2 comments about Snakes on a Sudoku.

1. If you're familiar with sudoku, a number puzzle in which you must complete a partially filled-in number grid based on one basic rule, you will enjoy this themed tie-in.
   
   Instead of the 3x3 boxes within the larger 9x9 box, the puzzles contain 9-unit winding snakes, and you must meet the usual requirements of a sudoku puzzle using the unusual winding shapes. This adds interest to the popular puzzle and is a clever idea by promoters.
   
   There are 51 easy, 51 medium, 51 hard and 17 very hard puzzles. Answers are included.



2. This is by far the most interesting type of Sudoku! Some books include a few puzzles of this type and leave you wishing that you didn't have hundreds of boring 9X9 squares left to solve. I'm ordering a new copy to do over because I haven't been able to find another book as good as this!

2 comments about Impossible Su Doku.

1. Most sudoku books have a lot of very easy and boring puzzles in them. This book is uniformly strong. It's not impossible at all. I never had much trouble solving any of the puzzles, but they are all pretty challenging. A typical puzzle in this book required me to take one guess, and be ready to erase everything after the guess, if necessary, and go back and follow the other route. This book is exactly what it claims to be, if you change the word "impossible" to "interesting". It's a lot better than most other sudoku books out there because they are just too damn easy.



2. Seems like all the books claim to be impossible and I bought the "Mensa" book for my wife and she just laughed at it. With this book, you don't have to skip to the back to get to the good ones. From puzzle one we were happy and the only let down is knowing that when you finish this book, you may be out of luck on finding one to compare. As others have mentioned at first you might need to make one guess to solve the puzzles.

5 comments about New Comprehensive A Z Crossword Dictionary.

1. A-Z is by far the best crossword book ever written/compiled!New Comprehensive A-Z Crossword Dictionary



2. The book was very good. The service by the company wass excellent. The price of the book was good.



3. This is the BEST Crossword Dictionary by far. Had one that was so dog-earred and torn was literally falling apart. Had purchased a dozen other crossword dictionarys but none measured up to this one. Went on line and found it... EXCELLENT PURCHASE and so excited to have a new one.



4. Years ago, I bought a previous edition of this dictionary for my dad, a lifelong crossword puzzler. I chose this one only because I was poor and it was cheap. Well, I'm just about to order his fifth copy of the book (I think--I've lost count). He uses them until the pages fall out--and then it's just about time for me to get him a new one. He has others; my siblings have gotten him tons of other, fancier, more complicated dictionaries, but this is the one he uses because it's straightforward, no-fuss, and almost always has the answer.



5. I've been doing crossword puzzles for years and this Dictionary by Schaffer is the best. I had a soft bound edition but wore it out with use. So, this year I bought a nice hard bound edition. You won't be disappointed.

2 comments about The Official Book of Wordoku #4: Sudoku Puzzles for Word Lovers.

1. I love sudokus and worduko puzzle books, but this book is loaded with errors. There is supposed to be a word or phrase anagram within the 9 letters, which is supposed to be a tool in helping to solve the puzzles. However, in more than half of the puzzles, the 9 letters do not anagram; rather the author doesn't use all the letters, and adds letters not found in the puzzle. This makes it almost impossible to solve the anagram, and is totally useless as a helping tool. I don't recommend this book unless you want to be totally challenged, but not in a good way.



2. My mother and me love these books. It is puzzles with word unstead of numbers.

2 comments about Will Shortz Presents Easy to Hard Sudoku: 150 Fast, Fun Puzzles.

1. Easy Example: Page 86, Level Demanding
   R2C4 only possibility 4, then
   R2C2 only possibility 7, then
   R2C3 only possibiliity 9, leaving
   R2C8 the number 2.
   R3C1 is 2, R6C2 is 2.
   This forces the 2 in S9 to C9, leaving R4C7 as 2.
   Resulting in R5C9 only possibility 5, forcing 5 in R7C7 adjacent to a 5 in R7C6!!!
   
   Several others have the same impossibilities!!!
   
   Looking for my refund!!!



2. I always insist on solving the puzzle. When I try so many times that I erase through the page, I put the numbers on a blank grid and keep on trying. My only complaint with this book is that the grids are too small and the paper too pulpy to last through my scratchings. The puzzle on page 86 was not one that gave me trouble. c2r2 =2 and c3r2=7. I once worked for days on one my husband solved in minutes. He saw something I missed in the very first steps of solving. Dang!

3 comments about Kakuro Puzzle Pad.

1. The good: fits in the palm of the hand, good quality paper doesn't let ink sink through, reporter-style top spiral binding allows the puzzle pad to lay flat perfectly (or allows the user to easily tear out and toss completed puzzles).
   
   The bad: the puzzles are too small and too easy by far. The most difficult puzzles can be completed in 10 minutes or less, the easiest in under a minute. Like every kakuro book I've purchased, there are a few errors (3 digits that add up to 31?). However, because these puzzles are so small, a single error feels less forgivable. An error does not just render one corner of a puzzle wasted, rather it renders an entire puzzle wasted. Easy and difficult puzzle pages have an eye-boggling orange (see cover image) as an accent color. (Medium puzzles have a much more user-friendly green.)
   
