should be a bit more methodical about reviewing them. After all, no one reads a Strategy Guide from cover to cover. Instead, they glance at it a bit and then start playing. It's not until you run into a tricky situation that you will grab for the guide. At that point organization and access to information are critical.
   
   Take this guide. The walkthrough is actually only about a third of the book. It is terse, but sufficient. The maps are a bit crude but adequate for the most part. The weakness is in access to information. Don't get me wrong, the information is there, and mostly accurate. But it is arranged so that you may have to visit several different charts to piece together the answer to a question. This is irritating when what you are trying to do is accumulate enough kills to meet a particular monster quota or create a better weapon from those currently available.
   
   Another key question is whether the guide actually enhances the game. This can be important, especially in this day and age where sidequests and special contests are squirrelled away so that the average player armed with the usual skinny game manual will miss them, even after several plays. This quide comes through here, providing information that will nearly double play time. Rogue Galaxy is a game with a wealth of extras in it and the guide will get you to them.
   
   Oddly enough the big extra in this Strategy Guide is that it actually devotes some time to strategy. Rogue Galaxy can be played several ways, everything from hack and slash, run for the conclusion to my style that compulsively seeks to work through every nook of the game code. The guide takes the time to cover these options in a game where overall goals will effect game play.
   
   So this guide could have been better, but is good enough to significantly improve the game experience. There are a couple of errors, as another reviewer has noted, but nothing fatal. In other words, if you follow the Guide you will win the game and enjoy doing so.



2. This guide is full of tips and hints on the gameplay. Most of the information is quite detailed and very useful. However, the Factory diagrams are a bit confusing and the Frog Log is a bit overwhelming. But overall, the guide does a good job of leading you through the game for a thorough gaming experience.



3. This is a very thourogh guide that covers everything in the game. It even covers all the new features only found in the american release of the game. If you appreciate a guide that can help you find absolutely everything there is to find in a game then this is the guide you need.



4. The Guide is informative, if nothing else, it can help in a few key spot's, though, like many official guides, tends to miss out on varying strategies for bosses or dungeon's.
   
   I only wish picture's included were more informative than most guides provide.
   
   Another thing I would like to see recommended more often is included levels/skills and thing's, which, this guide has though it does not go in too deep as to why they are so useful.
   
   And another, mayhaps it is better suited as a strategy if the writer's went through the game at lower levels, giving challenge to each strategy and thusly really giving meat to the guide.
   
   Still, it is a great guide for what it is and very helpful when needed.



5. As a Doublejump strategy guide you expect the best walkthroughs and the most in depth charts and guides and maybe some extras (artwork, interviews etc.) and you get that for the most part. At almost 400 pages (with only about 100 dedicated to the walkthrough)this guide is huge and the best part about it is that all of the pages include pertinent and relevant information, absolutely no fluff and the charts are colorful, easy to read and in the case of the weapon fusion guide fun to wade through. The walkthrough is spoiler free and the maps are large and each item is clearly marked. The layout on each page is very colorful with beautiful artwork throughout and the design of the sections (a general layout of the game, the walkthrough, optional quests, sidequests and weapon, monster and items charts at the end) allows you to stay the course and at the same time jump the gun if you want to do that. However there are two major flaws with the guide:
   
   1. The weapon fusion/optimal weapon chart is not always correct (you'll have to go online to find the correct ones, try Gamefaqs). Early in the game this is a big annoyance because it makes it difficult to get the desired weapon, later on as you get the more powerful weapons it won't matter as much because all the different combinations of fusing eventually lead to a single powerful weapon.
   
   2. The other big flaw in the game is the factory chart is printed in reverse! From a top down view all of the northern parts should be on the south and vice-versa. I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why my factory wouldn't work till I finally solved the problem.
   
   If you can overlook those two problems then get this guide. For a game as deep as this one is the strategy guide is a necessity for anyone RPGer who is a completist.

5 comments about Caro's Most Profitable Hold'em Advice.

1. I know his poker tells was a great seller, i sold over 200 copies which is a lot for a small book seller, but i never really liked the book myself, nor the followup by the FBI guy. This new i liked a lot, even seems like someone else wrote it and used caros name, the hokiness is gone, and its right to the point and the point is made before he movesd on, the title is accurate "advise" not trying to by the only correct writer in the poker industry, being brunsons bother in law helped him earlier on, but this book seems to be devoid of brunsons input except for a credit or two. of all caros books, i reccomend this one over the rest for an experienced player who has already encountred some of the ssituations he writes about. we cant sell it ourselves on amazon yet but we will soon. david spriggs aka pocket rocket aka new books cheap.



