The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[lunababy_moonchild]

Yeah, I'd like to know that, too.

Luna

[Pappocom]

So, may I enquire, how is it decided which category to apply to any given puzzle?

It's not a subject I get into, because the subject is huge - you probably don't realize how huge - and some of the algorithms are proprietary, anyway.

However, you should realize that the puzzles in a given category (say, Fiendish) are not all of constant and identical difficulty. Some are more fiendish than others, and (by corollary) some are less so. That is normal.

- Wayne

[lunababy_moonchild]

So, you're bound to meet at least one that you cannot solve by yourself (in the category of choice) and that doesn't mean that you're IQ has taken a sudden nosedive?

Luna

[The Druid]

...you should realize that the puzzles in a given category (say, Fiendish) are not all of constant and identical difficulty. Some are more fiendish than others, and (by corollary) some are less so.

Yes, I realise that - see my previous posting. I was interested in where the cut-off point between categories lies, i.e. what distinguishes a "less-fiendish 'Fiendish' puzzle" from a "more-difficult 'Difficult' puzzle", for example. Presumably some rules of demarcation must be applied to distinguish between categories - but I can't identify those rules, as I find many "fiendish" puzzles much easier to do than a small number of "difficult" puzzles.

However, if you say that categorisation is too large a subject to discuss here, fair enough.