   
   My recommendation to the creator: Keep the style (except for the brutal orange), improve the puzzles (even if it means the pad must be made larger).
   
   My recommendation to customers: It's convenient and portable if you want something to fill a few minutes. But if you want something even slightly challenging, keep looking.



2. This puzzle pad is smaller than I expected though very well made. The paper is high quality and the spiral bounds works as it should. However, I found the puzzles too small, too easy to solve and actually irritating at times (too many repeating numbers in the puzzle). It might be a good option for someone just starting out with Kakuro, but not a more seasoned user.



3. I was excited to finally have a kakuro bok that i could take anywhere. It's annoying how easy they are and, as others have said, the errors make things even more frustrating. Things are printed correctly in the answers but the puzzles themselves are botched. Want my money back or at least a reprint with the corrected puzzles.

No comments about Visual Thinking Puzzles.

5 comments about The Official Book of Sudoku: Book 1.

1. I was very disappointed in this book - great if you have 5 minutes to kill, I suppose, but the puzzles are distressingly easy - I much prefer at least a LITTLE challenge. Don't waste your money on this one - go for something a bit more interesting!



2. Started doing Sudoku in Sunday paper. First one was the Samari style, and I was hooked. Purchased this along with several other Sudoku puzzle books from Amazon, including one for my 13 year old daughter who is also getting hooked. Only complaint about this book is that I wish the puzzle boxes were larger!



3. These candles are great. I bought two as a Christmas gift for a family member that has had two (small but scary) fires related to candles. These look, feel and smell just like a real candle the wick/light is well below the top so it really looks real. The light is also brighter than some I've seen so you can seem them "burning" and flickering during the day. I highly recommend this product, I'm planning to buy some for myself soon.



4. I discovered the sudoku puzzles in the local newspaper. Since I really enjoyed them, I went out and bought a couple of books. I was very disappointed in this one because they are all very easy and can be completed in 5 minutes or less. I am not an expert in this and just started doing these puzzles about 3 months ago. I have flipped all through the book and have not found a single puzzle that was really a challenge. I think this book is great if you want some easy to solve puzzles but if you want some difficulty to them, I would recommend looking at the Will Shortz books. The puzzles in those books are in order of difficulty and they are challenging and fun to do.



5. If I ever learn, this will be the book.
   
   I'm not holding my breathe, but there just might be a chance...

1 comments about The Rails I Tote: Forty-Five Illustrated Spoonerisms to Decipher (Owl Books).

1. Christopher Manson is the author and illustrator of the book "Maze", which is subtitled as "Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle" (and it deserves that title, in my opinion). "The Rails I Tote" is not another "Maze", and that's why I can't give it the same 5-star rating. Still, it's another unique book with Mansons' similar avant-garde feel.

   There are 45 sections, each containing one page-long short story, accompanied by an illustration. In each illustration, you have to find the spoonerism. For those who don't know, you "spoonerize" two words by swapping their first letters or first consonnant sounds (so for example, the spoonerism of "peas and carrots" sounds like "keys and parrots"). The title of each short story and the story itself lend clues as to what the spoonerism is. For example, there's one picture showing a scientist tying little tags to the bodies of a bunch of bees. The title of the related story is "In Hot Water". So "bee tags" becomes "tea bags", and that's the solution.

   But like "Maze", these puzzles aren't all as easy as they sound. I don't give up easily when it comes to brain teasers, but some of these ones really stumped me. Fortunately the book's last page shows all 45 of the answers. The answers are encoded by letter where 1 is for A, 2 is for B, 3 is for C, etc., so that you don't accidentally glance at an answer you didn't want to know yet. I hope this book goes back into print, because it's another example of Manson combining his brainteasers, wild art work, and bizarre stories into one clever little book.

4 comments about Pocket Sudoku Presented by Will Shortz, Volume 1: 150 Fast, Fun Puzzles.

1. 150 puzzles for five bucks... not a bad deal. These puzzles are light and easy, great for coffee-breaks or subway rides. They're printed small, which can be problematic for more difficult puzzles (it's hard to write in "possibles" and difficult to erase without accidentally erasing other numbers), but since the puzzles are relatively easy, you won't be needing to write in "possibles" anyway.
   
   All-in-all, this is a nice little book which will fit in most purses or briefcases and make for a great diversion when you have nothing else to do.



2. I didn't find this book particularly good for a beginner. I would recommend starting with a New York Post version to get familiar with Sudoku and try this book later. I'm still in the NYP book and am enjoying it a lot. The NYP ones are written by Wayne Gould.



3. It's an insane craze, or a mindless waste of time - everyone seems to love it or hate it.
   
   This is an enjoyable set of 150 puzzles of graded difficulty, ranging up to two oversized 12x12 offerings. A brief introduction traces the puzzle's murky history, and another offers the basics of solution strategy. It's just the basics, though. You'll need a lot more than that intro to get through even the "Light and Easy" section of the book (the first half) - the barest beginners might dispute that "easy" claim.
   
   So enjoy it, if it's the kind of thing you enjoy. It's fun, challenging, a test of wits, and won't get the neighbors talking about you.
   
   //wiredweird



4. I couldn't put it down, I finished the book in two weeks. But trust me, it gets a bit difficult near the end. Worth it!!!