2. It's rather difficult to clearly analyze Mike Caro's most recent book because some of the advice he gives is a bit controversial, and other parts can only be pulled off by experts.
   
   First, let me state that there is a wealth of very valuable information in the book. Granted, much of it has been previously published in his earlier works, and magazine articles, but here, it's all available in one place. I especially liked the section about treating Hold'em as a business as well as the occasional piece that really made me think about my game.
   
   However, Mr. Caro STRONGLY advocates creating a loose image in order to induce more calls, and increase profit. Several sections stress this, and advise the player how to do it. As I recall, he and another author, went round and round about this several years ago. To my mind, Mr. Caro has not proven that creating the loose image is the best path, especially for beginning players. Furthermore, and more importantly, it is very easy for a non-expert player to attempt this strategy and cost themselves some serious money. Newer players should be very careful in their attempts to be like Mike.
   
   So, while I do recommend the book [all of Caro's material is worth reading]I strongly advise the players to be careful when implementing some of it's advise.



3. What a terrible book. Sure, Caro has the awesome "mad genius" reputation, and certainly his analysis was cutting edge a couple decades ago. But much of what he teaches has been debunked by newer, better research. There are odd bits of useful information in this book, but there is lots of other information that contradicts what the best poker thinkers of today are preaching, and they back it up with math. Caro backs it up by referring to his "research," without actually describing that research. The best analogy I can think of is that Caro is like Einstein. He came up with a groundbreaking theoretical approach, like relativity, that changed the way people thought about the universe of poker; but he got left behind when others came up with quantum theory. E.g., he doesn't seem to have caught on to current thinking on the concept of equity in tournament play, especially near the bubble. Does he not believe that ICM works? Most winning tournament players do. And many other examples I don't have time to cite. He can't accept that another, better theory has supplanted his, no matter how vividly the data demonstrates it. Also, his writing style here is very irritating. How many times must we read things like "Do you want to know why blah, blah, blah? Well, I'll tell you. Here's why...." Yuck.



4. First of all this is a great poker book. I consider myself a stuent of the game and read ALOT of books on Hold em. Mike's advice is sound and works. He does advocate having a loose and playful image and it does illict more calls. How many times have you tightened up your play against a intimdating oponnet? I also find myself calling more than I should to friendly players with my marginal / semi strong hands. Mike's book put this whole psychology into a easily readable format. I noticed a distinct upswing in my profits after reading the book and implementing some of his techniques. Now this style of play is not or everyone. If you want to play like a rock and sneer at other players you will probally still make a profit, but you will be mising out on ALOT of extra money at the tables. Read the book and then reread it and all of his techinques fall into place. This book changed the way I play poker in so many ways.



5. I don't have time to write a full review right now, but I'll put in this quickie to negate some of the negative reviews on amazon.
   
   PROS
   This book has almost everything a semi-skilled player needs to take their game to the next level. Mike breaks down the play and analysis in order, by street to give the book a logical flow in the beginning. After that, he expands on general topics such as bankroll management, bluffing, treating poker like a business, etc.
   
   The advice is very pragmatic and much more realistic than most other books. Let's face it. Most of the time you should fold. But in those special circumstances when you have the right player in the right position with the right sized pot, then you can do other moves. Mike says as much and gives solid advice on when to and when not to do certain moves.
   
   Also, the section on treating poker like a business is pure gold. Let's face facts. Most of us play with too much ego from time to time. His advice is a wake up call for those of us play as though we need to prove how smart we are.
   
   CONS
   The book is very math light, so you won't find any modeling of hand distributions. I personally really enjoy hand distribution modeling, but it's yet to prove it's usefulness to me so I didn't miss it here. In fact, the shortcoming of modeling (for me) is that all of the math is only as valid as the assumptions (your read). So after reading "Killer Poker: By the Numbers", I felt that this book was a bit of a missing link between the modeling and reality.
   
   The second short coming is that this book is really just a collection of all of his previous work. Is that so terrible? If you've managed to read just about ALL of his newspaper and magazine articles as well as his books and his section in Super System II; then you may feel like you've already read most of this book. Personally, I've ready A LOT of his writings, and I only recognized about 25% of it in this book.
   
