Sudokushop.com is giving away a free download and print pack!
Complete with solutions and step-by-step solution guides, the pack contains 50 puzzles, one per page, in large print.
Further download and print packs are available at various difficulty levels for just £1.
To download, simply visit www.sudokushop.com
Free Sudoku download and print pack from Sudokushop.com
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Free Sudoku download and print pack from Sudokushop.com
by sudokuNick » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:37 pm
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re: free puzzle-pack from Sudokushop.com - Easy puzzles only
by Pat » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:55 pm
sudokuNick wrote:www.sudokushop.com is giving away a free pack, containing 50 puzzles
www.SuDokuShop.com/free_sample_sudoku.pdf = the free package [ PDF ] seems to contain only Easy puzzles.
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by sudokuNick » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:08 pm
the free package [ PDF ] seems to contain only Easy puzzles.
Well, yes but hey - it's free. And as the original post stated...
Further download and print packs are available at various difficulty levels for just £1.
see www.sudokushop.com/index.php/cPath/30 for further details
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by tso » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:30 am
Why?
There are ... let me count now ... 7, 8, 9 ... carry the 3 ... uh, yes ... there are 12 grazillion websites from which I can get an unlimited supply of *free* Sudoku -- to print, solve on line, whatever. There are many sites that offer *free* PDF downloads. There are several dozen *free* software aps that will generate unlimited *free* sudokus. In addition to *free* classic 81 cell Suduku, variations in size and rules abound. *Free*. Many major newspapers have websites that have carry their puzzles *free*. Many have archives of past published puzzles. *Free*. There are buttloads of Japanese sites that have 10s of thousands of *handmade* Sudoku in text and PDF format, as well as sites that allow the user to play online in Java, etc. *Free*.
Not free in the bogus sense you use -- but absolutely free.
Why? What exactly have you added to the mix to earn your pound sterling? What are you creating? Why should anyone -- especially regular readers/posters in this forum be interested in the particular selection of puzzles that you offer, especially since you don't even allow sampling harder puzzles, the only ones anyone here *might* be interested in?
Why?
There are ... let me count now ... 7, 8, 9 ... carry the 3 ... uh, yes ... there are 12 grazillion websites from which I can get an unlimited supply of *free* Sudoku -- to print, solve on line, whatever. There are many sites that offer *free* PDF downloads. There are several dozen *free* software aps that will generate unlimited *free* sudokus. In addition to *free* classic 81 cell Suduku, variations in size and rules abound. *Free*. Many major newspapers have websites that have carry their puzzles *free*. Many have archives of past published puzzles. *Free*. There are buttloads of Japanese sites that have 10s of thousands of *handmade* Sudoku in text and PDF format, as well as sites that allow the user to play online in Java, etc. *Free*.
Not free in the bogus sense you use -- but absolutely free.
Why? What exactly have you added to the mix to earn your pound sterling? What are you creating? Why should anyone -- especially regular readers/posters in this forum be interested in the particular selection of puzzles that you offer, especially since you don't even allow sampling harder puzzles, the only ones anyone here *might* be interested in?
Why?
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by gfroyle » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:14 pm
tso wrote:Why?
A good question, but I think one with some reasonable answers as well... (Note: I am not affiliated in any way with ANY commercial sudoku enterprise, and not even a customer of any).
I agree that few people in this forum are likely to want this service, but I can see that there may be potential markets...
Firstly, there is the question of quality - there are lots of free places, but also lots of crappy free places. It's easy to produce Sudokus, but harder to rate them properly... and several places don't even to manage to produce valid 1-solution Sudokus.
Secondly there is the question of opportunity cost.... there are many people to whom $1 (or 1 pound, or whatever) is negligible, less than half a cup of coffee, but the time taken to download, install, learn-to-use a program is much more valuable. There are lots of people (my Mum for example) for whom the whole process of searching for programs, downloading etc is just too much to even contemplate.
So I think that's why people buy Sudoku puzzle magazines - moderately priced consistently graded valid puzzles from a single reliable place. And if this joint can undercut the puzzle mags a little bit by providing PDFs, then they may get a slice of this action.
I think in general that people overvalue their own money, and undervalue their time, and so seek "free" stuff ignoring the time they spend looking for it, evaluating it and making it work. But there seem to be an increasing number of people who realize this and are willing to pay small amounts for free stuff if it is packaged conveniently... (eg commercial distributions of free Linux) - they are paying for the search time, evaluation and packaging rather than the product itself.
Anyway, a bit off track for Sudoku forum, so I'll stop there...
