The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[dirk]

Hi all
Just joined.
I'm interested in getting faster at solving... Sharing techniques.
I play the public Enjoy Sudoku website every morning - Easy, Medium, Intricate, Difficult (at this stage) - and usually get an average of around 95% (if I don't get above 90% I try again, so this isn't on the first try).
My technique is to start by flashing through all the numbers counting which have 4 or more cells filled in and solving them first, then marking all the numbers that have only 2 in a block of 9. Then locked pairs and hidden squares and the technique where there's only one group of 3 on the board - selecting the number that there's 3 of in the row/column/block... Not too comfortable with x-wings and above at this stage.
Any tips to get up higher than 95?
Thanks

[Pupp]

Around here, it's best to use a reference number for difficilty.

Most of the users here are familiar with Sudoku Explorer... commonly adv. as SE.

There are other rating programs.
I'm not familiar with the Enjoy Sudoku website.

If you use an android phone, I recommend Sudoku 10,000 Pro.
-It's worth a few dollars to get the premium version. It uses an android version of SE for it's analyze function.

Every website pretty much just picks an arbitrary "difficult" level.

But for reference, The Times (London), has it's most difficult puzzles at about 3.4 SE

Sudoku 10,000 pro has a very gentle climb in difficulty until you get to Very Hard levels and beyond. It really ramps up at fiendish level.

Sudocue is a good place to start.

Not really sure why your trying to speed up, per se. Most people naturally speed up as they get more proficient and learn more.

You can, sometimes, shortcut an easier puzzle by applying techniques that are more advanced than the puzzle needs.
-It's not the best form to use (shortcutting), if your really trying to master Sudoku, because it's better to train your brain to use the easiest techniques first. In the long run, your brain will be better/faster at scanning the board for the easiest stuff first.

Shortcutting will train your brain to keep looking for shortcuts or elaborate techniques, even if none are available.... making it harder to train your brain to focus on picking out trivial techniques.

[Pupp]

I wanted to mention: the "analyze" button on Sudoku 10,000 is your best friend for training.

It doesn't solve the problem, but gives a list of techniques needed to solve the puzzle. You will quickly realize your missing something easy, most likely.

It's comical, really, for me to scan the board and get stuck... hitting the analyze button... thinking I'm not seeing an advanced technique... and Sudoku 10,000 tells me I'm overlooking a hidden single, or some other trivial technique.

[Pupp]

Here's a link to how Sudoku 10,000 rates puzzles/difficulty levels:

[url]
sudoku-10-000-pro-t39138.html
[/url]

[Pupp]

Sudoku 10,000 Pro is especially helpful for speed training.
Each section is divided into 5 levels.
The techniques used don't seem to change much, but you have more complicated trivial techniques as the level increases.
For example, in level 1 of a section you could easily buzz out half the puzzle in no time. By level 3, there not be any naked singles on move one, or even no hidden singles. By level 5, you might be forced to deal with a lot of pencil marks before you fill in the first cell.