   REBUTTLES
   For those who criticize his recommendation to create a wreckless table image (while actually playing solid), what do you think about Doyle Brunson's recommendation to create an aggressive table image by always betting and raising, or Johnny Chan's recommendation to the exact same thing? Or what about Daniel Negraneau's recommendation to appear to be a call station so you can't be read? Most players agree that it's good to appear more wreckless than you actually are. However, Mikes advice is in the minority that explains how to appear wreckless without actually being wreckless.

5 comments about Faiths of Eberron (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Eberron Supplement).

1. Faiths of Eberron presents additional details on the various religions of Khorvaire, from the Sovereign Host to individual druid sects. New feats, prestige classes, and magic items are found here alongside adventure locations and a broad overview of each religion. No matter what faith your character follows, there's something in this product for everyone.
   
   Unfortunately, this is one of the most boring products I've ever read. The writing is wholely uninspiring, and otherwise interesting ideas are quickly drowned in technicalities that do little to flesh out the religion in an interesting way. Further, the information on the various faiths is vague/simplistic/unhelpful. This is a product that will spend four or five paragraphs explaining that one religion doesn't pray, all because there is a subsection about praying for each religion. Significant amounts of information is repeated from the Eberron Campaign Setting, more than is necessary to discuss the various religions.



2. This supplement, a guide to the most prominent faiths of Eberron, fulfills its promise almost to perfection. The core elements are expanded well and interestingly, with the strongest development coming in the form of explications of the ideologies behind the the various faiths. The book's only failing comes from not enough development of the lesser known religions, and as usual, from Wizards' mystifying need to add crunch where none needs be; the most egregious examples of this are in the numerous pages wasted on map key descriptions (this is a supplement on religion in Eberron, not a collection of one-off adventure locales) and in the bizarre inclusion of a couple pages of construct grafts at the end of the chapter on "Other Faiths" (how exactly does this material fit the theme of the book, guys?). If Wizards really wanted to divide the wordcount this thin, they should have split this book and its critically important content into two volumes, but I highly doubt we can expect to see a Faiths of Eberron II any time soon. Otherwise, this book is exceptionally well done, and the writing itself -- mechanics elements notwithstanding -- is very accomplished; so much so that I for one would have liked to have seen more. My gaming crew and I have enjoyed the work of these authors in the past, and we look forward to reading their upcoming collaborations -- Cityscape and Dragonmarked -- with eagerness.



3. My first copy of this book was missing 18 pages. My second had two pages glued together. The editor missed a number of mistakes, mostly repeated half phrases and such. The "Dargon Below" was about where I reached my limit.
   
   I liked the content that was there but it left me wanting more. My perspective on the Sovereign Host changed, I have a much better idea of how the Vassals would view the world and interact with the players, but I really wanted more legends and lore. If there is any book that should explain how the Shadow became separated from Aureon, shouldn't it be this one? And while I have a better idea of how the Silver Flame religion shapes the people of Thrane, I wanted to know how the ACTUAL silver flame that's burning in Flame Keep effects the place.
   
   The descriptions of the church hierarchies and member names (like Cardinals and Vassals) was just enough detail for me to hang my own plot elements on.
   
   I can't see the Lord of Blades as a religion, unless I take the option they presented of making the LoB an abstract entity. Otherwise what happens when a cleric becomes higher level than Blade himself? Likewise the Inspired church actually creating clerics.
   
   I need to re-read the Druid sections. I can't buy the Children of Winter accepting and creating undead, or the Greensingers wanting to "manifest" all the other planes but spending all their time and devotion on just one. I can see people doing those things but I can't call them Druids. Still, reading that section put me in the mood to create some "dynamic clashes" for the Eldeen Reaches.
   
   One of the gems that really made me think was the second paragraph of the "Areni and the Divine" side-bar under the Undying Court. That's a creation myth I can hang nearly all the other religions on. I want more of those!
   
   There were a few points where I felt that the new content contradicted the ECS. For instance the ECS says Blood of Vol "believe that blood is the source of life and that undeath is the path to divinity" and makes it sound like becoming undead is a way to cheat death, but FoE says undead have made a sacrifice to serve and are pitied (because they have no blood) and have missed "the door to life everlasting". The ECS says Deathless are "strongly tied to the plane of Irian...the birthplace of all souls" but FoE says "the Areni claim no knowledge as to the origin of souls". More than once I felt like FoE drifted away from the themes I picked up in ECS.
   