Gordon
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by tso » Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:51 pm
Ok, I'll narrow my critisism to what was offered -- 50 Sudoku's of unknown (and unknowable without purchase) quality in PDF format -- that must be downloaded by your mum -- and printed -- they cannot be solved on screen -- for a pound.
Why? As I said, there are multiple sources that match and exceed these criteria at NO COST.
Comparing head to head -- Sudoku's suitable for printing without installation, registration, signup, payment or even "download" beyond simply clicking to open a webpage: (this is NOT a complete listing -- there are many more)
OpenSky Sudoku Generator will generate PDFs on the fly containing 1 to 50 Sudokus, either 1 or 4 per page, with or without solutions included in 4 difficulty levels. *Free*. That's over a grazillion puzzles on this one site. If you want more ...
Printsudoku currently has over 600 free Sudokus in PDF format in 5 levels plus a variant. *Free*.
Krazydad currently has some 4000 Sudokus in PDF format in 5 difficutly levels. *Free*.
Some newspapers have their puzzles online:
www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,18209,00.html { broken link } -- The Times puts its Sudokus (by Pappocom) online -- they have several difficulty levels and also include some variants and a recent archive. They are not in PDF format but can still be printed. *Free*
www.sudoku.org.uk/backpuzzles.htm { broken link } -- The Daily Telegraph[/url] has a archive of puzzles from the paper in PDF format. *Free*.
The Guardian seems to have every puzzle they've ever published available in PDF format. *Free*.
The Daily Mail has a large archive online in a print-friendly (though not PDF) format. *Free*
Vegard Hanssen's website has some 7 million puzzles -- Standard Sudoku's in 8 levels plus the largest selection of variants available anywhere, on or off the web, several versions which are original. No PDFs but a clean print facility. *Free*
Paul's Pages has a 750 puzzle gallery in 5 levels -- plus it will generate random puzzles. They're not PDFs, but there is a nice, clean print option -- in fact, it can be used to print Sudoku's from any source.
Astraware's Sudoku of the Day has 6 puzzles a day in 6 levels and a two week archive -- plus step by tedious step solutions. *Free*
Sudoku Susser does not generate puzzles, but will fetch several million of them from the web for you and print them. *Free*, runs on mulitple platforms and has no draconion installation -- just a zip file to be unzipped (windows version). *Free*
Of course,Simple Sudoku is free and requires only a minimal, non-invasive intallation. Five levels, easy to print. *Free*
AlthoughSolo is software that should be downloaded -- the Windows version (it's available for Mac, Unix and Palm OS as well) requires no installation. Just click on the file, save it and run it. Actually, you don't even have to save it -- you can run it online. It generates an unlimited number of puzzles in 6 difficutly levels, 8 symmetry choices, mutliple sizes with easy printing. *Free* and open source.
Dell's new monthly Sudoku magainze (Dell -- the publishers who introduced Number Place 30 years ago), has over 175 puzzles for $3 -- subscribing lowers the price further. You get an actual printed magazine rather than wasting your toner and paper. Plus, they included Sudokus that include the diagonal and other variations. ($3 US is about one and three quarters pounds.)
This is by no means a complete or definitive list. Is there *one* of these options that isn't far superior to what the original poster is offering?
Why? As I said, there are multiple sources that match and exceed these criteria at NO COST.
Comparing head to head -- Sudoku's suitable for printing without installation, registration, signup, payment or even "download" beyond simply clicking to open a webpage: (this is NOT a complete listing -- there are many more)
OpenSky Sudoku Generator will generate PDFs on the fly containing 1 to 50 Sudokus, either 1 or 4 per page, with or without solutions included in 4 difficulty levels. *Free*. That's over a grazillion puzzles on this one site. If you want more ...
Printsudoku currently has over 600 free Sudokus in PDF format in 5 levels plus a variant. *Free*.
Krazydad currently has some 4000 Sudokus in PDF format in 5 difficutly levels. *Free*.
Some newspapers have their puzzles online:
www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,18209,00.html { broken link } -- The Times puts its Sudokus (by Pappocom) online -- they have several difficulty levels and also include some variants and a recent archive. They are not in PDF format but can still be printed. *Free*
www.sudoku.org.uk/backpuzzles.htm { broken link } -- The Daily Telegraph[/url] has a archive of puzzles from the paper in PDF format. *Free*.
The Guardian seems to have every puzzle they've ever published available in PDF format. *Free*.
The Daily Mail has a large archive online in a print-friendly (though not PDF) format. *Free*
Vegard Hanssen's website has some 7 million puzzles -- Standard Sudoku's in 8 levels plus the largest selection of variants available anywhere, on or off the web, several versions which are original. No PDFs but a clean print facility. *Free*
Paul's Pages has a 750 puzzle gallery in 5 levels -- plus it will generate random puzzles. They're not PDFs, but there is a nice, clean print option -- in fact, it can be used to print Sudoku's from any source.
