The New Sudoku Players' Forum

by **quillpig** » Sun Dec 25, 2005 3:47 am

I got a handheld sudoku machine for Christmas. It was made by TechnoSource. It will be returned. Here is a short list of shortcomings.

1) Puzzles are not symmetrical.
2) Screen very hard to read in any light.
3) No way to insert pencil-marks.

and the coffin-nail...

4) Puzzles do not have unique solutions.

I enjoy doing puzzles with pen and paper, and I don't think any $20 piece of China's finest technology will change that.

QP

by **Lardarse** » Sun Dec 25, 2005 4:39 am

You're not the only one...

I think that a PDA (or even a mobile phone) would be better suited to playing sudoku on the run.

LA

PS: Personal opinion here, but if your first point was the only problem, then I wouldn't complain too much...

PPS: Pen? You're brave...

by **lunababy_moonchild** » Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:43 am

I've looked at these - the ones that are available in the UK - and wondered if they were worth the money. I came to the conclusion, without first testing the thing itself so somewhat unfair, that since I couldn't tell the clues from the inputs it wasn't worth purchasing. That alone is enough to completely confuse me.

I prefer paper too, but I use pencil, so I stick to books/newspapers.

Luna
*Sorry your Christmas was affected, I'm sure the giver of the gift was doing their best*

by **Lardarse** » Sun Dec 25, 2005 8:14 pm

Just goes to show that sudoku is a minefield...

Hmm... that reminds me of another pozzle thast is used in the P vs NP argument...

by **PaulIQ164** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 12:51 am

I got a sudoku gadget thing too. It has a method for doing pencilmarks, though I haven't tried using it. And the puzzles seem to be in good order, and symmetrical too. So I guess it's a bit of a lottery.

by **Jube333** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:11 am

I just got one for Christmas. Had never tried Sudoku before, and I can thank the gadget for getting me into Sudoku, I've become an instant fan...

I'm not crazy about the gadget because you can not make pencil marks which I've quickly come to realize would help immensely, but luckily was given a book too as a gift along with it so going to try the puzzles in the book.

by **Jube333** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:13 am

quillpig wrote:I got a handheld sudoku machine for Christmas. It was made by TechnoSource. It will be returned. Here is a short list of shortcomings.

1) Puzzles are not symmetrical.
2) Screen very hard to read in any light.
3) No way to insert pencil-marks.

and the coffin-nail...

4) Puzzles do not have unique solutions.

I enjoy doing puzzles with pen and paper, and I don't think any $20 piece of China's finest technology will change that.

QP

What does it mean that they're not "symmetrical"?

And how can I tell if my unit does or doesn't have unique solutions to the puzzles?

by **Hud** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:20 am

Jube to be symmetrical, the puzzles clues will be in the same relative locations when the puzzle is rotated 180 degrees C. Just kidding about the C.

by **Jube333** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:13 am

Thanks Hud...

On my unit the puzzles are not symmetrical... So I'm assuming this is not a good thing?

by **gfroyle** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:33 am

Jube333 wrote:On my unit the puzzles are not symmetrical... So I'm assuming this is not a good thing?

Symmetry makes the puzzle look nice when you start out.

Otherwise, it has no particular feature in terms of gameplay, and many people consider it to be irrelevant....

A puzzle with multiple solutions is definitely defective, but symmetry is just a preference...

Gordon

by Pi » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:06 am

I don't have a handheld and will never buy one unless you can manualy enter puzzles.

I have a board game which is very nice and allows you to place candidates.

However the book of puzzles that comes with it is very poor. All the puzzles appear to be the same difficulty (easy) and although i have only done three puzzles so far i have already found one with 4 solutions

by **pmlabrier** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 7:59 am

Many of the hand held electronic sudoku games on the market now are overstocks from the previous generation of Number Place. they have been warehoused in China for 10+ years. The rules have been refined for modern Sudoku.

I got a PocketPC for Christmas. There are several VERY good sudoku games out for PocketPC's. As good or better than any PC Sudoko game I have played and you still have the pencil and paper feel since you can easily enter and erase pencil marks.

Paul

by **JeffInCA** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 7:46 am

I'm pretty new to Sudoku (only discovered it about a month ago), but I'm already pretty addicted.

I downloaded a program called "TopSuDoKu" for my Treo 650 PDA (PalmOS) and ito me, it's a pretty nice program even though I'm by no means an expert

Has anyone else out there used it?

Jeff

by **Chessmaster** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:29 pm

i got one of these also i put it in to a sudoku solver and it gave me like 100 soultions

by **kabelladonna** » Fri Jan 27, 2006 4:13 am

I got my start (almost 2 months ago) with the one described in the first post.

It took about 2 days of not being able to see the screen, even in the best of light, to discover that pencil and paper was much better.

I also don't like having the ability to see how I'm doing and getting hints. I'm too temped to look. I don't feel like I've actually solved one unless I've used no hints or progress checks.

I now have several books filled with puzzles and I also print them out from various sites. These books/magazines of puzzles seem to be taking over the bookshelves. Some stores even have entire cases or sections just for Sudoku.

The New Sudoku Players' Forum

Handheld Sudodu = Junk

Handheld Sudodu = Junk

Re: Handheld Sudodu = Junk

the reason dedicated sudoku handhelds are junk...

yeah