   Overall, FoE made me think, it gave me some ideas, but it wasn't up to the standard set in ECS.



4. I do like how they filled in some of the huge gaping holes in Eberron's theology, but Eberron's Theology isn't the most interesting.
   
   If you plan on running a lot of games with Eberron then I would recommend it to you.
   Though for the other gamers that wish to play in Eberron there are some nice additions to the game that you might find interesting, but I will not say it is a must have.



5. This book was an incredibly useful tool. It cleared up any question I had about "Eberron Faiths." I fully recommend it as one of the most useful titles for anyone running or playing an Eberron game.

5 comments about Wild Arms 5: Prima Official Game Guide (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R6HV2B21DOXIH Hello everyone. Sean A. Rhodes here bringing you my first ever video review on Amazon.com! I know, it's on a strategy guide, but let's just say this serves as a test to see if a video review can actually be done. So think of it as a pilot for a television show. I hope you all enjoy it. Crafting a video review takes more work than it looks. If you can't stick around for the entire review (at 5 minutes it's a pretty long review for a strategy guide) I'll gladly lists the pros and cons for you right here:
   
   Pros:
   
   -Exhaustive Game Basics Section
   -Great Info on Combat
   -Well Put Together Walkthrough
   
   Cons:
   
   -Lots of Spoilers
   -Not All the Sidequests are Detailed and Prima will Refer You to Their Website
   
   Finally, keep all comments respectful. If you'd like, give some suggestions on what you'd like to see done in future video reviews. Being that some of you are probably gamers, I will more than likely have video game reviews in the future as well.



2. When I find out that Prima is writing a guide for a game, I cringe. Case in point: Breath of Fire III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Blech. This one, however may just trump the BOFIII guide as the worst I've seen yet. Here's why.
   The guide begins with 25 pages of stuff that can be thrown out the window. All of the game basics, like button configurations, battle system, and anything else found in the included instruction manual are spread out lengthily in the first section of the guide. This wouldn't be too bad, until the guide removes sections to make room for this, which I'll get to later. Then there is a character guide, which is helpful enough for combination arts (which you won't use after a certain point in the game anyway) and badge combinations (which you could probably figure out on your own). Now comes the fun part.
   The actual walkthrough is nothing but maps. That's right, nothing but maps. And the worst part of that is, you can see the exact same maps by pressing the START button in any dungeon! The only text you will find is in boss strategies, story spoilers, or little boxes giving you simple solutions to some puzzles. Then they have a treasure table telling you in what area (each dungeon is divided into areas, each screen is an area) each treasure is in. That's it. No exact location, no detail on how to get to it, just what area it is in. Fantastic. This wouldn't be too bad either, but a certain sidequest (and Ex. File Key requirement) will have you gritting your teeth at this throughout the whole game. For a straight walkthrough, it's functional, but little more than that. Also, if there is an area in an early dungeon that you can return to much later in the game once you have gotten a certain item, you must flip all the way back to that dungeon in the guide just to find out what you'll get if you return. There aren't even any reminders when you get the item to go back, you have to flip through the whole guide every time you get a new item. This is just faster and more convenient then going back through the every dungeon, I guess.
   Now we come to my favorite part of this guide, and by favorite, I mean least favorite. The sidequest section offers some good info, but is far incomplete. Some sidequests are simple fetch quests, and the guide goes into enough details for those, while other quests involve great detail that the guide just doesn't see fit to mention. For example, there is an extensive walkthrough on solving all 20 Puzzle Boxes, but when you first start the game, you notice you can't find the boxes on the map. Why is that? The guide won't tell you, but I will. You have to talk to Brad from WA2 at Meisis Station to activate the Puzzle Boxes. Oh, now you can't find Carol's ultimate weapon? That's right, the guide doesn't describe that either, but just talk to Brad after completing the Puzzle Boxes and he will hand it to you. Those are some simple things the guide just left out, and you would have to go online for hours to research. Also, there is a sidequest where you need to open every treasure chest in the world, and then open and battle the Black Chest on the world map. Funny thing is, the guide doesn't detail 4 treasure chests in the actual game itself, so you may always end up at least 4 chests short, if not more! The guide also doesn't list the location of all 30 Neutrino Medals in the walkthrough itself, but it does in the sidequest section. You won't know you're short the medal in area 18 of the Lightless Shaft until you're about done with game, however. There are also 4 optional dungeons in the game that contain 12 of the 30 Neutrino Medals, and 47 of the 365 treasure chests. The guide doesn't cover a single bit of the optional dungeons. For your $[...], you get a prompt to go to [...] to find walkthroughs, detailed exactly like pages from the guide, on all four optional dungeons. If I wanted to go online for a guide, I would go to [...], and I did. Also, the locations of all the secret armors obtained from old Wild ARMs characters, are never revealed, nor are there strategies on fighting 6 optional bosses on the overworld map, not including the black chest.
   If you're patient like me, you will spend hours online finding out what you missed by using the guide. Isn't that exactly what a guide is supposed to prevent us from doing? I put 60 hours into getting everything on WA5, but in total, what with browsing the internet, printing off guides, and comparing this guide to other online walkthroughs, I probably spent 85 total hours on this game. Sure, this guide will help, especially with treasures found on the world map and puzzle solutions, but just know that this guide is incomplete, and you will be looking elsewhere for help.