Astraware's Sudoku of the Day has 6 puzzles a day in 6 levels and a two week archive -- plus step by tedious step solutions. *Free*
Sudoku Susser does not generate puzzles, but will fetch several million of them from the web for you and print them. *Free*, runs on mulitple platforms and has no draconion installation -- just a zip file to be unzipped (windows version). *Free*
Of course,Simple Sudoku is free and requires only a minimal, non-invasive intallation. Five levels, easy to print. *Free*
AlthoughSolo is software that should be downloaded -- the Windows version (it's available for Mac, Unix and Palm OS as well) requires no installation. Just click on the file, save it and run it. Actually, you don't even have to save it -- you can run it online. It generates an unlimited number of puzzles in 6 difficutly levels, 8 symmetry choices, mutliple sizes with easy printing. *Free* and open source.
Dell's new monthly Sudoku magainze (Dell -- the publishers who introduced Number Place 30 years ago), has over 175 puzzles for $3 -- subscribing lowers the price further. You get an actual printed magazine rather than wasting your toner and paper. Plus, they included Sudokus that include the diagonal and other variations. ($3 US is about one and three quarters pounds.)
This is by no means a complete or definitive list. Is there *one* of these options that isn't far superior to what the original poster is offering?
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by tso » Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:34 pm
As Wanye points out, though I still think it is a better deal than what the original poster offers, Dell magazines are of course not free. Further, you can't download them, so they cannot compete with the immediacy of the others on the list nor the overpriced puzzle packs at www.sudokushop.com
Another correction -- there are actually THREE newDell Sudoku magazines. However, I said they were monthly -- there are actually 6 issues a year each.
Of course, if you're going to by a Sudoku magazine, I recommend getting one of the several that are published in Japan. They are more expensive -- but they're large format (magazine size rather than paperback book size), contain 150 to 200 puzzles and a wide variety of variants -- overlapping, diagonal, disjoint groups, "killer", sequential -- and new ones all the time. Often the fact that one cannot speak the language can add a layer of difficulty to some of the rarer puzzles.
Another correction -- there are actually THREE newDell Sudoku magazines. However, I said they were monthly -- there are actually 6 issues a year each.
Of course, if you're going to by a Sudoku magazine, I recommend getting one of the several that are published in Japan. They are more expensive -- but they're large format (magazine size rather than paperback book size), contain 150 to 200 puzzles and a wide variety of variants -- overlapping, diagonal, disjoint groups, "killer", sequential -- and new ones all the time. Often the fact that one cannot speak the language can add a layer of difficulty to some of the rarer puzzles.
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by sudokuNick » Sat Dec 03, 2005 1:23 am
tso wrote:Ok, I'll narrow my critisism to what was offered -- 50 Sudoku's of unknown (and unknowable without purchase) quality in PDF format -- that must be downloaded by your mum -- and printed -- they cannot be solved on screen -- for a pound.
Just to clear this point up, and a few others raised along the way...
The reason for offering the easy ones free was to allow people to judge the quality of the puzzles, step by step guides and solutions.
If one thought the easy ones were of a reasonable quality, one would then be able to gamble a whole £1 (jeez - there is a money back guarentee too) on the medium or hard ones. They've been a big hit and many people have gone on to buy the others. Should there be demand, www.sudokushop.com would also publish a fiendish collection though we've held off for now because of the additional cost involved in creating them.
Proper puzzles cost money to generate, cost money to format, cost money to publish and promote. It's as simple as that. Yes you can find all the free stuff on the net you like. But, if that was all anyone wanted then www.sudokushop.com and all the other people fueling the sudoku industry wouldn't stay in business. And, remember, it's those businesses paying the advertising that appears on the "free" sites allowing them to keep going too (The bid price is often £1.50 a click on google ads for the term "Times Sudoku" and even the less used variants regularly cost more than 25p a click).
Unfortunately, there is not yet a recognised standard "difficulty rating" system accepted by everyone and used by every manufacturer - so there will always be an element of subjectivity in the ratings. But not everyone craves the most difficult puzzle in the world either. And many countries are just getting into it. Sudokushop has recent customers not only from all over europe and america but recent download packs were also sold to countries such as India.
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by gfroyle » Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:28 pm
tso wrote:The Guardian seems to have every puzzle they've ever published available in PDF format. *Free*.
Thanks for providing these URLs ... I particularly like the patterns that the Guardian comes up with for its Friday "difficult" puzzles... very cool, and some of them with pretty low clue-counts.
Gordon
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