3. Great coverage of the main storyline, bonus features are a little vague. Maps for the 4 optional dungeons are not included (you have to go to the website to see them, which is hard to use while playing the game.) Overall a decent guide but you will find yourself checking other sources for info on some of the bonus material.



4. When i purchased the Wild Arms 5 guide,thanks to the other reviews, i had an idea of what i was getting. Then i opened the guide.......
   
   While the guide gives out some good info, there is no way you will come close to finishing the game 100% with it, which is what i purchased the guide for in the first place.
   
   For example, there are multiple versions of how mediuyms work in both the front and back of the guide. This space could have easily been put to better use by inserting info, like the hidden dungeons instead.
   
   The guide also doesn't show you what can be won after battles when you are standing on certain hex spaces. That is a must if you want to get items like duplicators after battles, so you don't have to buy them from the black market.
   
   The walkthrough section has nice pictures of the dungeon layout, but the info given to you on how to complete puzzles is mish-mashed all over the page, instead of in an orderly fashion.
   
   Also, while the guide gives you a list of all Asgard's equipment, it doesn't tell you where to find it. It's not all found in chests, but also won after battles, and being in the correct hex.
   
   I could continue on, but from what i've stated, this guide gives you a partial leg up on the game, period. Go to a faqs site if you really want the 100% completion.



5. You really need the guide if you are going to find everything in this game. The guide was missing stuff itself though that I went online and found the holes.

3 comments about Jumbo Sudoku.

1. This is a great sudoku book im a sudoku addict. I own three and this is my favorite. My only complaint is that puzzles are random in difficulty(not in order)



2. I ordered 2 copies of this, based on how much I love Mepham's "Total Sudoku" -- but I wish I hadn't. It has 2 puzzles per page instead of one large puzzle per page as shown on the cover. Mepham's "Total Sudoku" has one puzzle per page -- which is wonderful. There is no reason to want an awkward 8 X 10 page except to get a really big grid. If I'm going to have half-page-size puzzles, give me a half-page-size book that is easier to hold. And this does not have any 16 by 16 puzzles, which are my favorites. And the answer grids are TINY.



3. Michael Mepham provides this workbook full of Sudoku puzzles. They range from easy to, in his words, fiendish. Each puzzle has a solution printed in the back. While there are two puzzles per page, they are nevertheless bigger than those in newspapers, and certainly bigger than those in most if not all electronic Sudoku kits. There are some unconventional Sudoku puzzles, including those which form an X-shape of five nested Sudoku sub-puzzles.
   
   Some tips are given in the beginning of the book for the solving of Sudoku puzzles. These include the use of clues provided by numbers that are remote from each other on the puzzle. For very difficult situations, Mepham recommends that the puzzle-solver narrow a spot to two possibilities, then take a guess at one of the two numbers and see if it creates a self-consistent solution.

2 comments about Simon & Schuster Super Crostics Book #6 (Simon & Schuster Super Crostics Book).

1. This is the very best collection of Middleton's crostic puzzles that I have ever encountered. (And I have done a lot of his puzzles over the years.)



2. Haven't used it yet but was disappointed that I didn't pick up in the description that it wasn't spiral bound. Lots of puzzles but working with it will be annoying. Not sure, but I thought the paper stock was not as heavy as spiral bound crostics. I have a feeling I'll have to forego half the puzzles because of that.
   
   My bad!!!